How to Record Video Remotely for Professional Quality Corporate Videos

The past 9 months have kept many businesses home or in remote settings for a variety of reasons. Beginning in March with widespread lockdowns and closures to non-essential businesses, and continuing into the summer months with an up and down, up and down, sort of flow, video production is one of several regular business activities that went from being “normal” to being “remote” this year.

If you’re just learning how to record video remotely, either because of health and safety hazards or for other reasons, producing your own professional quality corporate video footage from the office is both possible, and relatively simple.

Let’s Begin

At Beverly Boy Productions, we provide video drop kits to help you achieve remote video recording success no matter where you are.

Give us a call to learn more about how to record video remotely with our professional video drop kits which can be used to produce professional corporate videos at your office.

Pre-Production Planning

You may be totally new to the idea of pre-production or you may have never even heard the term “Pre-production” before and that’s okay!

As you learn how to record video remotely, we’re going to help you understand the value of pre-production planning and the steps you can take to successfully planning your corporate video content. Pre-production is where you will spend a good portion of your time.

You need to plan the following:

-The style of video you will record.

-The talent you will use for your video (yourself, your employees, your customers, someone else).

-The target audience of your video and how you can connect with them.

-The problem that your video is going to provide a solution for.

-The script or set of interview questions that will be used for your video.

-The shots that you will capture for your remote video.

Quality Remote Videos

Much of this is probably already defined if you’re planning a video. For example, perhaps you already have a plan to produce a corporate video that describes your business.

You know who your target audience is and you should already have a good idea of what it takes to connect with them – you’ve produced blog content, website posts, or other forms of marketing material for them before. You could consider using some of the same content for your video.

If you’re producing an interview, you’ll want to write down the questions and share those with the interviewee in advance so that he or she has time to formulate a response.

This is especially true with a case study interview or with other forms of professional interviews but isn’t necessarily important if you’re filming a customer testimonial. In fact, a little less rehearsal for the customer testimonial is ideal so that the end video achieves a feel of genuineness and originality. 

Production Planning

Once you’ve finished your pre-production planning, learning how to record video remotely for your business flows immediately into the actual production process.

However, before you set up your camera and start shooting, it’s important to focus closely on your set. Just because you’re filming remotely does not mean you don’t have a film set!

Choose a Quiet Space

Consider the placement and where you intend to capture your footage. You should choose a place that is free from distractions, and that does not have any unwanted noise.

Something as quiet as an air conditioner kicking on can distract your audience and be heard quite clearly in your film — be cognizant of these sounds.

Set Your Backdrop

The backdrop of your film should be pleasant to the eyes. If you’re filming an interview, consider a very simple background that does not include a lot of clutter.

A shelf or desk in the background is okay, but it should not include too much stuff that could potentially draw the viewer’s attention to what’s going on behind you versus what you have to say.

Avoid backgrounds that include moving parts such as people walking by, traffic, or other elements that could distract your audience. If there are moving parts in the background consider a close up view of the interviewee so that the movement can be blurred out and less visible to the audience.

Choose Lighting that Compliments Your Subject

Natural lighting is your friend, but it also may only be available in certain settings. If you don’t have natural lighting, allow the lighting of the room to work on your side.

You may also need to consider the addition of more light to ensure your interview subject is captured most appropriately. Use soft lighting in the background and ample lighting from the side area to reduce any glare that would come from directly lighting the subject from the front.

Camera Setup

The camera setup is one of the most advanced actions you will need to know in order to record remote video. Consider two or three cameras if possible to ensure you capture your footage from various angles and can provide your post-production crew with ample footage to edit and use to keep your audience interested.

Always use the rule of thirds when filming a subject – keep the subject to the right or left third of the screen and aim for them to take up the bottom two thirds from top to bottom. This will keep the audience’s eyes most suitably engaged.

Make sure you’ve got ample battery life, extra batteries, and storage for your cameras. You don’t want to find after recording a great scene or clip that your battery died or you ran out of storage on your drive.

Now that you know how to record video remotely for your business, what corporate videos will you make next?