Corporate videos are an increasingly popular way for businesses to communicate to their staff, clients or stakeholders. And it’s becoming more popular to use ‘real people’ rather than actors. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ll be appearing in a corporate video, which is probably why you’re reading this post 🙂 So here are some tips to help get you ready so that you find it to be an easeful and positive experience.
Get Clear on the Requirements
Make sure that the Video Production Company has clearly explained to you the process, the purpose of the video, who the audience is, what the main message is, and what will be expected of you. Once you understand the context, it will be a lot easier to participate in a way that helps make a positive impact.
The production company will also let you know all of the practical details like what time and where to meet, what to wear, what you’ll be doing, and what content to cover if you’re going to be interviewed.
If you have questions, you can contact the producer to discuss them so that you feel fully prepare to participate.
Wardrobe
You’ll be wearing the sort of clothes that you normally wear for the work you do. It may sound obvious, but make sure that the wardrobe you choose for the day presents well i.e. is clean, relatively new, undamaged, fits correctly, ironed etc.
If you work in an office, choose clothes that are contemporary. Avoid clothes that are quirky, unusually coloured, or from another era. While it’s not our intention to dampen your individuality, or cramp your unique fashion sense, clothes that stand out too much will draw the viewers’ attention unnecessarily, and distract from the key message of the video.
If you wear a uniform for work, you’re representing the company brand, so ensure that the uniform is new, neat, clean and correctly fitted.
Again, it may sound obvious: Attend to basic grooming e.g. for the men, have a shave, brush hair, clean hands and nails etc.
If You’re Going to be Interviewed on Camera
It’s our job to make sure you look and sound great on camera. We’ve done this for hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, and we’ll do the same for you.
Don’t worry. It’s not as intimidating as it may seem. The more you can relax in front of the camera, the better you will come across.
Please don’t prepare too much. It sounds counterintuitive, but, often, the more you prepare for an interview, the more you risk it coming across as overly rehearsed or scripted. Please don’t arrive at the interview with notes and try to use them as prompts. This never works out well. We’ve seen people try to do this many times, and it just comes across as staged and uncomfortable.
You’re being interviewed about your area of expertise. You know this stuff really well. Just relax and be yourself. And remember that we’re only going to use the best bits from your interview. So don’t feel like you have to nail every line.
Remember that we’re looking for short answers. Two or three sentences. So keep it simple and focused.
Filming Cutaways/B-Roll
Apart from filming interviews, the other important part of corporate videos is what’s referred to as cutaways or b-roll. This usually involves capturing a bit of footage of you and other team members doing your jobs. This footage helps give context the interviews. If you work in an office, we’ll often capture shots like you working on your computer, having a meeting or discussion. If you work in a warehouse, factory or construction site, we’ll film shots of you doing the sorts of processes and activities that you normally do e.g. working with machines, meetings etc.
It’s important that this footage is as authentic as possible, so let us know if we’re asking you to do things for the camera that you wouldn’t normally do as part of your job.
Follow Company System and Procedures
OH&S regulations, safety procedures, PPV clothing, correct terminology etc should all be adhered to. If you don’t follow correct procedures e.g. wearing safety glasses in an area where it is required, then we won’t be able to use that footage in the video.
Enjoy it. Or Fake it 🙂
The more relaxed, happy and confident you feel during the filming, the better you’ll look. When you see the completed video, we want you to feel comfortable, and proud of your work. We’re here to help and support you to do this.
Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
