Conducting on-camera interviews is always an important part of a corporate video or documentary film. They provide the viewer with context and help to round out the story by providing different perspectives and opinions on a particular topic. However, capturing the polished sound bites one hears in the final video is not an easy task. It takes the right kind of person, asking the right kind of questions, which helps the subject feel comfortable enough to answer while staring into a camera and bright lights.
If you find yourself conducting interviews for your next video project, here are two things to keep in mind, which should help in your next interview setting.
The most important thing is to make your subject feel comfortable. Always tell your subject is that it is okay to mess up. Remind him/her that everything he/she says will be edited. Your subject needs to know that it’s okay if he/she stumbles or loses his/her train of thought. It’s just par for the course. Those things will happen. If your subject understands that he/she will not ruin the entire video will a verbal misstep, it helps increase his/her comfort level and confidence. And that will help your subject appear more natural on camera.
However, as a follow-up to this first point, you should always make sure that the subject regains composure before continuing. This will help you when you are in the edit suite, putting your video together. For example, if the subject flubs a line and starts laughing as a result and then goes back to what he/she was saying while still chuckling, you won’t have a good point on which to edit. Your final video will have a sound bite that (for some reason inexplicable to the viewer) begins with someone laughing. Have your subject regain composure, get settled, and pause for just a moment before continuing.
Observing these two points will really help improve the quality of your interviews, because you will capture clean audio of a subject who is comfortable, natural, and confident.
Once you have worked with a video production company to create a marketing presentation for your business, you might be inclined to hire the same company again when a new need arises. As you and your team estimate the cost, feel free to use the budget from the previous video production as a starting point, but don’t assume that both budgets will be exactly the same.
Different video projects can vary greatly, depending on the size, scope, and style. The budget for building a 4,000 sq. ft. home will be vastly different from building a small cabin in the mountains. Even though they are both considered “houses,” the costs in creating each structure will be different. Even if you are using the same video production company a second or third time, the budget for each video can change. For example, an overview video of the company and its history is different from a client testimonial video. And a testimonial video is different from an internal training piece. These are important distinctions to make, because I don’t want you to be in a situation where you have already budgeted “X” on a new video, and the actual budget turns out to be more than you anticipated. Both client and video producer need to be open and honest about what’s expected and what can be delivered, regardless of how long each they have been working together.
I understand that with almost every video production, the client and producer must strike a balance between scheduling enough time for adequate coverage while staying within budget. Although consolidating certain aspects of the production (i.e. the number of locations, the number of people appearing on camera, etc.) can help improve efficiency, taking it to an extreme can compromise the final video.
The video production companies that I know of (including ours) offer half-day (usually up to five hours) and full-day (up to 10 hours) rates. The production budget can be reduced by blocking off one half-day rather than one full day to shoot everything on the shot list, but dong so isn’t always the most prudent approach. The shot list may look rather short when reading it on paper, but in actuality can take much longer to complete.
Often when shooting corporate videos, it will become necessary to feature certain company representatives in the video. They may have a prepared script that they plan to deliver directly into camera. On paper, this looks simple: off-load the gear, set up, light, rehearse, and shoot. Let’s say you have four to six different people who must read from a prepared script, then shoot b-roll. It can be tempting to schedule a single, half-day for this shoot, but it’s important to consider a few things:
Down Time - Since the on-camera talent is not professional, but rather, actual employees of the company, there may be times when they can’t make it to the location on time. Other things might pop up at the last minute that they are forced to deal with. This means you might be set up, ready to shoot, but have to wait until the company rep is available.
Multiple Takes - Even professional actors need a few takes to get the delivery just right. This is especially true with non-professional talent. As mentioned in item #1, company employees have important day-to-day duties. It can be difficult for them to take the time to memorize the script. Don’t assume that they will have everything down before walking in front of the camera. They might need a few extra takes, and even some extra breaks if something comes up that they must tend to.
Revisions – Sometimes the words of a script may not sound as eloquent as you thought they would when the talent starts reading it aloud. Or, certain facts and/or claims within the script may be inaccurate. In either situation, rewrites will probably be necessary, and that means additional time tacked on to your shooting day.
That single, half-day can quickly be used up, leaving you precious little time to capture everything else on the shot list. And once you start rushing through production, the overall quality of the footage will suffer. It would be wise to carefully consider the above points and go ahead and budget for a full-day, even when you think you can squeeze everything into a half-day. Better to prepare for the full day rather than be faced with costly re-shoots, or a video that doesn’t live up to your standards.
A lot of corporate videos look alike, so it’s important for brands to find unique ways to communicate their message through video. Exhibit A: This video for Johnnie Walker Whiskey, starring Robert Carlyle. The ad agency and filmmakers did something completely different and the result is pretty captivating. After you watch the video, scroll down and reflect on the following points:
What is your story? Notice that the Johnnie Walker video doesn’t contain a rundown of facts about the process of making the whiskey. It doesn’t rely on talking heads from the company boasting about how unique they are. It doesn’t show any customers testifying to how great the product is. This video simply tells a story. And notice how the story is founded on the people behind the company. Your business is more than brick-and-mortar. It’s more than the product. It’s more than the process. It’s about the people – both those who work for the company, and those whom the company serves. Focus your story on people and you will have the start of something pretty amazing.
What is your core message? This entire video can be summed up with the following tag, “Keep Walking.” As you think about producing a video for your company, think about the one central message you want to communicate. Everything else should be built around that.
What is your plan? The ad agency and filmmakers behind this video didn’t just run out with a camera and shoot this thing as soon as they received approval from the client. They spent an incredible amount of time in pre-production, planning every step and every beat. They knew exactly what was to happen before they even arrived on location. You may not be attempting anything as ambitious as this Johnnie Walker advert, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect this important stage of the production.
What about going to the left, rather than to the right? This video could have easily taken the path of many corporate and promotional videos – footage from the distillery, footage from pubs, on-camera interviews, historical photos, etc. However, they went against the norm and created a visual experience completely different from what you might expect. They used an old road in the Scottish highlands with a few strategically-placed props and that’s it. As you think about producing a video for your brand, what approach can you take that’s completely different and unexpected?
It’s interesting to sit back and watch the ebb and flow of the marketplace. Regardless of your industry, markets will inevitably undergo various shifts and changes. Video production is no different. The way in which the public consumes video content is much different now than it was seven years ago. DVRs, video hosting sites, smartphones, the iPad, etc. have all contributed to this changing trend.
As a result, video producers have had to rethink how the content is created. Now, viewers want fresh content on a regular basis. They want something that feels authentic. They want businesses to converse WITH them, not sell TO them. They want valuable content that proves helpful in their own personal and professional pursuits. This change in viewer tastes means that businesses need to produce video content regularly, which is a good thing for a video production business. But it also means that businesses can’t afford to spend too much on each video. I’ve worked on a great number of video projects that involve three to six weeks of pre-production (research, pre-interviews, creative strategy sessions, script writing, etc.), five days of shooting, and up to sixty hours of post. This kind of video still has its place, but what about a client who is interested in producing a video podcast, or a quick online welcome video, or a product demonstration, or a testimonial video?
As a result of this shifting trend, we have developed a series of corporate video packages that are designed for the business interested in updating their video content on a regular basis. The packages are attractive and affordable, but most importantly, they maintain high production standards. If you’re interested in learning more, there are several ways to get in touch with us. You can leave a comment here, follow us on Twitter, become our fan on Facebook, or sign up for our free monthly e-newsletter.
