Corporate Video Production

Here we describe the benefit of business video to deliver corporate messages via websites and how to go about the production of the video.  Working in London and across Europe, experience has shown the following to be useful when approaching corporate video production for business.

The benefit of business video

Having a short corporate video extolling the virtues of a business is extremely effective, the viewer engages with the corporate messages far more effectively than a typical profile still image and 500 words. Bandwidth gets higher, and broadband speeds get faster, and any hosting server these days will more than cope with a number of streaming video files. These videos are quick and straightforward to film, requiring only a short amount of the subject’s time.

Length of video

The ideal length of time for the video is up to 1 1/2 minutes which doesn't sound long, but try setting a clock and speaking preferably without uhms and errs for 90 seconds, it’s harder than you think.  To generate enough video footage to be edited into this length of final corporate video a recording session of an hour or so is required.

Preparing the video script

The key to a successful corporate video is in the preparation of the messages to be put across.  This doesn't mean writing a script to be strictly adhered to, more a series of bullet points to be conveyed.  The reason for this is that without, and familiarity with, a scrolling prompter the subject will feel the urge to continuously glance down at the printed page every time they drift off message, which looks clumsy. Far easier in fact to memorise two or three bullet points per video, then take and flesh out those points in their own words, the words flow more readily, and the process is more natural.

Recording techniques for video

There are two principal techniques for recording the video sequence –

1.) Video with interviewer

This is the easiest of the two methods but arguably less effective.  Here there is a video interviewer, preferably a stranger to the subject, to make for a more formal response to the questions than a work colleague. The questions are prepared in advance and the video interviewer is recorded too, posing the questions, the subject looks at and responds to the interviewer. The interviewer makes for a distraction from the camera and lights as eye contact is maintained throughout. This method is used most commonly when there is little time for the subject to prepare fully but is comfortable to be asked questions on a familiar subject.

2.) Video straight to camera

This is effective and will definitely hold the viewers attention. It is harder to film, but can be done over several takes. It is important that the speaker on the video isn't reciting a monologue but that there is intonation and inflexion in their voice, preferably with hand gestures for emphasis.  If the video is going to be longer than one or two minutes relevant still photographs can be inserted over the sound track to relieve the subject from being on camera for the whole duration.  The sitter must be looking down the barrel at the start and the end to make for a very powerful corporate video production.

Other crucial points to consider are –

Size of eventual corporate video viewing pane

How big will the video appear when published to the web?

Larger viewing pane

A larger eventual video viewing pane is effective and means that when filming the video the footage can be used to capture more of the atmosphere of the room (an office environment/ fancy board room etc).  This looks good but has to be prepared in advance to make sure that the backdrop is interesting but not distracting.

Smaller viewing pane

A smaller video pane will mean the subject will need to be filmed much closer in, clipping the top of the head for emphasis on the speakers eyes and mouth, which is a common technique in news reporting.

Sound on the video

How well you can hear the video is crucial, and should not be overlooked as it makes for easily 50% of the effectiveness of the video.  A check should be done on whether the proposed room is near a busy road or nearby road works to prevent background noise creeping into the video, which will start and stop with each take.

Video lighting

Uniform and controlled lighting is important to the business video.  If the room is south facing, there needs to be a way of controlling the light for the duration of the filming, to prevent the video’s exposure ranging from too bright in one moment to too dark in another. A videographer will bring lighting equipment, but the choice of room is important especially in the summer when the sun will be stronger. 

Smile!

Lastly when putting across several positive corporate messages about the company its important to smile.  The camera kit, lights and time pressure often make the subject come across more severe than intended, we strive however to make the shoot a pleasant experience.

To help with this the team shoot corporate video with the new Canon 1DMK IV cameras which are extremely hi resolution but look like a standard SLR, require little setup and can shoot in all lighting which makes them far less off putting the behemoth HD broadcast cameras of only a year or so ago.

Budget

Finally, you will be pleasantly surprised by how little the cost can be for a corporate video for web so please do get in touch to discuss your brief.  Videography can take place in London or in any other location.