Hearing “corporate video” may not conjure up exciting images in your mind, but there are many ways to inject some excitement and dynamism into your corporate videos:
Define Your Video Production Strategy
Before you set out to make a video, sit down and ask yourself and your team why you want to make a video. What do you wish to get out of it? What results are you looking for? Ask yourself who is watching, and why are they watching? What do they want, and what is the easiest way to provide that?
Only once you have answered these questions can you put pen to paper and start brainstorming your corporate video.
Clarify the Video Structure
Feature films scripts are known for their rigid structure, but a strong structure can be used to great effect in corporate videos as well. A sense of narrative gives the audience a feeling of flow to the video, and gives some clarity as you move through the video. When you write you can even structure your script like a book, with chapter headings and titles. This can also make it easier for you to write your video, as you can give a brief introduction that covers the main points of your video, go into further detail, then cap it off with a summary and give the viewer a call to action, like a link to your website or how the viewer can buy your product.
Casting
Getting the right talent for your video goes a long way to making sure your video is a success. Consider casting a professional presenter if possible, or otherwise use your most charismatic employees or people that are comfortable in front of a camera. Presenting is a lot more difficult than the professionals make it look, so make sure you allocate extra time if working with non-professionals. If you are interviewing staff, give them a list of the questions before the shoot so they can have time to prepare some quality answers and feel less pressure on the day. A comfortable employee looks much better on video than a stressed one.
Corporate Doesn’t Mean Boring
Sometimes a sitting, “talking heads” style interview is the safest bet when covering serious topics that you also want your audience to take seriously. But if you’re creating a more light-hearted video, have some fun with it! Move the camera, use a slider, maybe a stabiliser like the DJI Ronin or even handheld (make sure it’s an appropriate video for handheld, as handheld can look cheap and rushed if not in the right context). You can also add a little flavour to an otherwise plain interview by shooting with 2 cameras, this allows you to edit out sections with greater ease, improving your video’s pacing and making extracting good quotes a little bit easier.
Video Editing
Once your video is shot, you can add some final polish and shine to the finished product by adding titles, graphics and lower thirds (Names and job titles beneath the talent in the videos). Titles and graphics in your company’s colours and style can really take your video up a notch in production value. You can also weave in some elegant graphics to introduce different sections of the video, like chapter headings, which can also add structure to the video.
Keep the Length of the Video Short
The hardest and most time consuming part of the film-making process is post-production. It can be very difficult to “kill your darlings” and cut something you love. But if it slows the video down or doesn’t serve its purpose, it needs to go. Keeping your video concise and well paced will hold you in good stead when making your corporate video.
If you’re looking to create a high quality corporate video, get in touch with us today.
