HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR CORPORATE VIDEO SHOOT - FIVE TIPS FOR RECORDING A PIECE TO CAMERA
Now a lot of people use their phone to do this. Inevitably most come to realise that a really good piece to camera involves good lighting, good sound, great lenses, an autocue, a great camera with a big sensor and lots of resolution, adroit direction.
No offense to Primark, but you wouldn’t wear one of their suits to an important investor or client meeting would you? In fact the chances are you own a suit that cost more than your piece to camera video will. And this video may well get more views than that suit.
So. You’ve hired in a Corporate Videographer guy with all the toys, and you have some idea of what you’re going to say. That’s enough, right? He can magic it all into place for you, right? Any hiccoughs can be saved in the edit, right?
Well, yes and no. Hiring a commercial film maker or a top corporate photographer is a little bit like gym membership - it doesn’t matter how great the gym and the trainer are - you still have to work those weights yourself, you still have to put a little effort in, I’m, afraid. I like to call it collaboration, even though you are still the boss.
So here is my list of To Dos for your day’s piece to camera .
1. Define your objective. Is your film actually a piece to camera or an interview? Many clients ask me to shoot an interview only for me to arrive and discover they want their client, or their boss, or themselves, to be talking to the camera. It may sound obvious, but it isn’t. There is a clear objective for each, and a clear difference between the two. I would say, if you are informing in a relaxed, testimonial video style then you want to be speaking “off camera” to an interviewer, but if you are selling, announcing, pitching, educatlng or in any way directly addressing the public, your clients, then you almost always want a piece to camera. This, really is crucial. To define your objective. We offer free advice on this before you book.
2. Be prepared. Winging it on the day is almost never the way to do it. I’ve interviewed politicians, A-list actors, renowned journalists and captains of industry and it is as rare as hen’s teeth that they can give a flawless piece to camera unless they are fully prepared and have the kind of memory that borders on the photographic. So if you are doing a piece to camera, please ask yourself if your memory is that good, otherwise it will show. Of course mistakes are made, by everyone, every day. The knack is to limit them.
3. Timing and duration. Have you timed your piece to camera script? You DID write a script, right? If I had a pound for every time someone told me their speech was under five minutes, only for it to ramble for twenty, I’d have... well I’d probably only have a few hundred quid, but still, the point is it is commonplace to think a quick run through in your head will tell you how long your speech lasts. Wrong. Read it out loud, in a slow and measured way - you ideally will rehearse it anyway - with the timer on your phone running. There is no magic solution if it is too long, much beyond cutting out words.
3. You can edit it, right? I can. And I will. I have sped up speeches by 30%. I have chopped harder than Jamie Oliver on too much coffee, but there is editing where one is creating the right feeling and timing, and there is editing where one is fighting fires, merely chopping out the excessive mistakes. You can guess which one is best without me saying it, right?
4. We don’t need an autocue. Also known as Teleprompt. Now my clients are all highly assured, skillful communicators. From primary school teachers to CEOs of giant banks, they deal with the public every day, in meetings, in boardrooms and classrooms, in presentations and conferences,. They know how to speak and to hold attention, they know their stuff. Addressing a camera however is a different environment altogether. Here, the only person you are talking to is me, and I am behind a big ,pitiless, anonymous lens. For some this can be unexpectedly off-putting. It’s a very unfamiliar scenario. And while I can direct you and reassure, and while we can in theory do limitless takes, what we all want is for this to feel seamless, easy, natural. And quick. We don’t want to be spending hours - or even one hour - on this.
Enter the autocue, a piece of tech strapped to the front of the camera that gives you your scrolling script to read. “Won’t I look like I’m reading?” people frequently ask. Well, at first you might, a little, particularly if you are squinting or frowning while acclimatising to using your teleprompt. But in fact, very quickly what happens is this becomes the thing you are concentrating on, and what the camera sees is you looking engaged, looking at the camera. What it looks like is that you are fully engaged, passionate and authentically interested, both in your subject and your audience. It’s a great piece of kit, and the only regret is when a client is adamant they don’t need it.
5. Dress to Impress. I know this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, just in case. Check your hair, check your look. I can and will soft light you, back light you, gently reflect some uplight for you, fit on a flattering lens and choose a good, usually branded backdrop, check there are no awkward reflections in your glasses. But I can’t tell you if you are looking like you’re nursing the world’s worst hangover, can I? I’m kidding. No one ever looks that bad on a shoot day. And I will ask you to check you’re happy with your look. But, and I’m sure you know this, your piece to camera is like a permanent rolling job interview. It is gonna be OUT THERE. Now is not the time for flyaway strands of hair or egg on your lapel. Again, I’m kidding. Being scruffy isnt in your remit, I know. That’s my job. But still. Put your best foot, face and suit forward.