So, you need to film the CEO?

...and you've never met her (or him). CEO’s and other c-suite execs have a LOT going on, with very limited time and like most people, they don’t love talking on camera. These variables can result in a robotic sub-par message at best…And of course, you know the key to a great performance is an organic, conversational delivery right?!

Well..you have about 3 minutes from the time the CEO walks in the door to the time the camera starts rolling...to earn their trust.

Trust is the only way you can effectively manage, guide and direct them to a great delivery. There are 4 things to consider, to achieve the absolute best performance:

1. Be confident

2. Build a relationship

3. Earn trust

4. Guide them to the finish line

But how can you pull this off in 3 minutes, just upon meeting them?

??????let's dive in ??????

Let's say you're a local video production company and you have a new corporate client, or you're the new in-house video production specialist for the company. The CEO has a message and YOU need to film them.

Most of the time when CEO's have a video message there is a script, (probably way too long, but that's another story for another time).

The script has been passed around a number of times and all stakeholders including legal have given the green light, and if you're lucky, you've received it about 15 minutes before shoot time...??

So you scramble to load it into the teleprompter and remove all formatting (fun!), the camera's on, set is lit, mic is hot, bottled water's (at room temp)are at the ready...and there's a knock at the door...

Step 1. Be confident

The very first thing you need to do as the director of this shoot is lead with confidence, from the moment they step on set. All players in the room need to know who's running this thing, especially the CEO. They want to know that they're in the best hands, after all, it's on YOU to make them look and sound their absolute best. This is, however, a delicate dance when you're dealing with the person who's essentially employing you, so you have to do so with grace and without overstepping the boundaries.

Conversely, you can't come off as another button-pusher or lever puller. CEO's are accustomed to being around power players, and let's face it, they've had to swim in shark-infested waters to get where they are so they can smell fear a mile away...DO NOT let them get a whiff.. This is basic people skills 101, you know.. good body language, positive attitude, exuding confidence, commanding presence when you talk with others, especially the CEO, but you have to be very self-aware. Many think they have this, but it's good to do a self-check once in a while.

SIDE TIP: start filming yourself... a lot. You'll see things you didn't know were there, the good, the bad, and the ugly. #selfawarenesscheck

2. Build a relationship

To build a relationship, you have to have a conversation. Now granted this is a bit like speed dating in terms of timing, but you've already let the team know who was running the joint, so now its time to chat.

Filming people on camera is 90% psychology and the rest... technical.

Here's the deal, most people are not in love with being on camera. Put yourself in their position (#empathy)...When the lights are blasting you in the face, people are standing off in the shadows judging everything you do, the teleprompter starts rolling, and all you can bring yourself to do is read the words one after another with little or no expression, with about as much life as the black and white screen of the teleprompter and the font itself. blah..

You're job...distract them from that thought. Here's where the chat comes into play.

Your CEO is spending plenty of time in front of the company and in the media, whether its an all-employee town-hall, an article, or an interview on CNBC...do some homework and pick the most recent event from the week prior. Find something to compliment them on and pose a thoughtful question about it.

While you're getting her or him into position in front of the camera and adjusting the mic, etc... start the convo with something like:

"Hey, so I really enjoyed what you had to say about the 2020 initiatives at last week's town hall, I'm curious though, how is XYZ looking to play out... etc etc" (in your own words of course...be creative).

This does a few things that are key to moving you toward the direction of step 3 (earning trust)...

For starters, you're forcing the CEO's brain to pivot from "ugh I hate talking on camera- these lights, these lights, people watching, staring, judging!..." to a place of which they are very comfortable. They know exactly what they talked about at the town hall, there was probably a great deal of prep that went into that, they know about the 2020 initiatives like the back of their hand they have been planning it since probably Q2, perhaps earlier! Why does this matter?.. They can speak to it very comfortably. That's a good thing- it gets them talking, and it puts their mind at ease, which can shake off any pre-roll jitters.

The other thing it does is it gives YOU a reference point for their delivery, how they speak, their cadence, intonation, etc. You can hear their 'conversational' tone, and you can call back to this when you are filming. Because believe me when I say, this natural delivery usually goes away as soon as we call "Speed" or "Rolling Camera".

The last thing the town-hall question does is it shows that you're generally interested and aware of the CEO's direction as a leader in the company. It's a small show of respect, especially if you frame up the right question, (I'll leave that up to you to craft), and quite possibly she or he is already looking at you a little differently. Here's the kicker, whether they think it's 'sucking up to the boss', or genuine interaction, the fact of the matter is, you are starting the relationship! This puts you in a far better position than if you don't say anything at all!

Step 3. Earn Trust

Believe it or not, if you played the 'conversation' the right way, you've already begun the early stages of earning trust. But now its time to get them even comfier. This is a little more tech, but it straddles psych as its framing up the process to further put them at ease... I usually like to tell them: "Look, this is a long script (way, way, way, way, wayyyyy too long ?? -...is what I'm thinking...again this is for another post), so don't think that you have to nail this from top to bottom, we can take it however you feel comfortable, paragraph by paragraph, a couple of lines at a time..." etc. 9 times out of 10 this usually visibly puts people at ease, their shoulders drop a bit as if to release some tension, and I think they like to feel in control- so go ahead...give them that!

The other thing I like to tell the CEO is: "I want you to speak at your own comfortable conversational pace. You may see the teleprompter slightly speed up or slow down, but that's because we're going to follow your lead, (again, putting them in control). This way you're not fighting to speed yourself up or slow yourself down based on the way the script is written." Again this is another point at which people get even more visibly relaxed, you've just given them yet another piece to control in their pocket. This empowers them, puts them at ease and sets you in the right direction for organic delivery.... you're earning trust.

SIDE TIP: Always manually ride your teleprompter! I've seen too many times where one-man-bands default to setting the teleprompter to a single speed, so they can keep their attention on the camera and monitor. If you are stuck all by yourself, dial in the camera and lighting as much as possible so it's self-sufficient, then place the laptop/controls for the prompter up high so it is just below the monitor- that way you can keep one eye on the prompter and one eye on the talent.?? Why does this matter? There are so many variables between different scripts, wording, syllables, etc. that it is nearly impossible (unless you're a seasoned veteran) to make a locked-speed prompter read 'natural'.

Step 4. Guide them to the finish line

You've set the stage, and now you're ready to begin doing what you do best- Film your video and DIRECT! Now that you've started to build a rapid rapport with the CEO, you should be set up for success. Let them go through the script and get comfortable. Here's a tip: tell them you're doing a soundcheck and making minor adjustments and have them read through the entire script. Unbeknownst to them, you're actually recording. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten the best take like this top to bottom, because in their mind the pressure is off, as far as they know we are not recording yet. ????

If they start to go into monotone "reading words on a screen" territory, remind them of the conversation you just had, and try to pull examples of how that sounds, and how you'd like that to sound here. Its also ok to educate how savvy today's viewers are, and how they'll see 'reading' a mile away, and that we're looking for the absolute best delivery, which equates to 'human', conversational, approachable, organic, etc...

The other thing I like to do is get right in between them and the camera- speak face to face. I try to get them to imagine their peers, board members, employee base, family & friends, or a large conference crowd, and try to get them in that mindset, as to adjust their delivery because it is vastly different from that of reading words off a teleprompter...Be mindful of their time, but try to get at least a few opens and closes.

At the end of the day, the purpose of this exercise was to get you to a place of achieving optimal performance from a high-level executive only minutes after meeting them. There are a lot of varying aspects to filming the CEO or any top-level executive, but so much psychological & behavioral aspects of human interaction play a major role in this event. If you can master and learn how to finesse this art as part of your craft- you will prove to be invaluable in any production.

Note: I have filmed plenty of CEO's and various levels of leadership that crush it out of the box, so this article is not to say 'Most' CEO's/Leaders struggle on camera, I just think as a whole more people than not tend to tense up a bit when it comes to being on camera, and we as humans 'present' differently when the camera roles. It's not exactly easy to be YOU on camera- it takes practice OR....some behavior-hacking, ninja type-speed-rapport-building capabilities that YOU the director can practice.

Good Luck!! I would love to hear your tips and tricks - and share any stories you might have.

?????? Please leave in the comments below. ??????