A video titbit from the Tinpot Vault

Recently re-discovered a short series of video articles which (for complicated reasons) never went to publication. Despite being written almost 10 years ago, they still hold water today.

Here then is the first of four short insights on making good video content - for those about to shoot, we salute you. ??

In videoland, the staff interview/piece to camera is a tried and tested formula for getting a business message across. From a production point of view it’s an easy, cost effective way of communicating a series of on brand messages and using paid employees making sure that the company line and messaging will be adequately toed.

Lots of plus points there. However, arguably, it’s both formulaic and problematic - for a couple of reasons. As a production device it is overused and the results can sometimes be..well..hmmm..let’s say variable. ??

Staff can be reluctant, camera shy and nervous on set. This can lead to stilted pieces where information is stuttered piece meal or delivered by rote - in a manner which is in no way authentic or sincere.

The end result isn’t always the strident confident brand image you’ll want to convey.

So, what are the alternatives. Well, recently, we were briefed by a client specifically not to include talking heads or pieces to camera and here’s what we did.

• We organized a day of informal studio audio recordings with the employees who would be featured in the final video.
• Prepped in advance and with an awareness of each of the participants, this was less of an interview and more of a loosely structured conversation.
• As a setup, it was less intimidating than a full crew location record and enabled us to create a loose dynamic where everyone could speak freely.
• These interviews were then edited to salient points and our video shoot was then organized to match.

In addition to fulfilling the clients no pieces to camera directive, this approach had a couple of ancillary benefits.

1. Firstly, it enabled us to have a rock solid structure and paper edit before we even started rolling tape.
2. Secondly, it removed the requirement for recording sound on set which freed up resources so we could focus on getting quality picture. For multiple reasons discussed elsewhere, sound considerations can often compromise your shoot in lots of different ways.

Overall it worked for us but it is by no means the only alternative to the traditional talking head setup. You could consider animation, graphics or just using location footage and there are other options too - depending on where you want the creativity dial to be.

I’m not arguing against what is a stalwart of many video productions. I am saying that you should assess it’s viability in light of other options.

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