Paul Cooper of Bailey Cooper Photography in York explains his top ten tips for creating a great corporate video.\r
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Transcript of video:\r
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Hi,\r
Welcome to our top ten tips for creating your corporate video.  We know theres lots to consider when putting your video together, but our experience has taught us that these are the ten most important things: Get these right and your audience will be glued to the screen.\r
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1.Lighting\r
Your eyes are wonderful. they can adapt to all sorts of lighting conditions from a bright sunny day, to a dimly lit office in the middle of winter. But videos not quite so flexible, and most office lighting is not designed to look good on video.\r
Bad lighting will present the wrong image for your business.\r
Creative lighting can be used to add drama to your message. \r
Good lighting will make you and your business look professional. \r
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2. Sound quality\r
Someone, and I dont know who, once said that an audience will never notice good sound quality in a , but theyll certainly notice bad sound quality.\r
Bad quality sound, like this, detrs from your message. Your audience will focus on trying to hear what is being said, and theyll miss the whole point of your video.\r
So lets restore the sound quality, like this, and say it again.  make sure your sound quality is up to standard.\r
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3. Clothing\r
In general, youre not trying to produce a fashion show for your video.  So, the clothes you wear should be appropriate to your business. If you would normally wear a suit to see a client, then thats probably what you should wear for your video.\r
If you would normally wear a shirt like this one, and I possibly would to see some of my clients, then thats absolutely fine. But what you have to remember is that your video is going to date much more quickly. In general, keep it simple. plain clothes always work best and will not go out of fashion. \r
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4. Use a Script. \r
Plan what youre going to say.  Dont use jargon or buzzwords, unless youre absolutely sure that your audience will understand them. Write yourself a script. Or if you cant write one, get someone to do it for you. Nobody wants to listen to you making it up as you go along, and if you umm and ahh too much, your audience will stop listening. A good script will keep you on track and it will get your message across in the shortest possible time.  Which leads me nicely into the next tip.\r
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5. Keep it short.\r
Around one minute is the ideal length for a corporate video, and most people on the web wont watch longer than that anyway. So keep it short and to the point - a bit like this tip.\r
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6. Get to the point\r
Not many people are interested in when your company was founded, or how many awards youve won over the last ten years. These things are important, but not in a short, snappy, corporate video thats designed to let your customers know what you can do for them right now.  Did I mention, we do corporate videos.\r
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7. Backup your claims\r
If you say you can do something for your audience, then back that claim up with proof. It makes your video message so much more powerful.  For instance, our message would be We can produce business videos. And the proof? Well, youre watching one now.\r
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8. Location, location, location.\r
Its usually best to stick to a single location for your videoing. This will ensure continuity between the different sections when theyre edited together.\r
Bear in mind that if you decide to work outdoors you really are at the mercy of the weather.\r
If you decide to do the filming in your own office environment then thats absolutely fine, but you have to be aware that there can be distrions - see what I mean!\r
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9. Engage with your audience\r
Not everyone is comfortable talking directly to a camera. It can be a little intimidating if youve not done this kind of work before. So dont worry, you can use whats called the imaginary friend technique: Simply imagine youre talking to a friend whos just to the side of the camera. Its a lot easier for people who havent done video work before but will still get your message across. Another alternative is to include two people in your video. You can write the script so its almost like an interviewer and theyre chatting to each other about your product or service. \r
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10. The Proposition\r
End your video with a proposition, or call to ion.  Youve put all this effort into getting your message across. Now, you need to tell the audience what youd like them to do. You dont have to tell them directly yourself. You can put the information in the end credits, together with your cont information. Maybe something like this.\r
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