WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN WE FILM A VIDEO IN YOUR OFFICE

When preparing to film your corporate video, your physical office space will probably be your number one choice. We get it. Filming in your own office is very convenient and gives that home-field-advantage feeling. But there are some things to consider before locking it down.

1. FOOTPRINT OF VIDEO PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

High quality video production requires a wide variety of camera, lighting, and audio equipment. Even with a streamlined process, equipment load in, staging, and setup takes time (and sometimes more space than clients expect).

Here’s a fun way to see the kind of video production equipment we’re talking about:

If you want us to stay as compact and light as possible, we can discuss further with you how to ensure we can still achieve the vision of the project while minimizing the footprint.

2. SOUND GOOD?

Sound quality is critical to getting your message across in a corporate video. During our location scout of your office space, we will assess the audio environment. However, if you already know that your location is near active train tracks or adjacent to the practice space of a heavy metal band, audio recording may be problematic.

Even normal, everyday office chit-chat can interfere with clean audio recording. Depending on where we setup our interview recordings, we will ask employees in that area to keep quiet when the cameras are rolling. If this is not possible in your office space, that is also problematic.

3. DO YOU HAVE THAT B-ROLL?

In most videos we produce at 321Blink, footage of the participants speaking is the backbone of the video. The “A”-roll if you will. The footage that we cut away to that supports what the participant is saying is then considered “B”-roll. B-roll is often times more visually interesting than a talking head-style interview and is the definition of “show don’t tell”.

If we film your corporate video in your office, what B-roll options will we have? If your office hustles and bustles with colorful collaborative activity or visually hypnotizing machine automation, we will have a lot of opportunities for B-roll. Don’t worry though, we’re skilled at turning even mundane office actions into visually impactful video.

4. PEOPLE’S SCHEDULES

It’s important to consider the schedules of the people 321Blink will interview. Are all the necessary participants available on the same day of filming? If not, we’ll need to return to the location a second day, increasing the budget (and time of production).

Do the participants have flexible schedules? A number of factors can impact a production schedule. We try to provide a 45-minute window to complete the on-camera interviews, but if the participants are prepared to shift their schedules 15-minutes earlier or later, that can be very helpful.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

• Is your space big enough for all of our video production equipment?
• Are there obvious sound issues?
• Does your office space have visually interesting opportunities for B-roll?
• Are the schedules of your company’s employees flexible?
• If any of these questions give you reservations about the film-ability of your office, let us know. Don’t worry, there are creative ways to either make your space work (i.e. minimize our footprint, record interview audio as voice over off-site, use stills for B-roll) or other options like renting studio space. Addressing location concerns in pre-production leads to better results in post-production.