How to Prepare for Your Company's First Video Shoot

Your shoot day is booked. Now what? A little prep on your side is the difference between a stressful day and one where everyone, including the people on camera, walks away happy. This is the checklist we share with our clients.

Two weeks out

• Confirm the goal and the audience. Who is this for, and what should they do after watching? Everything else follows from this.
• Choose your on-camera people. Pick people who know the subject and like talking about it. Enthusiasm beats polish every time.
• Lock the location. Make sure you have permission to film, and give building management or security a heads-up.
• Gather brand assets. Logos, fonts, colors, and any photos or footage you want included.
• Send release forms. Anyone who appears on camera should sign one. We can provide a template.

The week before

• Walk the space, or send us photos and a quick phone video. We're checking windows, background noise, power outlets and room for gear.
• Reserve a quiet room for interviews. Air vents, ringing phones and hallway chatter are the enemy of clean audio.
• Give interviewees talking points, not a script. Memorized lines sound memorized. Bullet points sound like a real person.
• Build a shot list together. Your team at work, your product, your space, your signage, your customers. If you want to see it, write it down.
• Set the schedule. Plan 30 to 45 minutes per interview, including setup changes. B-roll always takes longer than people expect.

What to wear on camera

• Solid, medium tones look best: blues, greens, earth tones.
• Skip thin stripes, small checks and busy patterns. They can shimmer on camera.
• Bright white and pure black are harder to expose well. Mid tones flatter skin.
• Bring a backup outfit, and wear something you actually feel good in.
• Leave noisy jewelry at home. A lav mic picks up every clink.

Shoot day

• Have one point of contact on site who can make decisions and open doors, literally.
• Clear the frame. Tidy desks, hide cables, and turn screens off or to something on-brand.
• Pause the noise. Silence phones and reschedule deliveries, alarm tests or landscaping if you can.
• Feed people. Seriously. A fed crew and fed interviewees do better work.
• Relax. Retakes are normal and nobody sees the outtakes. Our job is to make you look good.

After the shoot

When the first cut arrives, pick one decision maker and send one combined round of feedback instead of separate notes from five people. And tell us everywhere the video is headed (website, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, a trade show screen) so we deliver the right sizes the first time.

Book a discovery call and tell us what you have in mind. We'll come back with a plan that fits.