Presenter Led Video
The purpose of your Presenter led video or talking head video is to convey your message; and increase brand awareness, click-throughs and sales. Of course, a large part of the process is getting the narrative right – but if your technical production isn’t top-notch too, you won’t be taken seriously.
Here’s the three elements you must get right, if you want your message to resonate:
3 Key Technical Elements
• Lighting. Lighting is easy to control, and it has huge impact on the final results. Without correct lighting, video content can look flat, dull and unprofessional. In short, it will look like an amateur job – not the results you were going for! On the day of production, allow yourself time to set up lighting appropriately.
• Sound. Whatever you do, don’t rely on your camera mic to record sound – unless you want your business video to sound distinctly ‘homemade’! Professional sound equipment will minimise the impact of external noise (e.g. traffic, the wind, dogs barking etc.) and give clarity to your vocals. Capturing clear audio can be tricky – but by combining basic techniques with online tools, you can stop your message getting lost in a sea of distortion.
• Editing. You might think that, if you’ve got a script, you won’t need to edit. However, inevitably presenters can be nervous, plus you might need to cut certain sections out to improve overall quality. Not sure what bits to keep in, and what to lose? Here’s a key thought to keep in mind – the best corporate videos are the ones that convey your message in the shortest space of time. Cut the waffle, focus on the great stuff instead.
Professional Video Production
That’s just a brief summary of the key technical elements you need to create a great business video. It’s possible to create it in-house – but generally speaking, a video production company will generate far better results.
We started using a teleprompter in two ways: full script and scrolling bullet list. I found that the presenter needs to test read out loud from the teleprompter. People tend to silent read faster, and they think the teleprompter is running too slowly. Then, when they go live, they end up speed talking. We have an iPad with reflector setup that works really well as long as you take care of this issue.
Excellent advice and we’ll worth taking the time to achieve.
I use a teleprompter of sorts all the time for scripted presentations. I have a tablet with a teleprompter app that I connect to a 20″ monitor. I view the tablet and the talent views the monitor. I don’t use the scrolling feature of the app, I move it myself. I have formatted the text so that each segment is in a separate paragraph (it may be just a sentence). We will then record the segment as many times as it takes to get it right then move on to the next.
The talent gets used to the process and relaxes. Some segments only need one or two takes. With two cameras and separate audio I can easily edit the whole interview fairly quickly.