What Kind of Voice-Over Makes the Best Corporate Videos?
Plate Wall at Culinary Services Group Corporate Headquarters
Interviews are more time-consuming, and in some ways more difficult than having people read from a script, but we think the process makes for the best corporate videos...
We started production today on a web series for Culinary Services Group, filming interviews at their corporate headquarters in Westminster, Maryland. The interview process is demanding, requiring more of a time commitment, both in the shooting and editing. It takes exponentially more time to film an interview than to have a client read from a predetermined script, but we believe that this kind of interview yields a much more engaging voice-over narrative.
We would be willing to write a script, and do have access to professional voice-over artists. For some projects, this kind of voice-over is appropriate, just like some projects call for only music. However, many of the best corporate videos use a narrative created from the conversational tone you get in the course of an in-depth interview. This is the best way for the executives in charge of a company to express their company philosophy, and talk about how they built their business. Passion can really come through in this format, as you can see in the corporate profile we made for our Window Film Division.
Our Interview Process
When we want to form a voice-over narrative by interviewing our clients, we first sit down with them for a pre-interview. We discuss the key messages they'd like to communicate to potential customers, and we define the demographics of the people they're targeting. We recognize that our clients understand their industry far better than we do, so we use the pre-interview process to develop the best set of questions for the actual interview.
After we've sufficiently educated ourselves about our clients' industry and the key messages they're seeking to communicate, we come to their offices, shop, or headquarters, and conduct the interview. We carefully light the interview, even though our goal will be to have as little "talking head" footage as possible. As you can see in the Dulles Airport project above, we completely eliminated all talking head footage.
We engage our clients in an in-depth conversation in which we ask them what sets them apart from others in their industry? What is their company philosophy? What principles are most important to them? We explore their experience in their industry, how their company was founded, and where they see their company going in the future. We discuss the benefits and features of any product they wish to highlight. And we are sure to discuss anything we know we want to depict on camera: products, new facilities, or technical capabilities.
We go in-depth, so the process can take a few hours, but it always yields a far more engaging result than having our clients read from a script. Often, the interview format allows for more passion and sincerity than something that's been predetermined, and the client will go into unexpected territory in the course of the conversation. The process is more involved, and takes longer in both shooting and editing, but we strongly believe the end result is worth the extra work.
Corporate Videography for Online Marketing and Career Development at Culinary Services Group
Culinary Services Group is a contract food service management company serving the Healthcare Industry and Corporate Dining Services throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. We'll be creating in-depth short documentaries showcasing their new facilities for use in all of their marketing, and for in-house use. Culinary Services Group invests a lot in their personnel, and we're developing a web series for the new culinary training program they're offering their employees. This web series will compliment their training courses in food preparation, customer satisfaction, and career development.
