MSB Executive’s filming day was long in the planning. We had decided late last year to video the team talking about our work. We felt this would be an excellent way to showcase our special combination of expertise and passion.

With the possibility of shooting outdoors, we wanted to maximise our chances of good light. So we settled on a date in July, eight months ahead. Setting a date so far in advance would also give us plenty of time to prepare. Although we are communications experts, with a wealth of performing experience – as actors, storytellers and public speakers – we knew it would be foolish to think we could wing it. After all, we advise our clients to invest time and thought in careful preparation for their videos. Now was time to follow our own advice.

Planning, Practice and Prep

First we asked ourselves what the purpose of the video was. Who would watch it? What would they want or need to know about MSB Executive? What impression of ourselves did we want to give them? We used our answers to create a list of topics and themes, which we then arranged into a rough structure.

Next we decided who would say which bit. With our chunks assigned to us, we all went away to write a rough script.

Around this time we had our first meeting with our excellent videographer, Dan Sherratt. We chose half a dozen locations around our office building. We agreed on a punchy style, with snappy contributions from each team member and frequent cutaways.

With the scripts drafted, we got together to practise and share feedback. As we read aloud, we found the clunky bits and helped one another to tweak and tinker. We wanted to speak naturally and concisely.

In the build-up to the day, Nicola drew up a detailed shooting schedule. Thanks to the plan, which Dan approved, we all knew exactly where we would be, at what time, filming what.

The Big Day

On the day itself, we arrived early, got straight to work, and apart from a break for lunch, worked non-stop. As we each filmed our individual chunks, we had another team member in the room to offer encouragement and feedback. We were grateful for Dan’s experience and valuable guidance.

Our schedule included plenty of B-roll (mainly footage of us in and around the office working, brainstorming or just chatting). We found time to take team headshots. Steven even squeezed in an instructional video on breathing!

Top Tips

By the end of the day, we had no doubt we’d earned our celebratory team drinks. We felt it couldn’t have gone better – let’s hope the results prove us right. While we wait for the first edit to come back from Dan, here are our top tips to make your filming day run as efficiently as ours did:

1. When deciding what to include in your film, have your audience foremost in your minds.
2. Practise aloud, as a team, and if possible, in the filming location.
3. On the day, appoint someone to ‘look after’ the presenters and help you to be at your best.
4. Decide what B-roll (general/cutaway footage) you want and include plenty of time to shoot it.

Actually, our number 1 top tip for any of our clients considering shooting some video would be to give us a call! We can help you plan your filming, we can set up and run the shoot for you, and we offer plenty of support on excellent communication to camera.

Watch this space: when our videos are ready, you’ll be the first to hear.