Office Video Tips and Tricks: After 400 Videos, This is What We Have Learned

For months I’ve been meaning to capture what it takes to make an office video. So far, at name.com we have three types:

1. small funny
2. tutorial
3. massive funny

I would throw the word “attempt” in there but don’t want to at all detract from the talent we have in this building. If something falls flat, it’s often because it’s a crappy concept. Usually, the bigger and more complicated the more disastrous. So we’re often shooting for simple and with easy execution. The most complex we get is using the green screen and a shotgun microphone. And to be honest, using the green screen makes so many crazy ideas much more attainable and it takes so little time that you might as well try it. Here are the tools we used for the below critically acclaimed (our staff really likes it) spot:

• Sennheiser shotgun mic
• second hand nikon camera
• green screen
• lights
• clip from istockphoto
• final cut pro 7

I should add YouTube in there. I’m a self-taught Final Cutter and you really can find a tutorial for everything on YouTube. You just have to get over the fact that it’s often a savvy seven year old telling you what to do.

In another example, all we had was our camera. We used only the camera’s mic and our amazing pool of talent. Before I get to the example, let me tangent a bit out talent and audio.

Audio – it will kill you and your dreams. You can get great video with an iPhone, but make sure your room is quiet and your people are projecting. Otherwise you will be sorely disappointed. We work in an audio nightmare–a chunk carved out of a concrete parking garage with no insulation and an HVAC system rejected by the Titanic. It’s really loud in here but have been able to overcome by getting people to be louder, using our lav mic, shotgun mic and often resorting to using software like Soundsoap, Soundtrack Pro, and Adobe Premier to remove unwanted sound. But you don’t need to be that pro. Any expert would tell you to get it right during the production, not hunched over a computer toggling an EQ to fix it.

Talent – There are so many awesome advantages to using your coworkers. When I first got here I was a little timid in pulling a busy support specialist away from his or her work, but then I realized they were thrilled to be untethered from their desk. And that enthusiasm shows in every video. When using your company staff in videos, you:

• build morale
• show clients and potential clients that you are a great place to work
• are able to share with the world your expertise
• give everyone an opportunity to drink.
• win/win/win/win.

So here’s a simple shoot that involved a trip to Goodwill, the one quiet room in our office and some talent more than happy to contribute.

Here’s another simple shoot using the camera, tripod and lav mic that establishes a genuine affection for caring.

And using screenflow, an awesome screen capture software, we share our expertise with the web.

This one was used with the nifty online tool called “Sparkol.”

And now the bigger shoots. It comes down to ONE THING: preparation. And this is easy when you remember that people want to help, but you just have to show them that their time is not spent in vain.

So several weeks out, I sent out some all-company emails asking people their ideas of the stereotypes of Facebook. People were happy to respond, some venting quite profusely.

Preparation – And from there I built a rapport by going desk to desk and seeing how people wanted to be involved (the former producer in me never asks “if”). And then:

• get the damn thing on the calendar
• drill it into soul of the routine
• send funny self-deprecating reminders
• make it a free-pizza-and-beer hodown so people have a reason to be interested and to bring family and friends.

Don’t make your reminders pointless–people are busy and don’t have time for inanities–but use the emails as an opportunity to share each person’s contribution. This also forces you to get more organized–to choreograph, plan props and discover whether it’s impossible or not. And then, in preparation for the video below, Sean Baxter the Video Guy and I walked around the room (with office chairs and empty kegs as our stand-ins) trying to figure out how to get everybody in the shot.

As the adage goes, people do business with those they know and trust. Video lets people into your office so you can show off your talented coworkers and employees. Despite 72 hours of video uploaded to youtube EVERY MINTUE, video is just taking off as an important business tool.

As you go you’ll learn and get more involved. Shoots will take less time. Prepare.

Oh, most important rule: Have fun.