True/False Friday: Those polka dots look great on you!

OK, this one’s true, certainly, but it’s also false. That is, they may look great in person and in the mirror, but they don’t look good on camera. Polka dots, stripes, checks, and outlandish colors are all on our video shooting day “don’ts” list. While you should definitely exude a confident attitude, please leave the extremely cool tie at home.

Here’s your handy-dandy checklist of dos and don’ts for the day of a video shoot, which we’ll go over with you and help you achieve when you hire us for video production:

DO have a schedule for the interviewees and work with your interviewees to adhere to it. Shoot time and your budget are precious. You want to maximize the material you are able to film.

DON’T forget to think about sound. A room where there’s ambient noise such as dishes banging or glasses clinking is the wrong place to have an interview shoot. While it’s great, and very practical, to schedule a video shoot when you have another reason to gather people together (and ambient sound is great for b-roll!), take the time to secure a private and quiet spot for the interviews.

DO have a vision for incorporating organizational branding into your video.  Organization and sponsor logos look great in videos, so have them ready in high-resolution formats.

DON’T ask too many people to sit for an interview. Most online video is short. It’s not a good use of time to interview excess people, and it can be a political issue when someone who gave an interview ends up on the cutting room floor.

DO include the people you serve. Whether the people grateful for your organization are “customers” or “beneficiaries,” video is most compelling when it includes these people.

And finally, DON’T wear stripes, checks, polka dots, or highly contrasting colors. We love to see your fashion adventurousness, but it’s best to tone it down when the cameras are rolling.

A video shoot can be a lot of fun for everyone involved! That’s part of the reason we love working with video. Following our dos and don’ts makes it a lot easier to have fun and have your video turn out great.

If MiniMatters can help you use this tip or serve your other video needs, we’d love to talk with you at 301-339-0339 or via email at videos@minimatters.com.