Whether you are relaying your brand values to 500 members of your LinkedIn network or describing a new business development to 10,000 employees, an engaging video can grip large audiences and leave a lasting impression on their mind.
Because of this, Video has become a popular tool among some, if not all, corporate organisations. With this rise in popularity, however, a formulaic genre has also risen: The Corporate Video. Unfortunately, Corporate Videos are often boring. Generic music, accompanied by a barrage of corporate buzzwords and complex infographics will have your viewers quickly fumbling to close the video.
It doesn’t have to be this way. In this short article, I will cover my tips for avoiding making Corporate Videos ‘boring’.
Tip 1: Think beyond the PowerPoint.
Every second of your video is a crucial storytelling opportunity, so, starting your video with a sluggish, 5 second fade to your brand logo wastes precious real estate and risks boring your viewer immediately. Better to use every second creatively; you might show an actor performing an action that represents your brand values or a dazzling 2D animation using your brand colours.
You can show your official branding and the end of the video once you have delivered your key messages.
You might also feel the urge to dictate the narrative of the video by inserting a PowerPoint style screen with a title, between scenes of action. This slows down your video considerably and is boring. Instead, you could use an impressive stock drone shot with words fading in, keeping your viewer interested and maintaining the pace of the action with footage behind the words.
Tip 2: Don’t overcrowd and over-explain.
Filmmaking is a subtle art. You have several ways of delivering your message in the form of music, movement, colour, tempo, language, and graphics. However, this range of choice carries the risk of overwhelming the senses.
Too often we take the viewer’s intelligence for granted and choose to deliver our message bluntly and in an obvious manner, as we fear they might not fully grasp our message. Take for instance, a scene where we have shown an employee brightening someone’s day.
A well-directed and filmed scene will convey this message, however, an overzealous producer might be tempted to crowd the frame with supporting text graphics and throw in a voice over just for good measure. Really all this does is waste production time and take the subtle power of suggestion out of the equation.
Tip 3: Brand guidelines, not brand shackles.
While preserving the integrity and consistency of your organisation’s brand is crucial, it’s important to have a degree of flexibility with the brand rules and give the artists working on your project some creative room to breathe. The beauty of filmmaking is that is it a collaborative process made up of many elements and therefore presents an opportunity to display messages in a unique and rich way.
Too much uniformity could create a line of carbon copy videos on your feed, leaving your followers feeling like they are experiencing déjà vu. Try to create something original within the confines of your brand and push the boundaries so that your video stands out from the rest.
Tip 4: Don’t use corporate music.
You’re beginning your project and you head over to a stock music library and type corporate music. You listen and you’ve heard it a million times before. You can almost hear the jargon that goes with the generic, upbeat melody. Sure, it’s a safe bet and most corporate videos use similar tracks, but why blend in with the crowd?
It’s important to inject your personality into your creative project, so pick a song that means something to you and is something that you enjoy listening to. Nonetheless, do retain a degree of neutrality, as music taste can be very subjective. Death Metal may be a step too far for your corporate explainer video but an upbeat track with a touch of Salsa influence may get the viewers foot tapping and entice them to watch on. Get in touch with us today.
Blog Co-Authored By: Tom De Regibus, Senior Video Producer at MDA Training