This is the second part in our series about making your own videos introductions for use with video interviews.  We’ve already talked about why it is so beneficial to add a video at the beginning of a video interview to help personalise the experience and improve candidate engagement.  Now we’ll move on to – preparing for making a video introduction.

Preparation is key!

Filming day will probably involve at least a handful of people, even if you are making the video yourself (see later in the series for advice on filming with your own camera and lighting if you’re on a budget).  And if you hire a film crew, you will need to be ready on the day so that you maximise your investment in their time.

To make the best use of everybody’s time on the day, ensure you make the following preparations beforehand:

Background distractions

Put some thought into where you’re going to film your video, in particular what will be in the background. It can be good to film in the workplace, assuming of course it’s safe to! If you show your offices or the working environment in the background, it can help candidates picture themsleves working for you.  A busy office backdrop can bring energy to your video, making it more engaging. However, you don’t want to distract the candidate from the speakers message, so there’s a balance to be stuck. For example, we love Gary Vaynerchuk’s videos which are filmed with people working in the background (here’s a link to his YouTube channel)

Clothes

Remember you want to show your company culture, so it’s best if people wear the type of clothes they usually would to work.  People are inclined to smarten their look up if they are going to be in a video. However, if your dress code is smart casual, or tee shirt and jeans, stick with it.

If you are using professional lighting, it can get hot under the lights so dress in something nice and cool.

Small patterns and stripes on shirts and blouses should be avoided, as they can create a jumpy effect on video.  Jewellery can also reflect light and distract the viewer, and might jangle making unwanted noise.

Very dark colours and too much white are also worth avoiding too.  Don’t shy away from bright colours, they can look great, just make sure they don’t clash with your background – see Aimee Bateman in our photo above looking fab in bright colours.

Whatever you decide to wear, bring a back-up outfit.  Just in case you have a nightmare coffee accident on the day, or realise at the last minute that staff clothes are clashing.

Hair and make-up

Hair and make-up isn’t just about wanting to look good in the video (although this is important too – if the presenter feels confident and is enjoying the experience, the video will be better).  Fly away hair and shiny skin can be a distraction you don’t want – so here are our hair and make-up tips:

Go for your everyday look, after all you are being yourself – and the natural look is best on video (rather than the theatre stage make up look), but some aspects of your make-up could be laid on slightly more than usual:

If you have some foundation that you don’t usually wear in the daytime because it’s a bit too thick – bring it with you on filming day.  Thicker foundation looks better on camera than it does in real life – same goes for mascara.

Powder is brilliant for getting rid of shininess, that includes the men too!

Make your hair look as fabulous as possible – a drab or scruffy hair day is a whole lot more noticeable on camera.  Make your hair look as sleek as possible – bring your straighteners!

Write a script in advance

Everyone is different, some people will prefer to memorise a script in advance, others prefer to ad lib and go with the flow.  Even for those who like to improvise, it is still worth writing a script to make sure you remember to mention all the points you want to include.  The more planned your script is the better, it;s easy to forget what you wanted to say once you are in front of the camera.  See our next item in the series for advice on what you should write in a script for an introduction on a video interview.

Practice using camera and lighting

Read through to the end of this series and learn how to use a camera and lighting to create a more professional feel, even if you are filming with your smart phone.

Good luck, and see the next part in this series, which gives ideas on what to include in a script for an introduction to a video interview.

The post Creating your own company video – Part 2 Preparation for making your video introduction appeared first on The Tazio Blog.