Most of the difference between a corporate video that feels polished and one that feels awkward is decided in the week before the shoot — not on the day. Whether you are filming executive interviews, a facility tour, or customer testimonials, this checklist will save you time, money, and reshoots.
Start With a One-Page Brief
Before you call a production company, write one page answering five questions: What is the video for? Who is watching? What single message should they remember? Where will it live — website, social media, trade show, internal training? And roughly how long should it be? This brief becomes the foundation for the quote, the shoot plan, and the edit. Be honest about budget limits and hard deadlines — a good studio designs the production around them rather than discovering them mid-shoot. If you admire specific videos, share the links; “like this, but for our company” is genuinely useful direction.
Choose Your Interviewees Like a Casting Director
The best on-camera spokespeople are rarely the most senior people — they are the clearest communicators. Look for people who speak in complete, plain sentences and genuinely care about the topic. Brief each interviewee a week ahead: share the questions so there are no surprises, but ask them not to memorise answers — memorised lines sound robotic. On the day, the interviewer holds a relaxed conversation with them; the best soundbites come from people who forget the camera is there. Schedule interviews with buffer time between them, and warn interviewees that setup takes longer than the interview itself.
Prepare the Location Before the Crew Arrives
Walk your location with a critical eye a few days beforehand. Choose the quietest rooms for interviews — air conditioning hum, hallway chatter, and ringing phones all end up on the recording. Tidy ruthlessly: remove clutter, personal photos, whiteboards with confidential notes, and anything you would not want a client to see. Add subtle branding — a logo wall, product displays, your team at work in the background. Confirm practicalities: crew parking and gear loading, which entrance to use, who greets them, whether the building needs advance notice. If filming staff at work, tell them in advance so nobody is surprised by a camera.
Coach Your Team on Wardrobe and Presence
Share these guidelines with everyone appearing on camera: solid, medium-toned colours work best; avoid thin stripes, tight checks, and herringbone, which shimmer on video; skip large logos unless it is your own brand; avoid all-white or all-black outfits, which are hard to expose correctly. Layers — a blazer over a shirt — add visual depth. Keep jewellery small and makeup light; a little powder to reduce shine is enough. Remind interviewees to look at the interviewer, not the lens (unless a direct-to-camera piece is planned), and to pause before answering so the editor gets clean handles on each soundbite.
Agree on the Review Process Up Front
More corporate videos die in endless revisions than in bad shoots. Before production begins, agree on three things: who gives feedback (ideally one person consolidating everyone’s notes, not five people sending contradictory emails), how many revision rounds are included, and who gives final approval. Review cuts on a proper screen with sound on, and give time-stamped, specific notes — “at 0:42, swap in the warehouse footage” beats “it doesn’t feel dynamic.” Set a feedback deadline per round; videos that sit unreviewed for weeks lose momentum and cost more.