When you are videoing someone giving a testimonial about a product or service they received - they have to be relaxed to be genuine - right? So why do some video companies make filming such a nervous business.
Just imagine what it might be like - The date is set for the filming and your advised that a full film production unit will do the work. They are very professional with all the latest gizmos, cameras, trolleys and dollys. You start thinking about what you might say and you are given a guide of what to say, a mini script if you like - nerve level at Defcon 3.
Then the day arrives and you are guided to the filming location. You are fixed up with a microphone, bright lights are set up around you and you start to feel a bit nervous, quite a few people are looking at you - nerve level at Defcon 2.
Filming begins. You are off tripping up on a few words which you get over easily as the camera a rolls. You are asked questions to help you give the required response. OOOps the words don't come out quite as you expected, start again. You begin to clam up and feel very uncomfortable - nerve level at Defcon 1.
It's all over and a few days later you see yourself - eeeek I didn't know I looked like that or whoopee I do look lovely. Usually not the latter but that's ok everyone is a bit critical about what they look like. Some charming works well.
OK a bit of a fun story but I base it on my own experiences and I have learnt from them. So I am very keen to make the videoing that I do an enjoyable and less hectic experience for testimonial givers.
On the subject of scripts. One sure fire way of making people clam up in front of the camera is to use a script. So dump it. You don't need them for testimonials. I remember being in this situation - I had spent a couple of hours rehearsing and then I messed up big time on the day, my voice was all over the place, I couldn't remember my lines and I was not talking from the heart at all, it looked so contrived. So when I dumped the script I let it all come out in my way, it was terrific.
I think videographers need to know the impact of their behaviours on others, in other words it's ok to have a brilliant filming technician but if they cannot make people relax they will never get that 'from the heart' feel to the video.
So the key is about making testimonial givers chill out, there is the challenge. A magic mushroom soup perhaps? A good bedside manner?
Any ideas?
I hope you are having a great day!
Cheers
Nick
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