Lights! Camera! Action! Secrets of Creating a Killer Corporate Video

"Let's make movies!" exclaims fictional stuntwoman Rayleen Gibson, a character played by Tracey Ullman in the award winning HBO comedy series "Tracey Takes On" carried on cable television several years ago. It was Rayleen's signature parting-shot signoff line. The exaggerated way she barked it -- similar to a ship's captain to the crew -- added to the show's humor. If a vision of "Let's make movies!" is flashing on the silver screen of your mind, this article may be just the ticket to get you into a front row seat at the show.

There are lots of uses for corporate video. Increasingly popular are video news releases announcing a new or improved product. Many companies have found value in "how-to" instructional videos aimed at consumers. There are infomercials and testimonials continue to be one of the absolute best forms of advertising. Videos of a few happy customers praising your company could work magic for your marketing efforts. And you wouldn't necessarily need to buy any broadcast time because all this -- and more -- can be loaded on your company's web site.

Do your new employees feel welcome? In mid-size and larger organizations, it's often difficult for a busy CEO to personally greet each new employee with a handshake. Until the CEO can schedule face time with a new recruit, a welcoming message from the "top dog" on DVD may work wonders. Into the narrative the boss can weave words about the company's mission statement, relate a brief history of the firm, communicate a vision of its future, and explain how the organization expects each employee to treat its customers. If you opt for a hard copy, the recruit can take a DVD home and share it with family members. Or the boss' full motion message can be placed on your corporate web site.

Then there's the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration -- commonly known as OSHA. Its web site says, "Nearly every working man and woman in the nation comes under OSHA's jurisdiction (with some exceptions such as miners, transportation workers, many public employees, and the self-employed). OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health." The statement is a shining example of bureaucracy in full bloom. But write off its real meaning at your own peril! When these folks walk into your office flashing their badges, rest assured the results will be no picnic! Customized videos can be used as a tool to aid your company in its efforts to comply with OSHA standards. Videos can be utilized during new employee orientation and for on-going or "refresher" training of seasoned personnel. And as I've said before, they can be part of your company's web site.

In today's fast moving culture, video may indeed be the most effective method to communicate ideas. For years it has worked well for the folks on Madison Avenue where big advertisers and broadcast and cable networks meet. People like to watch. Though movie theater attendance has been steadily declining -- perhaps due in part to the growing popularity of the "third screen" (the Internet) -- we're still able to get our movie fix via DVD. Pundits say the Internet is about to change that too, claiming traditional television sets will soon be replaced by super-duper computers that will download program content directly from servers. But regardless of the device -- from small screens on cell phones to 60 inch home theaters -- the communication mode most likely to influence us will continue to be visual. Nearly every person alive today has grown up in the heyday of mass media marketing. We're all consumers of advertising -- much of it on television. This probably won't change. But the TV folks have taken note that the Internet is no longer a faint whistle heard blowing in the distance. They realize it now has become a large, lumbering freight train -- headed right into town -- bent on wreaking havoc to their bottom line. And they known it's on track because they can feel the ground shaking. I'll discuss more about the Internet and high technology later. Considering these facts, I hope you're now "sold" on the advantages of corporate video!

With recent advances in technology -- relatively inexpensive digital video recorders, computer software and hardware -- it would seem that movie making for the masses is "an idea whose time has come." Well, yes... and no. Indeed, top notch consumer hardware and software is available. Just ask any teenager who aspires to become the next Steven Spielberg! But the successful and convincing production of a corporate video requires an element not found in a collection of wires, chips, lights, lenses, hard drives, LCD monitors, keyboards or other electronic gadgetry. That element is intellectual skill -- and the expertise required to tell a story in a unique way. Because this skill is a learned trait, most writers don't have it. Let me explain.

Keep in mind, Hollywood movies and most prime time television shows are designed to entertain. Script writers ply their trade with entertainment in mind. Their story lines rely upon aspects of conflict and drama as "hooks" to get audiences emotionally involved. Because you psychologically identify with the good guys, you're "in their corner," you root for them. When watching a comedy, you laugh at the "nutty guy" because in real life you know someone who's almost exactly like him -- psychologically you to tend to identify with the character. You're hooked. With comedians and talk show hosts, you generally either love them or hate them -- depending upon how close their humor content or world view matches your own. As in the other examples, you're prone to identify with the performer. With corporate video, writing objectives are different from those of entertainment. Though a good corporate piece needs to contain elements of entertainment -- after all, we don't want viewers to fall asleep! -- Its primary purpose is to enlighten, or to teach, or to inform. Thus, when telling a story in the corporate arena, the writer and producer need to have a working knowledge of how adults learn. The entire corporate video production is built and scripted using this pedagogy.

For example, most adults are competency-based learners. They want to learn a skill or acquire knowledge that can be quickly applied to their immediate circumstances. Work-related situations present a more appropriate framework than academic or theoretical approaches. In other words, the astute writer or producer will employ active demonstrations using full motion video, rather than showing a talking head communicating abstract theory -- or, worse yet -- by displaying numerous lines of text on the screen.

Talking heads or lots of text signal a certain subconscious response in contemporary viewers. The message is "go to sleep!" And that is not part of making a Killer Corporate Video, but is more likely the norm. Preventing it is the subject of part 2 of this article.