Much like a Google Review, a testimonial video can bypass any apprehension your clients might have about engaging with your brand. They do this for a number of reasons.
How to Use a Teleprompter For Video Production
What are TelePrompTers
A teleprompter allows someone the ability to read text that is delayed right in front of a camera lens. This gives the appearance of the presenter having memorized all of their lines while speaking directly into the camera. It is physically made up of a piece of glass with a special reflective coating that allows the camera to see through it while reflecting any words underneath it towards its subject.
When to use a TelePrompTer
A teleprompter allows the presenter to deliver lines from a script without the need to memorize them. It is a good idea to use one when the presenter is not a good speaker, has no on-camera experience, and needs to memorize a script or lines of content. It can also be beneficial for those who don’t have time to memorize an entire script or when you need to clearly deliver technical information. We have a longer blog post you can read here that goes into much more detail about this.
Using a teleprompter while the presenter looks off camera.
Ok so you know when to use it but how do you use it?
Practice Makes Perfect
Just because you are going to be reading your script off of a telepromter does not alleviate you of any pressure to practice practice practice! We have had to spend hours redoing take after take because a client was having difficulty reading the script they wrote. This was because they did not listen to us when we told them they would need to practice reading their script aloud until it came off naturally.
When you practice reading your script and have achieved sounding natural then you are done!
Typically the presenter does not write the script so the wording may be odd to them. When practicing the script this a good time to make any changes that will make if feel more natural to you.
Body Language is Key
Your body language conveys almost as much meaning as your words do. You will need to be able to focus on smiling, inflection, hand movement, and overall body language during filming all while being surrounded by lights, cameras, crew and anyone from your staff that is on set. This will be impossible for some if they are not familiar and comfortable with their script. But practicing before we film will make this easy and you can do it!
The Telepromter
We will be able to adjust teleprompter scroll speed to match your speaking and change the font to be a comfortable size.
Dont stress!
At the end of the day we just want you to feel comfortable on set and that will happen best if you prepare. On average we do around 3-5 read throughs of any script. No one is perfect and you will mess-up which is expected.
If you have any questions or need help planning your corporate or non-profit video production give us a call!
Our Post Production Process
I have a standard three revision process that is followed for every project. This includes a Narrative Draft, Revision 1, and Revision 2 and then Final Delivery. I have never had to charge extra for going beyond this three revision process so believe me when I say it works!
The first draft will be a Narrative Draft which will help us all agree on the layout of the story of the film or the messaging before we dive into the more creative items like adding b-roll and music. I usually place b-roll and add music to the Narrative Draft but it typically isn’t synced with the video since we haven’t agreed on the layout for the narrative yet.
Real quick, you might be asking what is B-roll. B-roll is secondary footage, often used as cutaway footage, to provide context and visual interest to help tell your story. Below are a few examples of b-roll from a testimonial project for 2nd MD.
Then we move to Revision 1 which addresses any other narrative issues and this is where I start placing b-roll and music more accurately.
Revision 2 typically does not include any changes to the narrative and this is where we start to finalize the video with color grading, audio leveling and finalizing any motion graphics (logo animations, lower thirds). If there are any other very minor changes after this then point I typically can do them for no additional charge. The only time I charge extra for an additional revision is if a narrative change is made after Revision 2.
One thing to note is that if we have done our proper preproduction then we should be able to nail the narrative of the video very quickly and not need Revision 2 to keep editing the narrative.
Final Delivery is when your video is delivered to you via Vimeo or Google Drive. I typically allow for very minor edits at this time if there is something in the video I missed but editing is typically completed at this point. I do allow for revisions beyond final delivery at an hourly rate.
We generally only allow 48 business hours and at most one week to receive feedback per revision before we consider it approved and signed off by the client. We then move on to the next edit. This is to keep the final delivery date on schedule as well as keep a project from spanning months, which in the end will have negative outcomes for both parties. We are flexible and if more time is required we must receive written notice of this. We consider a project closed out and approved by the client if 3 months span without communication.
We use Vimeo to host all of the videos and use their review page. Please add all of the comments to the Vimeo Review page that I will send you a link to. This allows for everyone involved in the revision process from your team to see the comments and for you to place comments directly on the video at the timecode where the change needs to be made. (see examples above and below)
After final approval of the videos we deliver them through Vimeo and Google Drive where they can be dowloaded.
RAW footage is never delivered unless specially scoped in a project. Please ask us more about this if you are wanting the RAW files at the end of the project.
Houston Oil and Gas Drone Video and Photo
The DJI Inspire 2
A few months ago we purchased the DJI Inspire 2 Drone with the DNG RAW and Proress License for our video production company. It has blown away our expectations with image quality. We have been filming for BakerRipley in Houston and shooting in 6K RAW. The image is outstanding.
