Been asked to film corporate video and need help with interview questions

T

trw_mavrik

Active member
Hi Guys

The company that my wife works for has asked me to produce a 3 minute marketing video for them and I was wondering if you guys had a set list if questions that you ask interviewees?

I've got some ideas but they feel kind of weak.

Many thanks

T
 
That would entirely depend on the purpose of the video. Who are they and what is the key message they are wanting the viewer to take away?
 
Its just a sales video for a small company. The sort with assorted footage cut over the top of a talking head. :)
 
i usually am producing and cutting pre-release featurette promos for movies, but I think many of the same principles apply. this process starts with pitching the proposed content of the piece so you and the client are on the same page for what it will convey. once you have that, you have some direction for the type of questions that need to be asked. but generally speaking some questions that can easily be molded to the intent of your video would be...

1. How did the idea for BLANK emerge?
2. Walk us through this particular aspect of BLANK.
3. What do you hope people get out of BLANK?

Basic storytelling applies. You're looking for the narrative, which is why defining it in a pitch is so important. you want to find out how a thing came to be, the details of the journey, what was or is at stake, and what the rewards are/could be.
 
When someone is demonstrating a process:

What are you doing?
What are you going to do next?

CEO:

What differentiates your company from your competitors?
What is your strategic vision for your company?
How did your company get its start?
 
It's kind of mundane, but I always like to start each interview with some basic demographic/resume type questions. These rarely make it into the finished piece, but get people relaxed and talking, and help provide some context while editing:

What is your name?
Where did you grow up?
Where did you go to school?
What brought you to this place/company?

- Greg
 
Ahhhhhh - nobody's hit this correctly.

You have to learn their business a bit. What do they do, what problem do they solve, why choose them over the competition. Find what sets them apart. I try to never, ever show up and do a video - I try to come out, take a tour, meet the people you'll shoot, ask them about the biz, do they like/love it, what's their favorite part. get an understanding for what they do.

Viewers like STORIES - even in a corporate vid, find some linear narrative thread, even if it's slight. It's different for every business and the delivery is different for every subject.

What, in this edit, would make someone consider this company (actually, it's "what makes this company the only sensible choice" - even if they're not).

Most businesses don't sell what they actually sell - they sell profitability (in B2B situations, it's almost always profitability for their clients). Consumer businesses may sell fun, or self-esteem (via fashion, lifestyle, weight loss, health). They sell happiness, freedom from worry, or better financial lifestyles (via saving $$). FIND THE ESSENCE of what they sell and ALIGN IT WITH THE NUTS AND BOLTS of what they sell.

This can be hard to do and some people really have a knack for it. I've done literally dozens of interviews where the PR person or whatever asks the questions, and they ask me "anything else??" and I ask three questions that end up being 90% of the edit and the PR person says "holy sh*t, how did you do that??"

Example - master planned community, nice place, acreage lots, open space near the big city. Retired dallas Cowboy bought a home and they got an interview. Bla, bla, bla - but really articulate guy who obviously loves his family. "Anything else" chirps the PR girl? "yeah - tell me what the concept of HOME means to you".

We got a few minutes of how being in the NFL leaves you traveling and tired and rootless, and now he's in this amazing place where his kids can run free and play, etc etc… EMOTIONAL and he hit ALL the marketing buttons as far as details. But it was from the heart, not from a bullet-list of things to cover. It was, like, the whole damn interview in ONE QUESTION.

ALSO - get the subject to answer in context - "what's it like out today" isn't answered "nice" - it's answered "today it's nice out". So you don't need the questions in the edit to give the answers context. Remind them this can be hard to do, remind them to take a pause & breath before answering, and tell them if you say "CONTEXT" it means they need to take a breath and start over - say that with a smile. Use hand and facial gestures to get them to PAUSE before they speak. It's tough to edit when their answers overlap your questions. Tell them that being interviewed is like, worse than going to the dentist and you'll help them look great. Be gentle in direction and effusive with praise. Don't be afraid to do retakes - when someone does a rambly answer with nuggests of gold, say "that was awesome, butcould we get that agin, but just focus on "bla bla bla" and say, word for word, what you want them to say - nine times out of ten they'll repeat what you said or at least paraphrase it.

You can take a nuts and bolts approach as people above suggest ("where were you born" may loosen folks up but it won't be in your edit) or you can try to think like the audience and figure out what YOU - as a consumer or lead or potential client - wants to hear and needs to see to give this business more attention.

Also, corporate video is one step to getting a lead to pick up the phone - if they see a passionate, intelligent spokesperson, I believe they feel the relationship has started in a sense - they know who they're dealing with and it's easier to take the steps that allow a stranger into your personal space - this is HUGE for B2B lead gen - try to show intelligence and passion for the product/service.
 
Last edited:
doubledark said:
Michael; one of the most informative replies I've read on this forum.
Click to expand...

Ha, thanks! High praise indeed… but I've been doing this for a while, and I'm a marketing guy who can make videos, not a videographer.

You really, really have to think like the client's market to do this stuff well. Talk to their sales staff, ask who their main competitors are and research those guys. Do this right once and you have a client for life.
 
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