How to Direct a Corporate Video Shoot Like a Pro
Executive Summary:
Directing a corporate video shoot doesn’t require a film degree—but it does demand clarity, confidence, and a strong grasp of your brand’s message. Whether you’re working with a crew or flying solo, this guide will help you lead your shoot like a seasoned director, or simply better understand the hard work a director does
It’s a team effort, and as director, you have play a very big role in making sure you have a happy team with high morale where everyone knows what they have to do.
This learning zone guide looks at:
Okay, allez-oop, let’s go!
Step 1: Know Your Vision Inside and Out
When you direct, your job is to take the base script or synopsis and craft a productionised set of instructions for the crew so they can produce what is needed.
It’s therefore important that you know your brief and story better than anyone else.
Here’s how:
Define the purpose of the video—training, marketing, internal comms?
First step is being very clear about what job you want the film to do. Is it for an internal audience, a glossy marketing piece, or a very factual training film?
Visualize the tone, pacing, and emotional impact you want to achieve.
This is where a good director shines. You need to think about how you want to leave the person watching feeling afterwards. That will have a bearing on the tone and indeed tempo of your final film.
Create a mood board or reference clips to communicate your vision.
Once you’ve identified the above, you need to find a way to communicate that to your client, and later, team.
Creating a moodboard, with reference visuals (film stills, photos, locations) helps enormously.
Perhaps you want to film a singer doing a video and documentary in Paris and you are taken by the films midnight in Paris and Amelie Poulain. Getting some stills together can really evoke what you’re trying to achieve and help client and crew alike understand your creative vision for the project.
Whatever it is, the video needs to have a specific function. Otherwise it will serve no purpose and simply be a waste of money.
Step 2: Prep Your Shot List and Schedule
Break down the script into scenes and camera setups.
There is a real art in doing this, and the simplest sounding setup can prove to be surprisingly complicated, as you need to list everything that the viewer will see.
Include notes on framing, movement, and transitions.
You also need to be able to brief your technical team om camera setups, how you want the camera to move and how you will segue into the next scene.
NB – If you are shooting a corporate video, you still need to do a lot of work.
Everything that is said by someone needs to be backed up by visuals and portraying
Example
Someone using a computer to bring a narrator’s words to life might involve….
Words – “All it takes, is one click, and your order is sent”
Shots- to back up words
- Woman in office at laptop – wide shot – she is looking at the screen intently
- Over the shoulder shot of cursor pointing at “SEND” button
- Close up of finger clicking mouse button
- Over the shoulder shot of on screen message “Thanks! Order being processed!”
- Mid Shot of woman behind laptop, smiling
So to illustrate that one line you will need:
- an office,
- an actor,
- a laptop,
- mocked up or real screens to show the thing she clicks on and the success message
- and five different shots with these elements
Build a realistic timeline with buffer time for setup and retakes.
When you take the above example into consideration, you can probably see why scoping every line, scene, shot, location, actor and prop is quite an art.
You also need to plan in a sufficiently pessimistic manner because the one thing that can be guaranteed is that things will not go to plan.
A good director is a very useful person indeed.
Step 3: Lead the Crew with Clarity
If you have done your homework, and you’d be mad if you didn’t. You will be in a good place to do some actual directing !
Here are some key steps:
Hold a pre-shoot briefing to align everyone on goals and logistics.
And listen to people’s suggestions and feedback. Rookies often mistake crew imparting wisdom as being negative and pessimistic. This is generally not the case, as the crew will have had to do it all before and are the ones that have to make up for poor planning on the day.
Better walk things through, and where a problem is identified, to work together to find a solution. Your team will respect you for this.
Assign clear roles: camera operator, sound tech, lighting, etc.
And let the specialists do their specialisms. Listen to their suggestions and concerns. If your crew like and respect you, you will have a much happier time on the shoot.
Keep communication open and respectful—your energy sets the tone.
You might have seen those movies where the director struts about being all high and mighty and yelling at everyone.
There is nothing to stop you doing that. Although the crew will hate you and no one will do beyond the bare minimum to help you when flexibility is needed.
We have all been on shoots with a dictator for director, they are seldom very much fun for anyone concerned, including the director.
Step 4: Coach On-Camera Talent
As well as keeping your crew sweet, you have to look after the people you are going to film.
Ensure that you:
Help speakers feel comfortable and confident.
People get understandably nervous when blinded by lights with a great big camera pointed at them, and a load of strangers staring at them.
It helps to coach them before the shoot re script and questions and make sure they are comfortable on-set. At least have a warm up chat to establish a rapport with them.
Offer feedback on delivery, posture, and tone.
You need to make sure that you get all your lines delivered, so you will have to direct the person being filmed so you get exactly what your script and shot list require.
Encourage authenticity—corporate doesn’t have to mean stiff.
Once you make people relaxed, you can get some great results. A person being filmed who is comfortable being themselves will be much more engaging than a stilted or over the top performance.
Step 5: Adapt and Problem-Solve on Set
This is where a good director makes all the difference. Just because you want things to be a certain way, in no way guarantees that they will.
You need to bring your team together when the inevitable problems strike and keep them going. No space for hissy fits here.
Unless of course you want to create an appalling mood on-set.
Be ready to pivot if lighting changes or a location falls through.
As the old scout saying goes, “be prepared”. Have a plan B in case plan B doesn’t work out. A good crew can work wonders solving seemingly impossible problems. One of the main reasons you need to work hard to have their confidence and respect.
A good technician can perform production alchemy, and the best teams think on their feet.
Keep calm under pressure and focus on solutions.
Everyone expects leadership, and the buck stops with you. Berating producers or technicians is not going to make things better. In fact it may well make them much worse.
Avoid the blame game and work collaboratively with your team when the inevitable hits the fan, which it will inevitably do at some stage!
Capture extra B-roll footage for flexibility in editing.
Get extra footage as your editor will thank you for it. It means they will have more material to play with when there is a gap to fill or join to paste over.
NB – In fact, speak to your editor once you have your script and shotlist and ask them what else they’d like added. It will make for a much better film !
Conclusion & Further Reading
Directing Is About Leadership, Not Perfection.
You don’t need to be Spielberg to direct a successful corporate shoot. With preparation, empathy, and a clear creative vision, you’ll be in a good place to guide your team.
And team is really what this is all about. The best shoots are one of the purest forms of team work in action. The worst can be total self serving time wasting soul sapping melodramas.
It’s well worth getting a professional in to direct. They will have made the mistakes and taken the knocks from things that you might not have even considered.
Further reading
Directing is a profession of its own at the highest levels and much has been written about it. If this little article has got you interested, why not have a read of the below?
These are all more about movies than corporate video, but the same principles apply –
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/become-film-director-3080/
https://www.shorescripts.com/a-quick-guide-for-first-time-directors/
https://www.videomaker.com/article/c18/17042-how-to-direct-on-screen-actors/
Want to know more about Videographers or ACrew4U?
Want to learn more about Video Crew?
- How to Plan Corporate Videography That Delivers Your Brand Message
- How to Direct a Corporate Video Shoot
- How to Light, Frame, and Capture Stunning Footage
- How to Record Crystal-Clear Audio for Corporate Videos
- How to Maximize ROI from Your Corporate Video
Find even more resources at our Video Crew and Videography Learning Zone
