How to Prepare for a Video Shoot for Your Business
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a chance that you have a shoot day planned with us, and its’s probably almost here! Awesome! Let’s make sure that you’re feeling really confident and prepared.
For many of our clients, their video shoot with us is their first one ever. And even if it’s not, we want to make sure that you’re feeling super prepared by our standards. We know that we’ve probably done quite a bit of creative collaboration with you thus far, but the following should help you shake any pre-shoot jitters that you may still have!
When it comes to video production with Bunker Hill Media, we always say that most of the work is done in pre-production . By the time your shoot day arrives, all of the creative heavy lifting — like brainstorming ideas and defining deliverables — has already been done. What’s left is ensuring that you’re fully prepared to step into the spotlight yourself, or have your product shine, with confidence.
This guide will help you get ready in the days leading up to your video shoot, ensuring that you, your team, and your space are set up for success.
1. Be Prepared for the Content You Want to Create
By now, we’ve had several meetings to outline the creative vision for your project. Whether it’s a dreamy, music-driven montage featuring a product or a story-driven interview, knowing exactly what you want to say or show is crucial. Here’s how to prepare for the type of video we’re creating:
A. B-roll/Content-Driven Videos (non-narrated)
If your project focuses on visuals rather than narration, the key is ensuring your product, space, props, and/or team are camera-ready. Think about the visual story you want to tell:
Is your office or location tidy and aesthetically pleasing?
Are your team members or products prepped to shine on camera?
If you are building a particular setup or backdrop, do you have all of the pieces and equipment you’ll need?
B. Interview-Based Videos
If we’re capturing your voice or on-camera presence, you’ll already have a detailed creative document from us. This includes:
Interview Questions: Review your interview questions so you feel confident and can speak to your brand and business naturally during the shoot. Coming into the interview, we want you to know any statistics or specific pieces of insight to your brand that you want to share. If we are doing an interview-based, story-driven video with you we want to make sure that you sound really natural on camera. For our best chance of success it’s important that you prepare with more of the mentality of remembering bullet points rather than memorizing full answers. For a set up like this, you will be “interviewed” (probably by Sam). This is meant to be a very casual and relaxed conversation where, with the right questions, we prompt you to say what you need to get across in the video.
I promise that if you plan on trying to memorize full answers to these questions (even if you are totally confident that you will be able to recite them), being in front of a camera can really shake that confidence. In the 14 years we’ve been conducting interviews, we’ve only seen one person who was able to memorize answers beforehand and totally nail it. So my advice to you is to get your main points pretty clear in your mind before the shoot and just come to set ready for a casual convo!
Answer in Complete Sentences: We will not be hearing the question we ask you in the final video deliverable. That means we’ll need you to answer our questions in complete sentences and it’s even better when you reference the question in your answer. We also don’t really want you repeating the question because sometimes that feels a little weird and unnatural. For example:
Sam Question: “Please tell me what makes The TaylorCut Retreat so special.”
CORRECT ANSWER: “The TaylorCut Retreat is so special because XYZ”
INCORRECT ANSWER: “It’s because it’s so fun!”
INCORRECT ANSWER: “What makes TaylorCut Retreat is so special? Because it’s fun!”
Eye Contact: Make sure to prepare yourself to make eye contact with the interviewer and not the camera lens.
Example Script: While we don’t encourage trying to memorize everything you’d like to say, it doesn’t hurt to practice delivering your key points to ensure your answers flow well.
This is one of our favorite examples of a great interview-based video!
C. Script-Based Narration Videos
For script-based videos, where you’ll read from a teleprompter, preparation is all about rehearsal. Here’s how to get ready:
Practice Out Loud: Read your script in front of a mirror multiple times until it feels second nature. When we work with people who read off a teleprompter, the best video results usually come from individuals who have read their script out loud to the point where they almost have the entire thing memorized.
Perfect Your Delivery: Focus on speaking clearly and at a steady pace. Smile, blink naturally, and use expressive tone to keep your delivery engaging.
Confidence is Key: The more prepared you are, the better the final product will look. A confident delivery will elevate your video to the next level.
If others from your team will also be on camera, make sure they’ve reviewed this guide and are equally prepared.
2. What to Wear
Your outfit plays a significant role in setting the tone for your video. Here are some tips to help you choose the right look:
Dress for Your Brand:
Want to look professional? Opt for a suit or business attire.
Want to appear approachable and relatable? Go for something more casual but polished.
Do you want to wear something with your logo on it? A very important question to ask yourself before the shoot!
Stay Comfortable: Choose an outfit you feel good in—confidence comes from being comfortable in your own skin.
Avoid These Pitfalls:
Steer clear of all-white outfits unless it aligns with your industry (e.g., healthcare), and even then, add a pop of color.
Avoid loud patterns and wrinkled clothing that can take attention away from you. We cannot edit out anything you’re wearing that you later decide you didn’t’ like!
Avoid any patterns with thin lines and stripes, as these can cause camera moiré - an unwelcome distortion of your image.
These are all great examples of outfits people have worn on set!
3. Props and Setups
If you’re reading this blog right now, chances are that our shoot is very soon. Now is a GREAT time to put together a bag of all the props that you are bringing to set. Print out a list of what you need, check off items with a black marker as you put them in the bag. Print that list out AGAIN, and check off items with a black marker AGAIN. If we are responsible for bringing some of your props - then now would be a great time to shoot us an email or text to double check that we have double checked that we have everything! (Don’t worry, we will!)
4. Ask Questions and Relax
If you have any questions leading up to the shoot — whether it’s about wardrobe, script edits, or logistics — don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Most importantly, take a deep breath and relax. Shoot days are an exciting opportunity to bring your vision to life, and we’re going to make the experience fun and stress-free!
Bonus points if you want to put together a playlist for some tunes while we set up. Don’t worry Sam and I will have that covered, but if you really hate Celine Dion I’d suggest you come with some suggestions!
Just to get you in the mood!
p.s. - LET’S DO THIS THING!
