How to prepare for a videography day

This article is going to help clear things up, and clue you in on the bits of preparation that are often forgotten about, but can really help to streamline the process.

As a Medical Device marketing agency, our job is to help manage video projects from beginning to end. As such, we always come prepared for all sorts of different situations on the day, but there are some things that could be prepared in advance before our crew arrives.

We’ll go through some general preparation that can apply to all filming days, but we’ll also dive into more detailed preparations for both device filming and patient/team member interview filming.

We really want to maximise the amount of footage we capture during filming days, so we’ll always send an agenda. You’d be surprised how long getting the right footage takes and so we really need to plan the day down to the minute so that we get everything that we need.

It would really help us if you and your team know the agenda in advance of our arrival, so that we can hit the ground running and there’s less chance of falling behind because everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing and when.

Before the filming day, we’ll need to make sure that all of the planning stages are approved. This means making sure that everyone involved in the project has approved the storyboard and is happy with the script if there is one.

Trying to make changes to these on the day can cause confusion and really slow things down. If we’re able to into filming knowing exactly what footage we need to capture, things will run a lot more smoothly.

Everyone involved in the shoot will need to be informed that they should avoid wearing bright colours. You’d be surprised, but one bright t-shirt could affect the whole colour of the footage as it reflects the lights.

We’d recommend dark or neutral colours instead.

Do you want special props or outfits (such as branded scrubs/lab coats) in your video? If so, ensure that you have either let us know well in advance, or have placed the orders for yourself in advance.

We always recommend allowing 3-4 weeks for delivery. There’s nothing worse than not having your ideas come to life because items haven’t arrived yet!

There are a few things you need to be particularly aware of for these types of filming days though.

We don’t tend to recommend having speakers read directly from scripts. It can often appear inauthentic and less engaging to the viewer, as people tend to emote less when reading a script. Of course, if this is the preference of your speaker, then we’re able to provide a teleprompter.

We would recommend developing a number of speaking points instead, or a series of questions to ask to encourage discussion.

The likelihood is that we’ll have prepared this in advance for you, but it’s worth making sure the speakers are aware of this so they can do their own preparations.

There are a few things that anyone who is going to be on camera needs to be aware of when it comes to their clothing choice.

As mentioned above, they should try to avoid bright colours, but they should also avoid patterns such as checks as they can create the moiré effect, where it can look like the lines are moving.

We can help you choose the best filming locations when we arrive, but it would help us if you had scouted out some ideas in advance.

You could also start to prep backgrounds by making them look appealing. You could try adding ornaments and plants to bring life into the surroundings. If you have these props on hand on the day, it will really streamline the process. If not, don’t worry, we can make it work.

We have found that the preparation for these types of videos is absolutely key and being unprepared can really cause delays.

There are a few things you need to be aware of when it comes to device training, and therefore some things you’ll need to do to prepare.

Professional cameras will pick up any imperfection on the device, no matter how small, so you really want to ensure that the device is flawless. A device straight out the box is preferable, but we appreciate that isn’t always possible.

Please ensure that your device is fully up to date and doesn’t need any software updates. This can potentially halt filming or may even lead to footage needing to be reshot to ensure continuity. You also don’t want to have to do a reshoot because the devices being sent to customers no longer match the training videos.

For wireless devices, you’ll need to make sure the device is fully charged. It’s going to be for a lot of the day and filming will have to be halted if the device needs to be charged, as a charging wire can upset the aesthetic of the video and skew continuity.

Training and troubleshooting videos are likely to feature a hand model, who will need to do some preparation ahead of the day. We can provide a hand model, in which case, you won’t need to worry about any of this, but if you choose to use your own model, they’ll need to be aware of the following.

Firstly, they’ll need to ensure that they’re confident using the device and are familiar with the script. This will help to speed things along and will probably mean they won’t be shaky on the day, which can be quite distracting.

Next, they’ll need to ensure they have clean, preferably manicured hands. It may sound bizarre, but your device will be filmed on a pristine background, so the handler needs to be pristine as well, to avoid distracting from the device. Furthermore, if gloves are required, they should also be pristine and the correct size for the wearer.

Finally, the model should be informed in advance about what to wear for the shoot. Ideally, they should wear a short-sleeved top. Their arm is likely to be in the shot and a piece of clothing in this scenario can be distracting, so best to avoid it.

Podymos is a healthcare marketing agency, specialising in downstream Medical Device marketing.

We’re more expensive than non-specialised agencies and freelance teams because we only work in the Medical Device space so we have specialist knowledge and experience that other agencies may not be able to offer you.

If you want high-quality, compliant campaigns that help achieve your business goals, we’d love to hear from you. Simply leave us your contact details below and we’ll get back to you very soon for a no obligation chat.