How should you prepare your business for a video shoot?

The week before: a simple checklist

Work through this in the days before filming, not the morning of:

• Tidy and restock the space: full shelves, clean surfaces, fresh displays, nothing half-finished in the background
• Brief your staff on the date, roughly what will happen, and who, if anyone, will be asked to speak or appear
• Decide what people will wear: plain colours film better than busy patterns, and matching branding across staff looks intentional
• Check any equipment or products you want featured are clean, charged and working
• Confirm access: parking, a way in if the premises are locked outside opening hours, and where to plug in lighting if needed

Consent from staff and customers

Anyone who's clearly recognisable in the footage should know they're being filmed and, ideally, give consent in writing. This matters most for staff who'll be filmed close up or asked to speak, and for customers if you plan to film inside during opening hours. A simple sign at the entrance covers customers who appear briefly in the background; anyone appearing more directly should sign a short release form. Data protection rules on filming vary by country, and guidance is published by data protection bodies such as the UK's ICO, so check current guidance for where you're filming rather than relying on general advice like this.

A realistic schedule for the day

Filming almost always takes longer than the plan suggests, because light changes through the day, a shot needs a second take, or a customer walks into frame at the wrong moment. Build in more time than feels necessary, especially around your busiest hours, and agree with your videographer which shots matter most in case time runs short. It's far better to protect the two or three shots you actually need than to rush through a long list and get none of them right.

Preparing to speak on camera

If you or a member of staff will speak to camera, the most common mistake is trying to memorise a script word for word. Bullet points work better than a script: know the three or four things you want to say, and say them in your own words, more than once if needed. Do a short warm-up take before the one that counts, most people relax noticeably by the second attempt.

It also helps to run through the questions or prompts beforehand, so nobody is hearing them for the first time with the camera already rolling. A minute of preparation removes most of the hesitation you'd otherwise have to edit around.

If you don't have a physical space to film

Service businesses without an obvious visual space, consultants, accountants, therapists, still need something for the camera to look at beyond a talking head. Think about what represents the work: a meeting in progress, hands at a laptop, a whiteboard being used, walking into the building. A few of these cutaway shots give an editor something to place between the main points, and they're worth planning for even when the video is really about what someone says rather than where they work.

Access, parking and noise

Tell your videographer about anything that could interrupt filming: deliveries at a set time, a noisy extractor fan, building work next door, or a locked back entrance. None of these are a problem if they're known about in advance, they just need planning around. If you need permission to film, for example in a shared building or a location that isn't yours, sort that before the day. Rules differ by venue and by country, so check with whoever manages the space rather than assuming it's fine.

The morning of the shoot

On the day itself, a short walk-through with your videographer before filming starts helps more than people expect: point out what you'd like featured, flag anything that's changed since you spoke, and introduce anyone who's due to be filmed or interviewed. Ten minutes at the start usually saves far more than that later on.

Making the most of a booked shoot

A promo shoot with me includes a planning call and up to four hours of filming, and preparation is what those hours actually go towards. Send through anything from the checklist above before the day, and we'll agree the shot list together so nothing important gets missed. If you're still working out what to say when you brief the shoot, my article on how to brief a videographer is a good place to start. Details on the promo package are on the promo videos page.