This post is for anyone that thinks their business couldn’t be the subject of an interesting corporate video. Video is a powerful way to communicate, educate and promote. If you’re putting it off because you think that what you do isn’t captivating enough, then you’re missing a great opportunity.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can make a corporate video visually interesting without being misleading. At Dream Engine, this is our job. When clients come to us, we think about the best way to visually tell their story in the best way possible. Not all of our clients drive Ferraris or put out fires all day, so here are some techniques we use to get more engaging footage:

Add Motion

Moving the camera through a space is a great first step to creating more cinematic footage in any video. Traditionally, the cost of doing this meant it was only possible for large scale productions. With advances in technology, it’s now possible for anyone to achieve motion. Having the camera smoothly follow somebody as they walk through a building or a shot the flies through the air like a helicopter are both achievable. The best bit is that it makes every day things look interesting. *Hint – you could also try a time-lapse 

Get Creative With Locations

This one isn’t always possible but is worth putting some thought into. Brainstorm any locations that are relevant to what you do but aren’t necessarily an everyday part of your work. See if you can think of any that are visually interesting. For example, Dream Engine recently filmed a video for the Australian Refrigeration Council. One of the buildings that a business owner serviced was an office building in Docklands, Melbourne. So we shot footage of him on top of that building speaking to one of the building managers. It would be unlikely for these two to have a meeting on top of the building but in video you have a license to visually enhance everyday life.

Focus on the Good Stuff

Spaces that might otherwise seem dull can be made to look interesting using whats called a shallow depth of field. It sounds technical but the concept is simple. Using some camera trickery, a videographer can make most of an image in focus, some of the image in focus or just a tiny portion of the image in focus. Take a look at the examples below:

The image on the left is a deep depth of field (more is in focus) and the image on the right is shallow (less in focus). As you can see, the image on the right is far more appealing. It’s all too obvious in the left image that the office is messy and the window needs a clean. We shoot with a shallow depth of field quite often as a way to get around showing too much of a space that isn’t interesting.

Special Effects

Special effects are another element that can add a lot to a video. They can range from being abstract to quite specific so it’s just a case of finding a style to suit the video. Once again, technology has meant that they’re cost effective on small productions. Here’s an example from a video we made for Timeless Legal Network. This was a silent video that needed to get across the general sense of the software being used. Rather than just film somebody interacting with the software we used some motion tracked graphics to put the emphasis on the software.
In other instances we simply use motion graphics as a device to enhance the footage. Here’s an example from a video opener we made for Cameron, a real estate agency in Melbourne.

So these are some ideas to get you thinking about ways you can make a video visually interesting. Making videos that look great is very important to us and it’s part of what we do every day. So, if you’re planning a corporate video and don’t know where to start, read this helpful post.