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GATED VIDEO CONTENT: GETTING STARTED

bsp-admin-1 on December 3, 2024

Gated content has long been effective at acquiring leads, but the rise of gated video has renewed debates about when and how gating should be used. While some have boldly declared the “death of gated content,” those claims feel premature—similar to past predictions about the demise of radio or email. What’s clear is that the question isn’t whether to gate at all, but rather how to choose what content to gate and what not to.

There’s compelling data to support a more thoughtful approach. Demand for gated content has increased by 77% between 2019 and 2023. But before you gate every asset in your library, it’s important to recognize that you risk alienating visitors if the content doesn’t meet their expectations. In fact, 71% of B2B buyers left feeling disappointed by the value of gated content, often because it’s too generic or lacks real insight. So, the challenge lies not in whether to gate content, but making sure that what you offer is truly worth the exchange of information.

If you regularly test and reevaluate your gated written assets, you’ve likely learned a lot about the kind of content that works best for your audience. But if you’re unsure how to apply the same principles to gated video content, it’s worth taking a closer look at what makes a strong asset.

What Is Gated Video Content?

Gated video is video content placed behind a digital gate, such as a lead form, to prevent public access. It requires visitors to provide information—typically their name, email, and/or company details—to unlock videos for viewing. Gating is used to attract engaged prospects who are actively seeking, or open to receiving, information or insights about a specific topic. The goal is collecting valuable data to nurture these leads through targeted marketing and sales outreach efforts.

Gated Content Attributes

While there isn’t an exact recipe for perfect gated video content, the most successful assets typically share these three attributes:

  • Exclusive. Gated video content should provide something unique and valuable that users can’t find anywhere else. If viewers feel tricked by recycled or easily accessible material, it can be counterproductive and erode brand trust. On the flip side, exclusivity can increase the perceived value of your content while also strengthening your audience’s connection to your brand.
  • Expert. The video should showcase deep industry knowledge or specialized expertise. Often, the people accessing your gated content are potential leads who are actively evaluating your company. Demonstrating your thought leadership helps build trust and confidence as they move through the buyer journey and compare your offerings, and your brand, to competitors.
  • Exact. The content should be laser-focused and address specific use cases, problems, or solutions that your prospects are dealing with. Remember, capturing contact information is only part of the equation. It’s showing that you truly understand their industry and challenges and have the expertise to offer real solutions. This goes a long way in converting prospects into customers.

Gated Video Examples

  • Webinars. Webinars, whether live or on demand (VOD), are among the most commonly gated video formats. They should be focused and drill down into specific niche use cases or address industry challenges as opposed to broad, high-level demos that cover general features.
  • Interviews and panels. Featuring respected industry experts in interviews or panel discussions can be compelling enough to make a prospect agree to give their contact information. The key is that the content must provide exclusive and focused insights. Proprietary research often works well here. For example, a gated video could feature an analyst breaking down fresh data from your research and offering actionable takeaways for individual sectors.
  • Case studies. While case studies are typically considered later-stage content meant to nurture leads, high-profile studies can be effective for generating them as well. The trick is to evaluate the potential impact. If the case study features a well-known brand and demonstrates strong, quantifiable results, it may be worth gating. However, you should also consider whether it may be more strategic as an ungated piece of content that can be used as an awareness asset.

How to Gate Video Content

  • Choose the right form type. For live content, like webinars, landing page forms are typically the best choice. For VOD assets, use in-video forms to allow viewers to provide their information without ever leaving the viewing experience.
  • Set up interactivity. If you’re using an in-video form, start by accessing your video platform’s interactivity module. For example, in Brightcove Interactivity, you’ll create an interactivity project and click the “Add Lead Form” button.
  • Copy and paste the form code. Select the form you want to use from your CRM or marketing automation platform (MAP), then copy and paste its code into your interactivity project. To maintain data integrity and streamline lead management, make sure your video platform integrates with your CRM or MAP. For example, Brightcove integrates with Eloqua, Salesforce, Marketo, and HubSpot, allowing you to use pre-existing forms instead of building new ones each time from scratch.
  • Edit gate timing and embed. Decide when the form should appear in the video and resize the form as needed. Once you’ve customized the timing and appearance, you’re ready to embed the form into the video.
  • Automate lead forms. For large libraries of gated assets using the same form, you can automate adding lead forms with Brightcove. Just create a new interactivity template instead of a project, and follow the preceding steps. Then, you can apply the template to other videos by setting a tag. Now, instead of manually creating forms for each video, simply add the proper tag to it and the lead form will be added automatically.

Where to Gate Video

Pre-roll Video Gating

Pre-roll gating is generally not recommended, but there are exceptions. It works best when the expectations for the content are already well-established, such as with high-profile expert interviews, exclusive data reveals, or popular annual releases.

Avoid pre-roll gating in most cases, especially for on-demand webinars. Webinar content and viewer expectations can vary significantly, and gating too early often attracts lower-intent leads who are merely curious rather than seriously interested.

Mid-roll Video Gating

Mid-roll gating is effective for most types of content. It follows a “try before you buy” approach that draws viewers in and sets expectations by providing a sampling of the content. It also attracts higher-intent leads since viewers have engaged with some of the material and then show further interest by providing their information to see more.

Avoid mid-roll gating for marquee assets that you plan to segment and heavily repurpose. By keeping the content private, you preserve its value and exclusivity for the most high-intent prospects.

Post-roll Video Gating

Post-roll gating works best for content structured with a pyramid approach where the most impactful conclusion or solution is delivered at the end. Examples of this could be case studies or certain interviews and panels that analyze a data set or study with the key takeaways as a conclusion.

For most content, post-roll gating isn’t ideal. Few assets naturally save their most important information until the end, and trying to force this structure can risk losing leads who might otherwise be engaged.

Gated content can be an effective marketing tool when used strategically. Just remember that not all content is worth gating. Your audience is willing to exchange their information for exclusive content, but they’re expecting that content to be high-quality and relevant to their needs.

By understanding how to select content and how to set up lead forms, you’ll be prepared to leverage the growing demand for gated video.

HOW INSPIRING INTERNS STREAMLINED RECRUITMENT PROCESSES

bsp-admin-1 on December 2, 2024

SHORTER, FOCUSED PROCESSES INCREASE RETENTION RATES TO 85% AND DRIVE 30% REVENUE GROWTH

There are few things more stressful than a job search – both for applicants and employers. For new graduates with limited work experience, finding that first job in a competitive market can be particularly difficult.

Inspiring Interns, the UK’s leading graduate recruitment agency, is disrupting the status quo, using video to transform a traditionally lengthy, impersonal ordeal, into a short, personal, and effective hiring process. In 2009, Inspiring Interns introduced an innovative recruitment program anchored by the Video CV, a new concept designed to pair graduates with jobs in an impactful and accelerated way. It is changing the way applicants interact with potential employers, leading to a better matching process and higher retention rates.

“Video sets our company apart from other recruitment agencies, and the Video CV sets our applicants apart from the competition,” states Ben Rosen, Inspiring Intern’s founder and CEO. “It can be difficult to stand out in a competitive job market. The Video CV enables applicants to inject their unique personality into an otherwise faceless process and demonstrate their communication skills, professionalism, and passion.”

VIDEO EXPEDITES THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Over the past five years, Inspiring Interns has placed more than 5,700 graduates, with almost 85% receiving offers of full-time employment at the end of their internship. The agency credits the Video CV with matching the right applicant to the right job. Unlike a one-dimensional paper CV, video enables applicants to showcase their personality, to bring their strengths and skills to life and highlight the contribution they will make to the business. For most companies, hiring is a top priority, but there are risks associated with the traditional interviewing and hiring process. Inspiring Interns has demonstrated that those risks, such as losing a candidate due to a lengthy process, can be reduced by using video.

Brightcove Video Cloud forms the foundation of our Video CV program. We can upload new Video CVs quickly and easily, and clients can search our database easily by skills and industry.

BEN ROSEN

FOUNDER AND CEO

Rosen also stresses the importance of video in shortening the decision-making process. Video CVs are helping employers eliminate screening interviews and move directly to face-to-face interviews, helping to make the entire process considerably quicker, without compromising quality. In some cases, the applicant is called for an in-person interview as quickly as the next day.

Each Video CV is about one minute in length, and Rosen reports that within about 12 seconds employers get a sense of the applicant. In contrast, it takes between two to four minutes to read through a paper CV to determine if an applicant is qualified. “With a Video CV, you can get an idea of the applicant’s personality and style and if they will fit into the culture of your organization,” states Rosen. “Employers have told us they hired people they might not have hired if they just considered their paper CV. But what they saw on video really impressed them.”

VIDEO ENABLES APPLICANTS TO CONTROL THE MESSAGE

At any given time, Inspiring Interns hosts approximately 500 Video CVs on their website, and each Video CV stays on the website until the agency places the applicant. Inspiring Interns provides applicants the option of filming their Video CV at home, on a laptop computer or tablet, or on their mobile device. They can also come to one of the Inspiring Interns’ three production studios located in London and Manchester, UK, where their team produces about 100 new Video CVs each week.

“Video CVs fit with the way Millennials communicate,” adds Rosen. “They are comfortable with mobile devices and social media. Video makes applying for a job more interesting and personal. Plus, Video CVs encourage applicants to focus only on the jobs that are most relevant to them, instead of applying to a multitude of jobs online or to jobs, which may not fit their skills. The Video CV helps drive the applicant to be more selective.”

Inspiring Interns uses Brightcove Video Cloud, the leading online video platform, to publish videos on its website, social media pages, and in email marketing campaigns. The company posts a daily ‘candidate of the day’ on its LinkedIn page and posts links to candidates’ videos weekly on Twitter and Facebook. “We’ve seen great engagement across the platforms, including a candidate that was hired after somebody saw her video CV on LinkedIn,” states Rosen.

“Brightcove Video Cloud forms the foundation of our Video CV program. We can upload new Video CVs quickly and easily, and clients can search our database easily by skills and industry. It easily scales to meet our peak demand period, from July through October, when we receive an influx of applications from new graduates.”

The Brightcove platform also helps Inspiring Interns grow and incorporate video into other areas of the recruitment process. They are currently helping companies develop video job specs that provide applicants with more insight into the company. “Video job specs make the job come alive. It can show the employees and office space, and what they do on Fridays,” explains Rosen. “I see a big shift in the way companies hire people, not just recent graduates. I want to turn the Video CV into a smorgasbord of content for a variety of people to showcase their skills.”

Today, more than 2,000 companies use Inspiring Interns, and the company is seeing 30% growth in revenue year over year. “We started this company solely as an online video recruiting model; this wouldn’t have been possible without a reliable online video platform,” concludes Rosen.

HOW A LUXURY REAL ESTATE BRAND SCALED PERSONALIZED VIDEO

bsp-admin-1 on November 12, 2024

One of our customers is an established luxury brand with thousands of real estate brokers around the world. They have robust digital asset management and advanced data warehousing systems in place, allowing them to easily create personalized content. Everything from print to digital could be produced globally, on brand, and at scale, with relevant details about individual listings and agents. However, they couldn’t connect this to video production.

Personalized video at the agent level was where they saw true potential. They had been successfully using video for years, hosting 3D videos and property tours on their website. Not only did it produce higher conversion rates, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, their buyers wanted more and more of it. If they could add video production to their existing technical capabilities, they could expand from a few home office marketers to thousands of video-empowered brokers.

After exploring a number of video creation tools, many of which were startups, they found that none met their requirements. Some tools gave users too much control, which could potentially turn their premium brand into a commodity, while others charged per video, making expenses unpredictable. Most importantly, if the solution didn’t work, they couldn’t risk building it only to rip it out months later. They wanted a reliable, trusted partner that could provide both the scale and the customer service their program needed. That’s when they turned to us for help.

CREATING A SCALABLE VIDEO SOLUTION FOR VIDEO SELLERS

Our real estate customer needed a video solution that allowed their sellers to create customized content while adhering to brand standards. This would grant franchise owners the flexibility to insert text and visuals tailored to their markets, such as new agents, listings, or market data. In sum, they had four primary requirements:

  • Brand control
  • User control
  • Ease of use
  • Technical flexibility

Brand control hinged on our platform’s video editor, which, like other tools, can expedite content creation through templates. But the differentiator was it could give sellers the freedom to create their own unique videos from distinct brand templates and footage that fit their markets.

As far as user control, our customer needed to get their real estate agents into our system without compromising their brand safeguards. Through our account provisioning and user management capabilities, they set the system up so only certain users could access the video editor or upload new content.

Imperative to both brand and user control was ease of use. Like many companies, our customer has a diverse workforce, with some more native to digital media than others. Adoption was key, so the solution needed to be intuitive and accessible. Using our platform with their branded templates, their agents could create their own personalized videos in a matter of minutes. And thanks to single sign-on (SSO), their Brightcove accounts would be automatically created with the proper permissions through the use of their company logins.

All of these requirements needed to be met without disturbing their existing tech stack. They already had a sophisticated system in place to create personalized content; they simply wanted to add video to it. With our extensive library of APIs and integrations, they could implement video production capabilities without disrupting the daily operating rhythm of their sellers.

BRINGING A VIDEO SALES SOLUTION TO ALL ENTERPRISES

Our customer can now empower thousands of their real estate agents to become video sellers. With Brightcove’s new solution, they can build on their successful sales program with the type of content that has proven to generate more conversions: video. Whether they distribute these personalized videos to buyers directly or through their social media channels, they can engage customers, increase conversions, and drive revenue.

As a leading video engagement platform, this request represented more than an opportunity to serve one of our customers. It demonstrated a clear market need. A major real estate company can’t be alone in its struggle to scale video across thousands of global sellers while maintaining brand integrity. Clearly, there must be others who wish a solution like this existed for them, too.

To meet the needs of enterprises around the world, we added a new solution to our portfolio: Brightcove Marketing Studio for Sales. Using our award-winning video technology, this new solution was built with sellers, for sellers. Just like the solution we built for our realty customer, it includes everything sellers need to create custom branded video content. From franchise owners to independent agents to distributed sales teams, companies of all types can scale video without having to be experts in production.

With Brightcove Marketing Studio for Sales, you can empower your sales force to create videos to reach and engage their customers like never before. Set your sellers apart with scalable, personalized video, built on the platform trusted by the world’s top enterprises. Contact us to learn more about Brightcove Marketing Studio for Sales.

OTT CHURN: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

bsp-admin-1 on November 5, 2024

OTT churn is a constant battle in the SVOD industry. By Q3 2023, the churn rate for OTT services reached an all-time high of 50%, meaning one in two users left their subscriptions that quarter.

Facing this challenge begins with understanding the reasons subscribers churn, from genuine dissatisfaction to unintended credit card declines. Combating it requires individual strategies that are based on subscriber and engagement data and tailored to the different types of churn.

WHAT IS OTT CHURN?

Churn rate is the percentage of OTT subscribers that cancel their subscription or let it lapse. This is the number of users that left the service in the last 30 days divided by the number of total paid subscribers.

Churn Rate = Canceled subscribers in last 30 days/Total paid subscribers

Churn is a primary indicator of the health of your business and how successful you are at retaining your existing customer base. A critical KPI, customer long-term value (LTV), is often calculated by dividing average revenue per user (ARPU) by churn rate.

LTV = ARPU/Churn Rate

Brightcove calculates LTV slightly differently by incorporating historical data and applying a retention curve.

Regardless, most businesses spend a lot of money and effort recruiting new customers, so retaining them with a low churn rate is essential to running a successful subscription service.

TYPES OF CHURN

To better manage your OTT churn rate, it’s important to understand how customers leave a service. Typically there are two types of churn:

  • Voluntary churn. Customers who intentionally choose to cancel the service. For example, those who binge the entire series that they signed up to watch, then leave.
  • Involuntary churn. Customers whose service is canceled due to failed payment methods or natural expirations that are not renewed. Understanding the reason cancellations happen will help you focus retention efforts in the most productive areas. Furthermore, it may also help you avoid payment vehicles or gateways that are less effective at processing payments or retaining customers.

Below is a graph from Brightcove Subscriber Insights that allows you to view the impact of voluntary and involuntary churn and identify trends or anomalies that lead to spikes:

lost-customers-per-dayFig. 1 – The Lost Customers Per Day Insight shows voluntary and involuntary churn modeled over a period of time.

HOW TO REDUCE VOLUNTARY CHURN

High voluntary churn usually reflects a higher dissatisfaction with the service. Gathering feedback from both active customers and those choosing to leave can help determine the cause of their dissatisfaction.

CANCELLATION REASONS

  • Price. An increasing factor for OTT subscribers is cost. Consumers want a good value and SVOD services need a return on their investments. Between changes in sports licensing costs and declines in program production, setting the optimal price point for your service isn’t easy. Keep in mind that the pricing model is more than just your monthly recurring fee. Offering a trial period as well as coupons or promo codes enables you to reward loyal viewers or incentivize viewers who may not renew.
  • Content. Having a compelling, regularly refreshed content library is essential. If your library is stagnant, viewers will assume they have seen all the content they might like.
  • Experience. If your content is hard to find, your app performs poorly, or your service frequently buffers, users are going to spend less time on your platform. Low engagement times or notable QoE impairments are a good indicator of negative experience and potential churn.

RETENTION TACTICS

Understanding the reasons subscribers cancel allows you to be more targeted in how you message and promote content, ensuring they’re receiving maximum value for the price. It also enables you to be more effective with your save and win-back campaigns.

For example, knowing the videos they watched and their favorite genres allows you to educate them about a new season, a show in the same genre, or a similar class. However, when building campaigns, be sure to look beyond video views per title for opportunities. Dig into how the audience is engaging with the title before including it in your campaign; otherwise, there’s a risk of promoting a video that isn’t holding the audience’s attention.

Coupling OTT churn numbers with engagement metrics allows you to be more predictive and take action to save customers. Brightcove Subscriber Insights allows you to look at data through many dimensions.

For example, you can look at heartbeat metrics (video views per day, audience size per day, etc.) over time and get a view into the engagement of your subscriber base, which will help find indicators of churn. Another way to look at that data is to view the engagement over the lifetime of your subscribers. You can use this metric to monitor the percentage of users coming back on a monthly basis over the history of their subscription. If those percentages go down, you could be headed for a problem and will need to take action to re-engage your base.

customers-by-subscription-lengthFig. 2 – Keeping track of weekly and monthly engagement of your subscribers over time is helpful to find indicators of churn.

HOW TO REDUCE INVOLUNTARY CHURN

Reducing involuntary churn may seem more difficult, but there are some tactics you can employ. For example, there are two categories of payment decline:

  • Soft decline. This usually means the credit card is expired or over the limit, the customer is late in paying the bill, etc. Developing retry mechanisms that wait a day or so to reprocess the card may resolve the situation. Furthermore, it allows you to retain those customers with minimal financial risk and without interrupting the customer’s experience. There are even services that can detect prepaid cards and reduce these kinds of failed payments.
  • Hard decline. This usually means the credit card is lost or canceled and has very little to no chance of being successfully retried. You are better off employing a dunning process, where you immediately and directly communicate with the customer to let them know of the problem and have them take action to maintain their service.

The type of response should inform your method for retrying a card or re-engaging the customer.

HOW TO PREVENT CHURN

One of the best ways to reduce OTT churn is to identify “at-risk” users and stop churn before it starts. Every subscriber type, even those who have been active for a long time, can swing from “safe” to “at risk” if engagement levels drop. But two particular groups pose a greater risk than others: users who are either idle or inactive.

It goes without saying that these users are already disengaged from your offering. This could be for a number of reasons, and truly understanding subscriber engagement is half the battle when it comes to mitigating the risk of losing them. But knowing what action to take also means knowing what makes these user groups different from the rest.

IDENTIFY IDLE AND INACTIVE USERS

Idle and inactive are two of six subscriber categories based on their engagement status that you can find in Brightcove Subscriber Insights. This means we identify at-risk subscribers based on their account activity rather than relying on metrics such as total number of streaming hours or total views that don’t tell the full story.

  • Idle users. Those with no views in the last four weeks but at least one in the prior eight weeks.
  • Inactive users. Subscribers with no views in the last 12 weeks but at least one in the last year.

It may be tempting to immediately re-engage both user types and remind them of the value your service brings, but idle users need to be approached very differently to inactive users. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of triggering the churn event you’re trying to avoid. Instead, you can use data-driven insights to personalize the re-engagement experience and increase the likelihood of winning them over.

RE-ENGAGE IDLE USERS

Idle users have the greatest risk of voluntary churn. One of the most common reasons why they’ve fallen idle is that they’re not seeing enough value from your service. In other words, they may have finished watching the blockbuster content that lured them in but haven’t explored the rest of your content library after that. Or they’ve watched the vast majority of your lead assets and now mistakenly feel they’ve seen everything your service has to offer.

You’ll want to take action fast, so knowing what content will have the desired effect is key. This means polling your content consumption data to understand what other users like them, who have watched the same blockbuster content they have, gravitated to next and what assets held their attention most.

This is easy to do with Brightcove Subscriber Insights. Using insights from Attention Index and Content Explorer, you can accurately identify assets that would help lure idle users back into the fold based on what they’ve watched from your service so far. Also, consider identifying the hidden gems that idle users haven’t seen but would be interested in. This is a powerful way to demonstrate the broader value of your platform.

This data-driven analysis should inform your targeted outbound marketing efforts. From there, approach idle users just like any other marketing campaign. Curate a tailored re-engagement funnel spanning push notifications and email outreach and guide them to content personalized to their interests, pulling them back to the re-engaged category.

It’s also worth considering how frequently you reach out to these users. In our experience, the lifetime value for idle subscribers is 30–50% lower than engaged users. If your standard outreach cadence is every three or four weeks, try increasing your messaging to idle viewers to once a week until they’ve re-engaged fully.

RE-ENGAGE INACTIVE USERS

Inactive users are different. Often, they were drawn to your service for something specific. This may have been an exclusive show or the sports season you had rights to. Either way, the outcome is the same: These users have become inactive but have seemingly forgotten to cancel their subscriptions.

Inactive users tend to have a higher lifetime value than idle users, reflecting their longer tenure with the service. But putting them into a high frequency re-engagement funnel could just as easily remind them about a subscription they didn’t know they still had.

A better way is to treat inactive users as if they’ve already unsubscribed. Don’t just add them to your existing marketing efforts. Instead, run a win-back campaign when new content they’re interested in becomes available (e.g., during the run-up to new episodes of the TV show they binged on or the start of the next sports season).

IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE PRE-RISK USERS

Another highly successful way to prevent churn is to directly engage users before they become inactive or idle. For example, you can use Brightcove Segment Sync to identify users who recently finished a series or season of content or a heavily promoted event. Then, you can immediately reach out to them through email or in-app messaging to promote new content before they lapse.

There are other tactics you can use to reduce and prevent OTT churn, but the most effective ones require a harmonized dataset combining subscription and revenue events with video views and metadata. The story your data tells should be presented clearly where your key actions are evident and easy.

HOW TO ADD CHAPTERS TO A VIDEO: WEBVTT FILE OR INTERACTIVITY

bsp-admin-1 on October 22, 2024

Marketers love breaking apart content into smaller pieces. E-books become blogs, infographics become social badges, and long-form videos become highlight reels and clips.

While it’s true that snackable content works, this can lead us to believe that audiences only want short-form content. But if this was true, then a three-hour historical drama about a nuclear physicist couldn’t have been the third-highest grossing film of 2023.

Audiences don’t need your videos to be shorter as much as they need to know what to expect from them. And the best way to do that is to add chapters to your videos.

WHAT ARE VIDEO CHAPTERS?

Chapters are clickable labels that divide a video into sections, allowing users to select content they want to consume. Like headers on web pages, they serve as outlines and offer a better viewing experience for finding information than scrubbing through thumbnails.

Videos can be exported from video editing suites with chapters embedded in the file’s metadata. Unfortunately, this data isn’t formatted for the web, so metadata chapters can’t display on online video platforms (OVPs). As such, most web-based videos create chapters using WebVTT files or interactive overlays.

WHEN TO USE VIDEO CHAPTERS

Adding chapters isn’t necessary for every video. For example, most awareness videos, like teasers and promos, as well as some demos, explainers, and testimonials are too short to break up into smaller segments. Chaptering content is best reserved for long-form videos, such as the following:

  • Webinars. Video presentations like these are not only long, they’re already divided into distinct sections. You can simply convert the headings of the accompanying slides into chapters.
  • Tutorials. Like webinars, instructional and other educational content also lends itself to chapters. While these videos typically won’t have slides to reference, some may have title cards or lower thirds with header-like information. If not, review the creative brief and video script. These materials often include outlines of the content that may not be as apparent in the final video.
  • Trainings. Onboarding, upskilling, and other internal videos are often a mix of video presentations and talking head videos. As noted with webinars, chaptering presentations should be straightforward, but other styles may require some creative license. Different departments may have hired agencies or self-produced the content, which can mean preproduction materials are inaccessible or nonexistent. In these cases, you’ll need to review the content yourself, draft recommended chapter titles, and vet the titles with the content author or SME.
  • Interviews. Depending on how it was produced, interview videos often deviate from their briefs or have an intentionally less structured style, like panels of experts. Sometimes the best approach is to chapter an interview around host questions, but oftentimes you have to review the entire piece and develop your own structure. Remember to have these chapters approved by the interviewer or SME, since you’re not getting them from other approved resources.

The previous examples represent common examples of long-form content, but they’re certainly not exhaustive. Some case studies and company culture videos can also benefit from video chapters. A good way to think about it is if a video is longer than five minutes, add chapters to it.

VIDEO CHAPTERING BEST PRACTICES

Chapters should help users quickly find the topics they want, which means they need to summarize key moments descriptively and succinctly. The following best practices will help you meet this expectation for your audience.

  • Length. Titles should be 3–5 words. Like web page subheadings, they’re often skimmed more than thoroughly read, so they need to condense each chapter into a short phrase. While video presentations often include their own section titles, they may not be very concise—especially for technical topics. Revising existing titles can be time-consuming and require additional approvals, but the better user experience is worth it.
  • Style. Titles should be consistent and follow a predictable format to make them easier to skim. For example, a common practice for blogs is to write subheadings as imperative verb phrases: review the video, draft an outline, create chapter titles. The familiar structure allows users to ingest the information faster and select the specific chapter most relevant to their needs.
  • Frequency. Chapters should only be added when there’s a conspicuous change in subtopic. For example, a webinar might have chapters on what your product is, why your industry needs it, and how to use it. Each of these could be chapters. Conversely, each step describing how to use your product should not be a chapter. There’s no optimal number of chapters: A 10-minute video could have three chapters or 12. So long as they represent the video’s biggest ideas, the total can be anything.
  • Placement. Before publishing or saving a video, always review the chapter markers to confirm they were placed correctly. For example, if the timecodes and titles are notated outside of your video platform, typos, last-minute edits, and new intros can shift chapter placements. This is also why it’s best to add chapters near the end of your production workflow.

HOW TO ADD CHAPTERS WITH VTT FILES

Web Video Text Track (WebVTT) files are text files typically used for closed captions, but they can also be used for video chapters. Creating a WebVTT file is very simple; here’s what the content of one looks like.

WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:30.000
Lionfish

00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:54.000
Anemone

00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:25.000
Clownfish

00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:54.000
Sea Horse

00:01:54.000 --> 00:02:23.000
Crab

00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:35.000
Dolphins

 

You can use the above example to create your own file by copying and pasting the content into a text editor, like TextEdit on Mac or Notepad on PC. However, the file has to be in plain text format, not rich text. Notepad only supports plain text, but if you’re using TextEdit, make sure you select Format > Make Plain Text.

Once you’ve copied the text into the editor, update the chapter names and timecodes (the example follows the standard SMPTE timecode of hour:minute:second:frame). Then, save the updated file and change the extension to .vtt (e.g., filename.vtt).

Uploading a WebVTT file to your OVP will be a similar process to adding captions to your videos. For example, in Brightcove, you would upload the file as follows:

  • Select the video in the Media module
  • Select the Tracks tab
  • Select +Add in the Text Tracks section You should see a small chapter icon in the bottom right corner of your video (next to the volume control). Click on it and you’ll see your chapters. Visit our support page for more information on how to create a WebVTT file.

HOW TO ADD CHAPTERS WITH INTERACTIVITY

Interactivity adds clickable overlays to your video player like web links, quizzes, polls, sentiment buttons, branches to other videos, and—of course—chapters. Unlike VTT files, you won’t need a text editor, and at least with Brightcove, you won’t need to leave your video platform at all. Just follow these steps:

  • Select the Interactivity module
  • Create a new project
  • Select a time in the video, click the Add a chapter marker button, and add the chapter title (as well as any edits to the position or style)
  • After adding all the chapters, click the chapter menu icon to add the menu

In Brightcove, you can set the table of contents to display as a column or fullscreen, default to an expanded or collapsed state, and change its position. There’s also an option to create an off-video chapter menu, where it displays next to the player—an ideal experience for training videos. Visit our support page for more information on how to add chapters to a video with interactivity.

BENEFITS OF INTERACTIVE VIDEO CHAPTERS

While most content managers and video producers are probably already familiar with uploading WebVTT files for captions, interactive video offers distinct advantages.

  • More control. VTT chapters are restricted to your player’s default display settings, but interactivity offers additional options. From position and placement to style and branding (by adding custom CSS), you have much more control over the user experience.
  • More data. VTT files don’t create additional engagement data. So to see which chapters and key moments resonated, you have to compare the video’s engagement to the chapter timestamps and titles. Whereas Brightcove Interactivity automatically generates reports on chapter engagement. Not only is this a more efficient process, you can compare the views of each chapter to the clicks. Engagement peaks at certain chapters can still be triggered by passive viewing, but click data more accurately indicates active engagement and is, thus, more actionable.
  • More accuracy. Using VTT files means creating video chapters without a visual reference. This is by no means a difficult task, but it also means minor typos can create big problems. Interactivity is like a WYSIWYG for video: You can preview the output as you build it. It’s a better experience for the user, and it adds a layer of review that can quickly catch mistakes.

WebVTT files are an effective way to add chapters to a video, but interactivity makes adding them even easier. Select the option that works best for you, then keep an eye on your video engagement. You’ll be surprised how much your audience likes longer videos when they can clearly see what they’re about and easily navigate to key moments.

OTT STRATEGY: TIPS FOR STAYING ONE STEP AHEAD

bsp-admin-1 on October 10, 2024

With the number of global SVOD subscriptions expected to reach 1.79 billion by 2029, many content owners and licensors are reevaluating their OTT strategies.

Though it’s true that Americans pay for 2.9 streaming services each month, almost half of them have canceled subscriptions in the past year. Just as the pool of OTT viewers is steadily growing, the market is crowded and subscription costs are driving churn.

As a result, many of the largest OTT platforms have released ad-supported tiers while others have launched linear channels. The media landscape continues to change at a rapid pace, with no signs of slowing. To keep up, regularly reevaluate the strategy of your OTT offerings and make sure it’s in line with the latest best practices.

DESIGN YOUR DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

To launch and grow a successful OTT service, you need to define a compelling content strategy and execute on it to achieve the best results.

Today’s viewers consume content on four main screens: connected TVs or smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, and personal computers. While all types of content can be watched on every device, each screen has a special role in the consumer’s overall video experience. Media owners need to distribute their content across these four screens to drive loyalty and engagement, and they must program each experience efficiently and scalably. When designing your distribution roadmap, you must understand the strengths of each screen.

 Lean-back ViewingLean-forward ViewingIndividual ViewingGroup Viewing
CTV✓ ✓✓
Mobile ✓✓ 
Tablet✓ ✓ 
Desktop ✓✓ 

Consider the following factors to define the right distribution strategy for your business.

  • Media preferences. Which devices and apps do your target viewers use to stream each type of content they consume? When do they lean back, and when do they view on the go?
  • Viewing behavior. How do your target viewers prefer to consume video? Are they binge-watchers? Do they typically stream content at a particular time of day?
  • Content strategy. Will you offer live and/or on-demand content? How much content do you plan to offer, and what underlying technology do you need to scale?
  • Location. What are the internet and device trends in your region? What languages does your audience use?

Mapping out a comprehensive four-screen distribution strategy will empower you to provide a consistent, premium experience across devices. Not only does it take advantage of the particular strengths of each screen, it makes it easier for viewers to engage with your content.

GOING BEYOND MOBILE

The lean-back experience—where a viewer watches content on a large screen several feet away—is alive and well. In fact, CTV’s share of daily streaming minutes grew from 18% in 2019 to 25% in 2023. Though mobile is still clinging to a majority (51%), smart TVs and set-top boxes (STBs) have proven this viewing experience is far from obsolete.

Furthermore, the global smart TV market reached a value of $195 billion in 2022. This value is expected to grow to $353 billion by 2030—exhibiting a CAGR of around 8% from 2023 to 2030.

CREATE A CONSISTENT EXPERIENCE

To provide the most intuitive user experience for your audience, you must conduct regular testing. During this process, you can determine the best possible experience for viewers by testing different UI elements, such as layouts, branding elements, menu structures, and fonts. By taking a data-driven approach and employing multivariate testing, you can develop a solid understanding of what is and isn’t working and make informed decisions.

Once you’ve conducted your tests, leverage the actionable insights you gained from this data to optimize your offerings on every device. A consistent experience on every screen makes it easier for your viewers to find and engage with your content. Once they master your user interface, they’ll be able to follow the same processes and user paths no matter where they’re watching.

Beyond your UI, video quality is critical to the user experience. Viewers have higher streaming expectations than ever before, and you have to meet them on a daily basis. A simple way to monitor this is with Brightcove’s QoE Insights. You can track issues like error rates and upscaling time to see if any devices have low-quality experiences. Monitoring QoE impairments as they arise allows you to continuously iterate on experience improvements proven to increase audience engagement and long-term value.OTT Devices

CHOOSE YOUR MONETIZATION MODELS

AVOD has been growing at a rapid pace. In North America alone, ad-supported revenues are expected to increase 45% between 2023 and 2029 (compared to 16–17% increases for SVOD and TVOD). Globally, this figure is even higher: 79% growth, from $38 billion to $68 billion.

Certainly, part of AVOD’s success is the ubiquity of FAST channels, but perhaps a bigger part is the emergence of hybrid OTT strategies among top streamers. In 2023, hybrid AVOD/SVOD models brought in $7 billion globally, and this is expected to reach $24 billion by 2029.

You can’t choose the right monetization model for your business anymore; you have to choose the right models. And to do that, there are a few factors that you should keep in mind.

  • Content catalog. For larger catalogs with a mix of exclusive and licensed content, the AVOD/SVOD model has become an industry standard. For example, you could offer licensed content on an ad-supported tier and reserve your exclusive content for an ad-free experience. Conversely, smaller licensed catalogs with a focus on live events like sports often do better with TVOD/AVOD. Further, small catalogs with original content may find more success with TVOD/SVOD.
  • Audience location. Internet stability varies around the world, as does the use of ad blockers and different kinds of devices. AVOD services may find that SSAI bypasses the risks of viewer disruption and ad blocking, while CSAI’s targeted personalization allows more opportunities for playback issues. Likewise, in regions where content piracy is rampant, SVOD services can be difficult to maintain. At minimum, you’ll need additional measures to authorize viewer entitlements and provide secure playback with DRM.
  • Budget. Because SVOD services traditionally offer exclusive content, customer acquisition and retention costs are higher and require bigger marketing budgets. On the other hand, AVOD technology is much more complex and requires bigger operations budgets. Hybrid models offer greater flexibility to mix and match those costs. For example, an SVOD service could heavily market their original content, then transition some budget to an AVOD tier supported by direct advertising. Or, an AVOD service could build their audience exclusively through fully managed programmatic advertising before shifting some budget to licensed live events for TVOD offerings.

Perhaps most importantly, ask yourself if you’ll have enough viewers to justify a subscription service at the onset. It may be better to start off with an AVOD model to attract viewers and incorporate a subscription model over time.

MEASURING AD TOLERANCE

If you implement an ad model, make sure your ad experience provides enough innovative options for advertisers without frustrating viewers. This means aggregating and analyzing data that correlates ad policies with revenue and viewer engagement. Unfortunately for some businesses, doing so can be labor intensive and cost prohibitive, given the already expensive and complex nature of ad tech.

To combat the challenges with reconciling AVOD data, Brightcove’s Ad Insights includes a key metric called ad sensitivity. It compares viewer engagement to elements like ad frequency, duration, and placement and generates a score indicating the likelihood of abandonment. By looking at this metric across content, device, and region, you can easily identify opportunities to increase ad yield without eroding engagement.

REDUCE YOUR CHURN RATE

To grow your audience, you must understand the different types of churn.

  • Voluntary churn. This is when users purposely cancel their subscriptions. They do this for a variety of reasons, and there are measurable behaviors that can help you determine which one it is. For example, if engagement is poor, you may need to improve or reassess your content. If they’re abandoning your app without starting any videos, that tells you something about the user experience. And if users go for long periods of time without opening your app at all, push notifications might reel them back in.
  • Involuntary churn. This usually occurs when payment fails, but it can also happen when trials expire. The easiest way to reduce it is to partner with a service that automates the process. These partners will notify users when their payment on file is nearing expiration, so they can make an update without a lapse in their subscription.

Overall, it’s crucial that you compare your user acquisition (or conversion rate) with your churn rate on a month-over-month basis. If the churn trend is steady and reasonable, you’re free to focus on acquiring new users. However, if churn is trending up, you need to take the steps described above to continue growing your user base.

CAPTURE YOUR SHARE OF THE OTT MARKET

Viewers’ expectations have increased, as have their appetites for watching content on an ever-growing list of devices. So it’s more important than ever for you to be able to reach your audience—wherever they are. Competing in today’s highly-saturated OTT landscape requires you to get to market quickly. With Brightcove’s OTT solutions, you can launch captivating, consistent experiences for web, mobile, smart TVs, and connected TVs in record time.

HOW TO SHOOT AN INTERVIEW FOR BUSINESS VIDEO MARKETING

bsp-admin-1 on September 30, 2024

Interviews are a valuable part of any business video marketer’s toolbox. But with the advent of the creator economy, knowing how to shoot an interview may not be as clear as it used to be.

Video blogs and video podcasts in particular are growing tremendously, with YouTube now outpacing Spotify among the podcast community. Much of this content often includes guests, and the formats are reminiscent of traditional talk shows. So it’s easy to understand how many people might confuse these things with interviews.

In truth, content creators tend to focus more on conversations rather than interviews, and the key difference between the two is planning.

Most of the time, the amount of planning in a video blog or podcast amounts to guest and topic selection, with perhaps some suggested questions. Otherwise, the conversation that happens happens. With an interview, the narrative is carefully crafted and the footage heavily edited to fit—so, unlike conversations, interviews don’t happen as much as they’re manufactured.

Don’t misunderstand conversations as unrefined or irrelevant to marketers. To the contrary, their authentic and raw characteristics make them very compelling and effective at inspiring loyalty with customers. But if you’re trying to attract buyers, you need to know how to film an interview, not a conversation.

Table of Contents

 

INTERVIEW USES

Business video employs interviews in several ways, mostly in the early stages of the buyer journey. That’s not to say they can’t be effective during the conversion or retention stages, but in general, these are the common uses you’ll find for them.

  • Awareness. Brand awareness videos might not be the first thing you think of, but man on the street (MOTS) interviews have been a marketing staple for decades. Though you have less control over the footage you get, you have complete control over the clips you choose. These lightning round-style interviews often gauge customer and market sentiment about your brand or your competitors’ brands. As such, they can be used to promote new products, offers, events, or research.
  • Thought leadership. Interviews are commonly associated with thought leadership videos. Guests and panels of guests are invited to analyze markets and predict trends and thereby demonstrate a brand’s forward thinking and innovation. Like awareness videos, they’re early-stage resources designed to positively associate you with your buyers’ interests. And even though the footage unfolds organically, the outcome is predetermined and the final product may look very different in post than it did during production.
  • Testimonials. Case studies and quotes are essential towards the middle of the customer journey, as buyers move beyond researching solutions to verifying claims. These interviews are especially well produced to draw out both the desired messages and provocative deliveries. Case studies are hyper-focused on unique use cases to target specific buyers, while quotes lean towards broader applications and likewise broader marketing tactics.

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

To properly prepare for an interview, don’t think about equipment or locations yet. Good interviews depend on having clear objectives, supported by cohesive and coherent stories. The following steps are what we use before even drafting a creative brief.

  • Create a headline and outline the narrative. Good marketing videos stick to a single idea, repeating and supporting it throughout the runtime. This not only allows greater visual symmetry, it reinforces the key message with the target audience. One of the best ways to maintain that singular focus during production is to draft a guiding headline at the outset. It may change as the project develops, but starting with it and a tentative outline will ensure your narrative stays clear. Furthermore, it will save time in post-production when it comes time to edit and assemble your footage.
  • Develop questions that carry the narrative. The best interviews are planned but not scripted. Third-party voices can add credibility so long as they still sound like the speaker, not your brand. This means you need to get interviewees to sell your story in their own words, and that hinges on your interview questions. Paraphrasing your outline isn’t enough; you need to craft leading questions that direct your guests to your predetermined conclusions. This is a delicate skill, but it mostly requires practice and a bit of imagination.
  • Get written answers before the interview. It may seem counterintuitive to capturing authentic footage, but getting your questions answered ahead of time helps you spot opportunities and challenges. Topical landmines can throw off an otherwise great interview, while powerful moments can be missed entirely because a question wasn’t specific enough. This shouldn’t affect the quality of your footage because the meat of your interview will come from the following step.
  • Draft follow-up questions for the interview. Your initial set of questions should frame your narrative, but the best moments will come from follow-up questions. Once you’ve identified areas to avoid and areas to pursue, you need to go deep on the latter. For example, if your first questions uncovered a unique observation or finding, your follow-ups can get much more granular about it. Think about it as hunting for support for your main idea. Anything that you think might lead to a powerful statement is fair game.

INTERVIEW SETUP

With your narrative and questions locked, now you need to know how to set up for an interview. There are a lot of factors that go into the different approaches beyond creative preferences, from schedules and deadlines to budgets and resources. But the following examples will give you an idea of the primary setups professional video producers use.

ProductionCameraLightingAudio
In Studio-A and B cams
-Zoom lenses		-Key light
-Fill light
-Back light
-Other lights		-Wireless lavs
-Boom/shotgun mics
-Audio mixer/recorder
On Location (full crew)-A, B, and C cams
-Zoom, telephoto, and wide-angle lenses		-Key light
-Fill light
-Back light
-Practical lighting		-Wireless lavs
-Absorption blankets
On Location (single shooter)-A cam
-Zoom lens		-Portable lighting kits-Wireless lavs
Remote-Webcam
-Smartphone		-Ring/panel light-USB mic

 

IN STUDIO INTERVIEWS

Shooting an interview in studio is by far the most expensive and elaborate setup, and as such, it’s also the most resource- and cost-prohibitive one. However, it’s worth a reminder that studios can be rented, not just built. For many brands, even renting is well beyond budget, but for those that can afford it, in studio production imbues interviews with the highest possible quality.

IN STUDIO CAMERAS

  • A and B cams. A two-camera interview setup, using primary (A) and secondary (B) cameras, provides what’s called a “bail-out” angle in your shoot. For example, if the talent flubs a line or needs to rephrase their response, you can cut the two shots together to make them feel seamless. Cameras are typically “locked off” on tripods so that the shot stays consistent the entire time. Ideally, the cameras should be the same make and model so that it’s easier to color match between shots.
  • Lenses. Lens choices can vary, but typically you want to have a wide shot and a tight shot so there’s some differentiation between the two. These shots can also be used to help convey different emotions or feelings while filming the interview. A tight close-up on your subject can make what they’re saying more poignant, whereas a wider shot is great as an establishing shot to introduce them. With modern production cameras, you can film in 4K, which also provides the option to crop or reframe in post-production, giving you even more framing options.

IN STUDIO LIGHTING

  • Key light. This is the main light source on your subject and is used to establish the base of your look. It’s usually positioned camera left, facing the subject.
  • Fill light. Another light is used to help fill in the shadows on your subject. This could be another light source, or it could be a reflector or scrim to modify the key light. It should be about half the brightness of the key light and should be positioned camera right, facing the subject.
  • Back light. Also known as a hair light, a back light is used to separate your subject from the background. It should be about a quarter the brightness of the key light and should be positioned camera right, behind the subject.
  • Additional lights. You may also need light modifiers, which are tools used to shape or control the light source. Typical modifiers include softboxes, reflectors, scrims, flags, and diffusion cloths.

IN STUDIO AUDIO

  • Primary audio. The interview’s main audio usually comes from a lavalier microphone, or lav mic, attached to your subject’s collar or shirt. Lav mics provide very crisp, clean audio for dialogue and conversations.
  • Backup audio. You’ll also want a boom mic over the subject or a simple shotgun microphone mounted to the camera. These microphones will pick up much more of the environment, including the interviewer asking the questions, which can be helpful. Having two audio sources also provides redundancy during the shoot.
  • Audio recorder/mixer. Bringing multiple audio sources together often requires an audio recorder or mixer. These devices record each audio channel as a separate track so that you can mix and balance the different tracks in post. For a two-person interview (or more, for that matter), this piece of equipment is mandatory.

ON LOCATION, FULL CREW INTERVIEWS

On location or field productions replace the pristine look of a studio with unique visuals related to your topic or subject. Though they generally lack the quality and control of studio productions, the more natural environments may be preferred, depending on the interview’s objective.

A full production crew usually includes three to five people: the producer, director of photography, camera operator, audio engineer, and interviewer. Sometimes the producer will also act as the interviewer, and the audio engineer may not be essential for single-person interviews.

Also, just as enterprises often lack studios in their offices, many have limited video teams, especially with field experience. The best solution in these situations is to hire an agency or freelancers to fill the roles you need. In most cases, they will bring all of their own equipment or include rental fees in their quotes.

FULL CREW CAMERAS

  • A, B, and C cams. Adding a third or C camera while shooting interviews on location can be a great option if you’re trying to capture more of the subject’s environment. It does require another set of hands to operate, but a third camera angle opens up more creative opportunities for your interview shoot. For example, mounting it on a dolly or slider and adding slight motion or parallax to your interview shots can connect your subject with their surroundings.
  • Lenses. Zoom lenses tend to be best for interview shooting on location because of the extra flexibility they provide. A standard zoom (24-70mm) and a telephoto zoom (70-200mm) can serve as your two primary lenses. You could also add a wide-angle zoom lens or large aperture prime lens on your third camera to provide a different look and feel.

FULL CREW LIGHTING

In addition to the standard lighting used in studios (key, fill, and back lights), on location productions may include “practical lighting.” This is the term for adding environmental lights to your scene, such as a floor lamp or desk lamp. They’re not intended to light your subject as much as give your scene depth and contrast.

Larger crews might also have cinema-grade light bulbs that they swap into normal lights to better control the temperature or color of the light.

FULL CREW AUDIO

  • Wireless lavaliers. Lavs are great on location because, depending on the mic capsule, they usually boost vocal frequencies while minimizing other sounds. They also allow your subject to do a walk-n-talk or moving interview—for example, during a tour.
  • Absorption blankets. Unlike studios, which are built with acoustic panels, natural environments require absorption or sound blankets to dampen the echoes. For example, your subject might be sitting over a hardwood or tile floor, and smooth surfaces like these are highly reflective while people are speaking. Putting blankets or even rugs on the floor will reduce reflection and make your subject’s audio sound richer and fuller.

ON LOCATION, SINGLE SHOOTER INTERVIEWS

Portable productions condense the roles and equipment needed, so a single person can effectively shoot the interview on location. Though they certainly reduce costs and resources, they’re also preferred in situations where space or time is limited.

For example, filming an interview at an event or conference may not be possible with a full crew. Similarly, single shooters require less time to set and strike, allowing them to capture several interviews or take up less of your subject’s time.

SINGLE SHOOTER CAMERA

In a run-n-gun style shoot like this, you’ll likely have one camera and one lens for the entire shoot. A single mirrorless camera or cinema-style camera is preferred, as well as a zoom lens (24-70mm and 28-135mm are good choices).

Most smartphones now record in 4K and even LOG formats, making them another viable option for single shooters. They allow for external microphones, and they provide options to record to external media like a hard drive or memory card.

Also, even though these shoots have less gear, that means they also have fewer hands to manage it. So be sure to choose a solid tripod or monopod that’s portable but still can handle the weight of your interview camera setup. If your interview will be on the move, a stabilized gimbal will capture smooth video and potentially good-quality environmental B-roll as well.

SINGLE SHOOTER LIGHTING

Smaller, portable light kits are a good choice here. An LED panel light or tube-style light can be an easy way to add a key light to your shot without too much setup. Similarly, you might want to use a small, on-camera light so you can stay mobile if you’re somewhere like a trade show or event.

SINGLE SHOOTER AUDIO

Using wireless lavs as your primary audio is even more important in this format. Your subject might be on the move, so picking up their audio while they’re walking around will be important. You can also add a shotgun microphone on the camera to capture environmental sounds. This is usually fed into a second channel on the camera so you can record both sources at once.

REMOTE INTERVIEWS

Sometimes in-person interviews aren’t feasible at all. Rather than resorting to a written format, consider filming the interview remotely. With our partner, Socialive, you can set up a secure recording environment with a guest green room. Most importantly, each person can record their video natively, so you have the best possible video quality without interference from upscaling or buffering issues.

REMOTE CAMERAS

Most webcams today are sufficient for remote interviews, and with today’s distributed workforces, most people have access to one. However, it’s best to use the more common 1080p webcams rather than the higher-end 4K ones. The internet bandwidth needed for UHD video might lag too much and affect the pacing and flow of the interview.

Smartphones can also be good choices. For example, Socialive has a mobile app that lets you take advantage of relatively high-quality cameras on modern smartphones. Some manufacturers like Apple even have a feature where you can use their phones as a webcam.

The one challenge with webcams and smartphones is that they default to a wide-angle lens. While this focal length is ideal for video conferencing, it does create a mild fisheye effect. To minimize this, ask the subject to position themselves a couple of feet away, and zoom in with the camera. Most smartphones have this function, as well as some webcams.

REMOTE LIGHTING

A controlled light source like a ring light or panel light is a good choice here. They add a lot of dimension to your subject and provide a consistent light source while still being easy to use and relatively affordable. Given how much budget a remote interview saves, sending your interviewee something like this is well worth the outcome.

You can also leverage natural light or window light, so long as your subject can face the window. Sitting with the window behind them in the frame is called “backlighting” because it silhouettes your subject, making them hard to see. Also, be aware that natural light changes over time; if you’re recording for more than 10-15 minutes, there’s a chance your light source will change.

REMOTE AUDIO

USB microphones are a great option because they’re simple to use and show up as audio sources in most desktop meeting or recording apps. Like portable light sources, the minimal cost needed to send one to your subject is low compared to the results it brings.

INTERVIEW PRODUCTION

With the right interview setup selected, you’re ready to begin production. Video producers have their own style and process, but if you can’t include professional producers, the following tips will help you shoot an interview well.

  • Choose a good location. If you’re not using a studio, you need to find a place to film the interview that doesn’t have too much or too little light. Also, be mindful of ambient noise and reflection—everything from foot traffic and mechanical noise to high ceilings and laminate floors.
  • Set the scene. A good background isn’t just removing clutter (though you should definitely do that); it’s finding a depth of field that adds dimension to the interview shot. For example, instead of shooting your subject against a blank wall, sit them further into the foreground and capture more of the room. Set dressing can help, too. Other pieces of furniture or even office plants can add some color and depth. Account for all of these things when framing interviews, as well. Different focal lengths require different distances from your subject, so make sure you have enough space for your equipment.
  • Create a comfortable atmosphere. Sit down with the interviewee where you’ll shoot the interview and engage them in small talk while the crew is still setting up. This gives them time to get comfortable with you and the environment so that “pressing record” feels less intimidating.
  • Lead the interview. Don’t follow or just read off questions. Take charge and guide the conversation.
  • Go off script. Even with plenty of planning, interviewees can drop surprising ideas on camera—chase them and see if they add to the story.
  • Do retakes as needed. Mistakes can be reset; just know that the power of the moment may not be as strong the second time. Also, reset strong moments to see if you get a stronger second take. Do this only as needed, as it can erode your atmosphere over time.

INTERVIEW EDITING

Editing interview footage follows the same principles of most other business videos.

  • Organize your footage. This is less of a concern for single shooter interviews, but multicam shoots with B-roll and other footage need to be properly logged and stored.
  • Transcribe the interview. Transcriptions with timestamps allow you to quickly make “paper edits.” For resource-strapped teams, you can also outsource this task to other team members, as it doesn’t require interview video production experience.
  • Create a rough cut. Assemble the clips based on the paper edit, but don’t add any effects yet. The goal at this point is to lock in the story, not the picture.
  • Lock the picture. Once the story is approved by all stakeholders, you can incorporate additional footage and make cuts for time and coherence.
  • Mix the sound. This is especially important if you had to shoot an interview without an audio engineer. Different subjects may speak at different levels, and the equipment or environment may have created noise and distortion you didn’t notice during production. Do what you can to sweeten the audio, then add music as needed.
  • Add visual effects. Production levels will vary depending on the use, but this is when you would add titles, motion graphics, art cards, and other graphic elements.
  • Color correct the scenes. Color correction is necessary, regardless of your environment. But it’s critical for multicam shoots with B-roll and other footage to ensure they all look the same.
  • Publish the final cut. When the interview is finalized, your job isn’t over. You need to make it available to your team for distribution. For example, Brightcove integrates with most popular CMSs, MAPs, DAMs, and social tools, making video content easy to find and promote.
  • Extend your reach. Don’t forget to add captions and transcripts to your interview videos. Not only is this a more accessible viewing experience, it benefits your video SEO. You may also need to localize your content for different regions, so set expectations with stakeholders and translate or dub the content if needed.

INTERVIEW TIPS

Assuming you’ve followed best practices for interview filming, your video should turn out well. But there are some additional things to keep in mind that can improve the quality of your production.

  • Shoot at least 4K. Aside from remote interviews, you should try to always shoot interviews in 4K. The greater resolution not only looks better, it gives you more editing options. For example, a single shooter can mimic multicam by zooming into the shot to cover an edit, rather than relying solely on B-roll or jump cuts. You might also be tempted to film in 6K or even 8K. Besides the massive amount of storage this requires, most office computers aren’t powerful enough to edit it. For now, stick with 4K.
  • Shoot in LOG with multicam. Digital cameras can shoot in multiple formats. The default format is called Rec. 709, and it produces very realistic images at the expense of being less receptive to color correction. For tight turnarounds, it produces acceptable quality, but for most business videos, a LOG format is preferred. Though it looks very flat and desaturated at first, LOG contains much more detail and is intended to be color graded in post-production. This makes it essential for multicam shoots, where you need to make the images from different cameras look the same. Even with the same camera brand, the different focal lengths take in varying amounts of light that affect the final image. Thus, LOG gives you more control over the visual consistency of your content.
  • Overpower the sun. If you have to shoot outdoors, you’ll find yourself competing with the equivalent of 22 septillion light bulbs (that’s 22 million billion billion). As environments go, this is the hardest to control for light. As much as you can, try to shoot during overcast days and in the shadows. Even then, you’ll need to bring a much more powerful key light to compensate. If you have to film in direct sun, fly a silk over the scene as well to diffuse some of the light.
  • Record room tone. Room tone is the ambient sound in a room: electrical buzzes, mechanical hums, etc. Whenever you film an interview, you should record a minute or two of the room with nothing else going on because you’ll likely need it later. For example, you can hide edits by layering the room tone under them so it’s not obvious where you cut. You can also add retakes layered with room tone so they sound like they were recorded in the same environment. You can even cut noise by filtering out the offending frequencies, then covering it with room tone to replace those frequencies without the noise.

Interview videos are valuable marketing assets, but filming and producing them is much more complex than video blogs and podcasts. The quality expectations may be higher, but so are the results. Learn how to shoot an interview properly, then make sure your video platform has what you need to get the outcome your effort deserves.