If you’re a professional speaker, you need a video showcasing your talents; it’s an essential part of your marketing.  You want that video to show you delivering a fantastic talk in front of an engaged, appreciative audience.  What are the ins and outs of creating such a video?  I recently had the opportunity to interview ace cinematographer Geoff Birmingham of Reflection Films.  Geoff has prepared a number of such videos, and has some great advice on how to make them work.  You can learn more about Geoff and his team here:  http://www.reflectionfilmsonline.com/ 

Q.  Geoff, thanks for talking with me.  From your perspective, what does it take to make a great speaker video?

Two things come immediately to mind:

1. A successful video will only show the good stuff.  There's no rule that says your video must be totally true to how you performed that day.  Were you flat in the middle?  Edit it out! 

2. A successful video won't just be you on camera; it will also have a variety of good audience reaction shots.  The audience shots will include plenty of close-ups of people laughing at your jokes, nodding in agreement with you, or showing some other facial expression that demonstrates they're engaged.

Q.  If something goes wrong during the speech as it's being filmed — like a serious verbal stumble, or a hostile question, or something more mundane like a problem with the sound — can you fix it in the editing room?

In the film and video world, there's a saying: "It'll get fixed in post."  Translation: Mistakes during filming can often (but not always) be corrected during editing.  So speakers don't need to feel like they must be absolutely perfect in front of the camera.  There are plenty of ways to edit out most mishaps that may occur during a speech.

Q.  What makes a speaker visually interesting from your point of view — the point of view of a filmmaker?  Should I emote a lot?  Jump around a lot?  What should I do differently when you're filming me?

  I think the answer to this is subjective, so I'll just share my own opinion.  I would never encourage a speaker to do anything differently than he/she would do if there were no camera – I think it would come off as unnatural and forced.  Having said that, however, I recently talked with a speaker who realized that, after watching herself on camera, her presentation needed to be more dynamic.

So perhaps the short answer is this: don't do anything that is unnatural or forced, but do your best to bring an authentic energy to your presentation.

Q.  If I use slides (or video clips) in my presentation, how do you include those in the video? 

If you use slides or video clips, just make sure to deliver the source material to your producer to edit directly into your video.  They will be much more legible that way, versus asking your cameraman to capture shots of the slides or video off the screen during your presentation.

Q.  How much does a good speaker video cost? 

Filming a speaker's presentation doesn't need to be an elaborate production.  Still, you want to make sure that you hire people who know what they are doing.  In most cases, I think two cameramen – one recording the presenter, and one capturing audience shots – would suffice.  And one of the cameramen also must be responsible for hooking the speaker up with a wireless lavalier microphone. 

Depending on what kind of existing lighting your location has, your crew might need to bring in a small light or two to add extra illumination.

To hire a two-person crew, pay for the camera and sound equipment rental, and have someone edit your video will probably cost about $2,500 to $3,000.  This is assuming that you are creating a video that is approximately 15 minutes long from a single presentation.

Q.  Can I draw from a number of videos of different qualities and different dates if I've got the video archives?  Is that a good idea? 

I think this is certainly an idea worth considering.  It may not work so well if you hire a professional crew to record a big or important presentation, but have asked a friend to help with the "smaller" ones.  The difference in quality will be significant, so it could be hard to edit those together and maintain a consistent look.

My suggestion would be to hire a professional crew for an important speech, and then for other, smaller presentations seek out help from students at a local college or cable access station.  If you go the student route, just make sure he/she brings the right audio gear – sound recorded off of the camera from the back of the room will not work.

Q.  How soon do I need to think about starting all over again to update my video?

There's no one answer to this, but here are some times that a speaker might consider creating a new video:

* when you have new presentation

* if you have a different or interesting venue that will enhance your profile

* if you speak in front of a unique audience or one that will add greater credibility to the work you do

Q.  Thanks, Geoff.  I've worked with Geoff and his team a number of times and I'm delighted to report that they are professional, reasonably priced, and great people to collaborate with.