{"id":879,"date":"2013-02-18T13:00:52","date_gmt":"2013-02-18T18:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/?p=879"},"modified":"2013-02-27T21:46:39","modified_gmt":"2013-02-28T02:46:39","slug":"video-the-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/?p=879","title":{"rendered":"Video the CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RMARTIN\"<\/a><\/strong><\/span>Regular, personal messages from a company’s top executive aren’t just\u00a0more popular, they’ve become imperative.\u00a0\u00a0Unflattering media\u00a0portrayals of\u00a0CEO’s are commonplace and these\u00a0short, informal videos\u00a0can go a long way toward improving executive\u00a0image.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to do many video interviews with CEO’s.\u00a0 Whether you’re producing a short message from your own small company’s president, or an interview with the skipper of a Fortune 500 company, here are some suggestions.<\/p>\n

People who run corporations are usually\u00a0very smart. They’ve made careers out of breaking down complex, gray-area issues into elementary components.\u00a0\u00a0Decisions are made in an almost binary way.\u00a0 They rarely like surprises, and\u00a0usually rely heavily on their administrative assistant (AA).<\/p>\n

Briefing the AA:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Treat the assistant as you would a VP or divisional president.\u00a0 Be warm, cordial, and extremely professional.\u00a0 If they tell their\u00a0boss that you seemed like a jerk, you will\u00a0<\/em>have a bad day.<\/li>\n
  2. Provide a clear, one-page briefing regarding the purpose of the shoot well in advance.\u00a0\u00a0Bulletize and generalize the message unless the delivery requires a recited script (then be very clear<\/em> whether it will be memorized or prompted).<\/li>\n
  3. Confirm\u00a0details with the assistant five business days in advance.\u00a0 While the CEO\u00a0may know the event is calendared, they probably haven’t read the briefing sheet.\u00a0 Tell the AA that you are available at any time<\/em>\u00a0if there are\u00a0questions.<\/li>\n
  4. Discuss, conceptually,\u00a0your\u00a0desired locations and let them know what time you’ll arrive\u00a0for load-in and set-up.<\/li>\n
  5. Provide the names of\u00a0your crew to ensure that building security is ready for you and your equipment.\u00a0 Even so, arrive early in case the security team decides to do visual inspections.<\/li>\n
  6. Will they need to see the final version before it’s public?\u00a0 Some companies insist on it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A few years ago I did a two-camera, three-person-crew\u00a0shoot\u00a0with\u00a0the CEO at a top-ten Fortune 500 company.\"JBOUCHARD\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0We arrived well in advance to set up in the\u00a0office while\u00a0a meeting finished\u00a0on another floor.\u00a0\u00a0As we\u00a0completed the set-up, two of us\u00a0sat down and rehashed the objectives of the shoot.\u00a0 When I looked up, I realized that the third person (a recent college film graduate) was sitting in the CEO’s chair playing with the\u00a0puzzles and knick-knacks at the desk.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0could only muster two words, “What?” and “No!”\u00a0 Had the executive walked in at that moment, we correctly\u00a0should have\u00a0been marched\u00a0up one\u00a0flight of stairs to the roof and thrown off.<\/p>\n

    The Crew:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Don’t have one.\u00a0 Unless you absolutely have to have a two camera shoot, do it yourself.\u00a0 Today’s technology allows\u00a0you to trim your kit so that you can carry all of\u00a0the equipment in one trip.\u00a0\u00a0Be efficient.<\/li>\n
    2. Dress appropriately.\u00a0 Khaki’s with a logo-embroidered\u00a0golf shirt is an absolute minimum.\u00a0 A suit may be overkill, but you must at least\u00a0consider it.\u00a0\u00a0The valet staff at the country club probably wears khaki’s and embroidered golf shirts.<\/li>\n
    3. Meet for coffee and brief the crew\u00a0ahead of time.\u00a0\u00a0They shouldn’t sit at the CEO’s desk, for example.\u00a0 Dear God, what is wrong with me?!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The best thing about getting to know CEO’s is that they are\u00a0almost always awe-inspiring people.\u00a0 While their job requires decorum, they are\u00a0generally wonderfully passionate,\u00a0and quick witted individuals.\u00a0 In spite (or because) of this, they fall roughly\u00a0into two\u00a0categories as it relates to filming;\u00a0 those \"RHARSHMAN\"<\/a>with experience and confidence in their\u00a0media chops and those that detest it.\u00a0 You are as likely to find a nervous subject as you would\u00a0with any other shoot.\u00a0 While you may not think this is unusual, the CEO does.\u00a0 Entire companies shrink in their presence, but that stupid camera\u00a0changes them into\u00a0a seven year old\u00a0being bullied by a fifth grader.\u00a0\u00a0This is not business as usual for them or<\/em> you.<\/p>\n

      The Subject:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. All CEO’s have some media experience.\u00a0 You will have no way of knowing whether it has been\u00a0pleasant\u00a0or not.<\/li>\n
      2. Be prepared to take them off-topic if needed.\u00a0 Chat about\u00a0something they might be\u00a0comfortable discussing.\u00a0 A\u00a0corporate acquisition, recent press coverage, future industry directions,\u00a0or their daughter’s\u00a0wedding.\u00a0\u00a0Meaningful prior research is imperative.<\/li>\n
      3. The tricky part is understanding that you are in the presence of the boss.\u00a0 Giving direction is what you<\/em>\u00a0usually do.\u00a0\u00a0They<\/em>\u00a0are not used to\u00a0it.\u00a0 Don’t apologize, but be apologetic.<\/li>\n
      4. Be prepared for a “one and done” take.\u00a0 Don’t ever assume\u00a0you can take a mulligan.\u00a0 I\u00a0had\u00a0a CEO\u00a0 do one take and then look me straight in the eye and ask “Are we done?”.\u00a0 Which, in this case, meant that we were.<\/li>\n
      5. Make them look presidential.\u00a0\u00a0Set up that kicker or extra\u00a0hard light to give them some separation from the practicals.\u00a0 Don’t forget your gels.\u00a0 Corporate offices are notoriously surrounded by giant windows.\u00a0 You will<\/em> have mixed lighting.<\/li>\n
      6. If they are comfortable, I sometimes ask for a second take with the\u00a0camera\/shot at a different position allowing\u00a0cuts if necessary.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Executives are my favorite subjects, and\u00a0it has nothing to do with video.\u00a0 There tends to be more laughter and meaningful conversation than I have in the rest of my day.\u00a0\u00a0Have fun!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Regular, personal messages from a company’s top executive aren’t just\u00a0more popular, they’ve become imperative.\u00a0\u00a0Unflattering media\u00a0portrayals of\u00a0CEO’s are commonplace and these\u00a0short, informal videos\u00a0can go a long way toward improving executive\u00a0image. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to do many video interviews with CEO’s.\u00a0 Whether you’re producing a short message from your own small company’s president, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[16,29,19,15,8,32,18],"class_list":["post-879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy-media","category-media-techniques-and-technologies","tag-content-mining","tag-digital-media-strategy","tag-diy-media-2","tag-marketing","tag-media","tag-techniques","tag-video"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=879"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":932,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions\/932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mudhutstudiosonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}