It ain't easy being cheesy
Let’s face it: sometimes corporate video is just so bad it’s good. This is especially true when I see archival stuff from the 80’s. Recently, however, I see small businesses jumping on the bandwagon to get an internet video for their website and are willing to go with anything as long as they get a video posted.
Either they are trying to give their ad an awkward local commercial vibe or they just don’t realize they’re heading down the path to cheesy video stardom. In either case, here are 5 easy tips to help you look your cheesiest:
- Don’t be yourself. Read from a script, especially one that someone else wrote for you. You’re probably not an actor, so trying to be one will surely help you achieve the cheese factor. For bonus suckage, read the script from a teleprompter without any practice so your eyes can be seen darting from side to side or glazing over like a blind person.
- Fake backgrounds. Instead of showing yourself in your natural environment where you live or work, be sure to use a studio backdrop with lots of obvious lighting to remind people that they’re not watching a real person. If using a green screen for your background, you’ll want to make it very obvious with a bad key that flickers around the edges of the person who’s talking.
- Outdated Music. Incorporate songs from music libraries that are 20+ years old and sound like they were produced with synthesizers you might find at a yard sale full of antiques. Cheesy album artwork is another good indicator of cheesy music. The more a song sounds like elevator music, the better.
- Retro graphics. If you use artwork in your video such as a “Lower Third” to display your name, pick something that looks like it was made in the early 80’s, with colors that clash with each other and your company logo.
- Bright, bold titles. For title cards, pick the brightest neon color you can find for the text and then pick another neon color for the background color. Green on red is always a good choice. This is sure to make the text both hard to read and painful on the eyes.
For some comic inspiration, here’s a favorite video that one of my readers shared with me which is awesome beyond words. If this couple is pretending to be bad for the sake of getting YouTube views, they are freakin’ brilliant. What do you think of it? Post a comment with your thoughts and/or any cheesy corporate videos you’ve found online. Do you have any other tips to add to my easy cheesy checklist above?
May 19th, 2010
From actual experience:
Include your 6-month old AND your untrained dogs. They are super at taking direction.
Force a staff member to speak on camera, even if English is not their primary language. We’ll fix it in post.
During your interview, please keep looking off to your field producer for approval.
Wear patterns. Lots and lots of loud patterns. Like a peacock.
Always ask your producer if you can incorporate commercial music. You bought it on iTunes, so you MUST own the rights to it.
If you hire actors for testimonials, it is NOT important that they pronounce your name correctly.
If you bring in actual clients for testimonials, there is no need to remind them they will be on camera. People like surprises.
While shooting b-roll, it is critical that you maintain eye contact with the camera at all times.
May 20th, 2010
That’s awesome, David. Sounds like you’re all too familiar with the world of corporate video. Reading through your list, it kind of puts things in perspective why so many corporate videos get lead astray if the client is adding roadblocks in an effort to “help”.
May 20th, 2010
Thanks, Jeff.
But back to your list: being yourself and “natural” backgrounds aren’t always the best idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYS9dgi5-AA
May 21st, 2010
Don’t forget to ensure you ignore your target audience and don’t even considering what you want the film to achieve.
Key messages? Who needs ‘em when your favourite puppy is biting your ankles…
Jeremy Stinton
Executive Producer
ST16 Ltd
May 26th, 2010
Jeremy, thanks for mentioning the point of focusing your message to your audience. That’s something that can be easy to overlook when you’re jumping in to all the different social media tools that are out there.
May 26th, 2010
Wow David! You have an extensive library of cheesy corporate videos. I love it! On a serious note, I prefer to shoot video in the person’s normal work environment, assuming there isn’t an issue with lighting or audio. And that they don’t come across looking like a character on the Love Boat.