Actors or Real Employees for Business Videos

Business videos are now a fact of our working life – used for recruitment, training, promotion and of course advertising. Today, most businesses need a web presence on YouTube, which means customers expect to see more video content in general. You may be tempted to use actual employees in some of your videos, saving the expense of hiring professional actors. However, this may not always be the best choice. Here, we present the advantages and disadvantages of using actors or real employees.

Using Actors

Pros

The obvious advantage to hiring a professional is that they have the experience and skill to deliver the results you desire. They will convey your message to your audience in the way you want. Most professionals have done this sort of thing before and will need little instruction, having already worked with scriptwriters and video production companies like Top Pup Media. Because of this expertise, the production is likely to move quicker which results in less production time. They know how to read and memorize scripts and know how to deliver your vision for your corporate video.

Cons

The immediate concern for your business will be the cost of hiring a professional actor. Acting is a skill requiring years of training – and you will be expected to pay for these highly qualified individuals. It’s essential that you get your money’s worth and make best use of the time you might have with them. The second disadvantage is that they will not be familiar with your company or technical terms so on-screen delivery may come across as inauthentic.

Using Employees

Pros

There are two obvious advantages to using employees. The first is that they work at your company and can give real life experiences to which people can relate – whether a sales pitch or a training video. The viewer wants to see real people in real situations – so it’s the authenticity that is the edge over professional actors here. The second advantage is that they will understand any acronyms or corporate jargon and will be able to explain it as they already understand what the script is trying to present to the audience.

Cons

The main disadvantage is that unless you are very lucky, your employees will not have much screen presence or quality of delivery. Even when your production values are great, the end product will be ruined by unconvincing acting. Even the most confident and outgoing people in the company (we typically tend to think that the sales team will be good at this sort of thing) they may get nervous in front of a camera, forget their lines or struggle through a convincing performance.

Conclusion

Each video type will have its own requirements, so it’s best to consider each video type on merit. Most videos intended for customers should use professional acting talent unless you are producing a recruitment video; authenticity will be the key factor here for your potential high level recruits.

Related Posts

Leave a comment