Video Tips - Do I Need to Show My Building?
Business owners are really proud of their buildings. Let’s face it, if you’re the owner of your company, you’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into your building. Oh, and let’s not forget, you’ve spent A LOT of money on that property.
Your building is where the magic happens. It’s where your employees come to work every day and fulfill the dreams of your clients. So why not show off the beautiful exterior of your building in your new video?
Well, as a video producer, my job is to advise you on what works and what does not. And I’m here to say, it’s not always worth it to show off the exterior of your building in your video. It makes sense sometimes. But not always. In fact, any videographer who has worked with me knows I’m not a fan of exterior shots of buildings.
Why? Because they often take a long time to capture and add nothing to the story. Because of that, I’d rather use the time to capture footage I know will benefit my client more than a few exteriors of a building.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t a time and place for building exterior shots.
When Should I Show Off My Building?
So what do I mean by exterior shots? I’m talking about those glamorous pans and tilts of your front entrance. Those Hollywood-esqe drone shot fly-bys of your building with the interstate and other buildings in the background. So, when do these shots work? These shots work when your building is an integral part of the story.
Exterior shots are crucial:
If your building has a serious impact on your product that significantly affects the life of your customers.
if your building is unique to your industry.
If your building is a historical landmark, then yes, you should show it.
If Your Building Impacts Your Customers
It only makes sense that if your building is one way you impact your customers, then yes, by all means, show your building inside and out. In this case your building is what defines you in a way. It’s part of your story.
Here is an example. The Capitol Region Watershed District in St. Paul, Minnesota purchased a new building and revitalized it. Now, students and the community can visit to learn more about how to protect and improve the vital water resources in the area.
This video showcases the transformation and highlights all of the benefits the community will see now that this former industrial building is now home to the Capitol Region Watershed District.
This is the perfect example of where you should go crazy showcasing the exterior of your building. (It doesn’t hurt that the video itself is about a building!)
If your building is unique to your industry
There are some occasions where your building is simply unique. It might not be the most memorable building but it gives you a distinct advantage over your competition or it greatly benefits your customers. This is the rarest of occasions to use exterior shots in a video. For me it must pass this test. Are you the only one in your industry, that you are aware of, with a building like this? If so, then by all means, go ahead and show it.
Maybe your coffee shop is in an old silo or your cheese factory cleans its wastewater using an impressive “Living Machine Greenhouse.” Then yes, go ahead and show a few shots of the exterior. This makes your company unique.
NatureWorks creates plastic using plants. Its customers turn to NatureWorks for a wide ranges of solutions. Because of this, the company created a plant dedicated to research and development only. This video showcases the capabilities at this plant. Notice the exterior is shown exactly once at the beginning as an establishing shot. That’s it! But that is all that is needed. The main story happens inside the building so the focus of the footage is on the people and what goes on inside the facility.
If Your Building is a Historical Landmark
Many companies are housed in buildings that have stood the test of time. I’ve shot videos in manufacturing plants that were beautifully crafted hundreds of years ago. I’ve been in restaurants that were old feed mills. And I’ve done videos hosted at events at iconic venues. Yes, I shot exteriors of those buildings because they were beautiful and told a story. In each of these cases there was a compelling reason to show the exterior.
Here is an example of a business that has history on it’s side and fits into the unique category as well. Many bed and breakfasts can boast they are on the water. But very few can say they are LITERALLY on the water like Covington Inn Bed and Breakfast in St. Paul, Minnesota. This transformed tugboat hosts guests year round on the mighty Mississippi.
When Shouldn’t I Show My Building?
A general rule of thumb is if your building looks like the other buildings around you, it’s probably a good idea to leave it out of your video. It’s not that your building isn’t important. But, you have a limited amount of time with your visitor. What is it you want your visitor to know about you? What is that key message you want them to take away? What challenge are you helping them solve with your video?
The first step is to answer the questions above. Then ask yourself this most important question…
“Is my building part of the story I’m trying to tell?” Usually, the answer is, “No.” Often, as a producer, I see exterior shots as filler and when you start seeing filler content, you’ve lost the viewer.
Exterior shots often take the most time and money because the lighting needs to be right, you are dependent on weather and many times you need to rent special equipment like drones, jibs or other doo-hickeys (sorry for the technical terms) just to make the shots exciting. Agile Video usually advises to save your money on this gear and use it to get great shots of your people. They are the ones making things happen. Not your building.
Parting Thoughts on Exterior Shots
If you do need to show exteriors, do so sparingly. Remember, even though you put a lot of blood, sweat, tears and cash into your building, your customers really aren’t impressed by walls. You only have a short amount of time to impress viewers in video. Is a shot of your entrance, or roof, or parking lot, the best use of their time?
Get a few shots and move on! Don’t spend hours. Heck, don’t spend a half-hour! Take the above NatureWorks video. The exterior shot is used once for three-seconds. It established itself as a building and that was it. No need to do anything more.