In this article, we will refer to someone interviewed as Talent. We use the term in the industry, whether it’s a CEO or a professional actor.
This article was updated on November 27, 2024
What is a Video Testimonial?
A video testimonial is a powerful marketing tool that showcases a satisfied customer’s experience with a product or service. In just a few minutes, a customer shares their authentic story, highlighting the benefits and results they’ve achieved by using the product or service. Video testimonials are an effective way to build trust and credibility with potential customers, as they provide social proof and help to establish a brand’s reputation. By sharing video testimonials, businesses can connect with their audience on a personal level, making their marketing efforts more relatable and impactful.
Benefits of Testimonial Videos
Testimonial videos offer numerous benefits for businesses, making them an invaluable part of any marketing strategy. They provide authentic social proof that can significantly improve conversion rates and sales, as viewers are more likely to trust the opinions of their peers. Additionally, testimonial videos enhance brand reputation and awareness, helping to establish a positive image in the market. They are also a cost-effective marketing strategy, as creating video testimonials requires minimal investment compared to other forms of advertising. Finally, testimonial videos are easy to share and distribute across multiple channels, amplifying their reach and impact.
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Qualities of an Effective Video Testimonial
An effective video testimonial should possess several key qualities to resonate with viewers and achieve its intended impact. Authenticity is paramount; the customer’s story should be genuine and heartfelt, reflecting their true experience. Specificity is also crucial; the customer should clearly explain how the product or service helped them, providing concrete examples. Tangible results are essential, as viewers want to see specific benefits or outcomes achieved. An emotional connection can make the testimonial more compelling, evoking emotions that create a bond with the viewer. Lastly, professional production is important; the video should be well-produced, with good sound and video quality, ensuring it looks polished and credible.
Choose the right location to record video testimonials.
Choosing the right place to record video testimonials is an important step in engaging with an audience visually. You’ve probably seen a few video testimonials against a white wall or in a tight corner office. Those shots don’t convey warmth and do not create an emotional connection with the viewer.
It’s hard to record video testimonials in a confined space. Look for a wide open space that will give you options for a background that compliments your talent. Your focus should be on the person being interviewed. A well-chosen location also helps in showcasing happy customers effectively.
That’s why it’s best to find a location where you can use the background as a texture. You can create texture by using a shallow depth of field or having the background blurred—this is what we call bokeh in the business. This gives you a nice, soft background that’s welcoming and keeps the focus on your talent.
Blurring the background will give you more aesthetic options, and you’ll be able to make a boring background pleasing. It will also push your talent forward making him or her the focus.
You should experiment by moving things around, bringing a plant into the shot or a painting, and seeing how that looks on camera. Or you can use a long shot of an office to create a fantastic backdrop. You can turn boring into something interesting!
Just a reminder: stay away from cramped spaces if you can and avoid windows unless you want a white blowout look.
Lighting for a Video Testimonial: Lights Will Make or Break a Shot
Lighting is a crucial aspect of video production, and it can make or break a shot. Here are some tips for achieving good lighting for a video testimonial:
- Natural light: Use natural light whenever possible, as it creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Position your talent near a window to take advantage of soft, diffused sunlight.
- Softbox lights: Invest in softbox lights, which provide soft, diffused light that reduces harsh shadows. These lights are ideal for creating a flattering and professional look.
- Avoid harsh light: Avoid using harsh light sources, such as direct sunlight or bright overhead lights, as they can create unflattering shadows and highlights. Instead, opt for softer, more controlled lighting.
- Experiment with lighting setups: Experiment with different lighting setups to find the one that works best for your video testimonial. Try using a three-point lighting setup, which includes a key light, fill light, and backlight, to achieve a balanced and well-lit scene.
I’m amused when someone says they want a shot to look natural, meaning it should take no effort. You don’t have to record video testimonials like a Hollywood production, but you should take certain inspiration from the pros.
It takes our corporate production crew a minimum of 1-2 hours to set up a video testimonial, and that’s having done it a few hundred times.
It would be best if you thought about color temperature when using lights or natural light. The two reference temperatures are 3200 degrees Kelvin—the yellowish warm glow you get from a home or office lamp. The other color reference temperature is 5200 degrees Kelvin and is referred to as daylight. Daylight bulbs in a home look a little blueish. However, on video, they match perfectly with sunlight.
The cost of technology has come way down over the years, and even inexpensive LED lights allow you to dial in a precise color temperature. You’ll want to match your lights with the environment that you are shooting in.
So, if you are in a space filled with natural light, you will use the daylight setting on your lights, which may look a little blueish. This will match the natural light from the sun. You don’t want any other light on while filming. One color temperature for the area you are shooting in.
You will use the 3200-kelvin setting if you are in a house or office lit with tungsten bulbs or warm LEDs—yellow. There are temperatures in between, but I want to keep this simple, as it doesn’t need to be complicated if you aren’t a professional.
If you want to take lighting to another level, you should invest in a light meter if you want the precise color temperature of the scene you are shooting. Good lighting also simplifies the video editing process, making it easier to produce polished content. It can be really difficult to achieve a natural color in postproduction if you have a mix of lighting.
Try to avoid shooting video testimonials outdoors. Lighting outdoors can be harsh and create unflattering shadows unless you have the knowledge and tools to control light. Below is a setup for a professional outdoor video testimonial.
Tip: The good news is you can get a good shot with an inexpensive interview lighting kit that you can purchase at B&H Video & Photography. They are one of the few places where you can talk to a pro who cares about your needs and find tutorials on an interview setup. They also carry everything you’ll need to conduct an interview, from a value setup to a full-blown Hollywood array.I don’t get paid by B&H for endorsements. I mention them because they are the standard when it comes to buying production gear or comparing specs and prices.
You must have good testimonial audio if you want people to watch your video.
No one will listen to your client testimonial video if it sounds like it’s coming from a fast-food drive-through speaker. No amount of magic can make that better in post-production. Luckily, there are affordable options for capturing excellent sound! For most, a wireless Lavalier system will be a suitable choice and easy to set up.
You can even purchase an affordable Lavalier system that you can plug into your smartphone, which you can sync up while editing.
For the adventurous, you might want to try a boom-and-shotgun mic approach. This method is used so the interview can look natural without an attached mic.
There are ways to hide a lavaliere, but that can be a minefield if you don’t know what you are doing. You can hide a lav in a lot of places, but you have to know how to attach it or cover the mic if it’s under clothing. All you will hear is scratching if the shirt rubs an exposed mic. It won’t be audible if your not wearing headphones while recording.
If you want to dig deeper, we wrote an extensive article on capturing excellent audio for video.
If you’re conducting a professional interview, never use your camera or phone’s built-in mic for final audio. However, while utilizing an external recording device, you should leave your camera and phone mic on.
You can use the camera’s scratch audio to sync with your external recording in post-production. Most digital editing systems can sync audio from several devices with a single click.
What kind of camera should I use to shoot a video testimonial?
A better question to start with might be: What is my skill level with cameras? Or, how well do I understand them? It takes knowledge to understand F-stops, aperture, ASA settings, and what lens you should be shooting with to get the desired look and feel of what you’re filming.
Some amazing cameras can be purchased that would have been cost-prohibitive a decades ago. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is an excellent example of a device that can deliver professional results. It’s under $2,000 and comparable to cameras that are five times its cost. Understanding these camera settings is crucial for producing high-quality customer video testimonials.
Shoot video testimonials in 4K or higher.
You should shoot all your video testimonials in 4K. This will give you more options while you are editing. It’s like shooting with two cameras because you can export your video in HD, which is half the size. You should frame your video with a wide-to-medium shot. That way, in post-production, you can pull in for a tight shot without losing any clarity because your output will be scaled down from 4K to HD, as illustrated below. However, if the image becomes blurry at HD, then you’ve pulled in too much. Shooting in 4K also helps in creating a great customer testimonial video with more editing options.
Cell phone video testimonials can achieve great results.
I would suggest using the latest iPhone or Android If you’re not familiar with how manual settings on video cameras work. The video quality on the latest generation of cell phones is pretty amazing.
Especially if you’re using the cinematic features of the latest models, this feature will enable you to blur the background without having any knowledge of F-Stops or aperture settings to achieve depth of field. Again, blurring the background can make a boring setting look great.
That said, you still need to follow certain steps outlined in this article to make your video look good.
You should also invest in a Tri-Pod for your phone to get a consistent, steady shot. No one likes shaky videos unless it’s a horror film.
TIP: Try turning off the office lights if you have a lighting kit. A simple setup is having three lights. Two front lights pointed at your talent. This will avoid any distracting face shadows and give your talent a more youthful appearance. Use the third light to paint the background or use it to make a spotlight behind your talent. Using your lighting kit will ensure that your are perfectly white balanced and ensure a well lit scene.
At minimum have one to two lights.
If you can, avoid shooting near windows because it’s hard to balance the intensity of the light indoors to outdoors. If the window is getting direct sun chances are your window shot will be washed out, meaning it will just be a white glow. That said, some shooters might want a washed out glow but I would stay away from that scenario if you haven’t done it before.
Also you’ll need to balance the outside light with the indoor lighting. Remember, there’s the basic range of light from 3200K-5200K.
Video testimonial questions: You need to ask the right questions and follow some steps to get great customer testimonial videos:
- Ask your talent to respond to your questions by repeating part of the question when applicable. Example: Question: Why do you like ACME widgets? Answer: I like ACME widgets because…
- Ask questions to elicit your desired response to the message you are trying to achieve. Rephrase the question if you aren’t getting the desired response.
- It’s okay to feed someone lines if your talent struggles in front of the camera. As a producer, I feed lines to people all the time. The goal is to get what you need because you only have one shot at it. Maybe they are saying what you want them to, but it’s taking too long, or it’s not cohesive. I’m constantly thinking about what individuals say during interviews and how they can say it better if they’re having difficulty. I always get what I need, and if you make a decent suggestion, everyone will perform your lines in their voice.
- Before recording the video, ask the talent to look at you off-camera or directly at the camera while responding to the question. Looking at the camera will be a direct-to-audience response, and looking at you slightly off-camera will be an interview setup.
- If you are in an interview setup, you should be standing or sitting at eye level with your talent. The same applies when shooting directly at the audience—the camera should be at the person’s eye level.
- Ask the talent not to look left, right, up, or down while answering your questions. Shifting focus away from the camera can distract the viewers’ attention.
- Ask your talent to continue looking at you or the camera for 2-3 seconds after they answer the question; this will help when you are trying to edit segments together. This might seem like a low priority, but you should make this clear. It’s a natural tendency for some people to look away after answering a question. It becomes essential if you are trying to make a tight edit from one line to the next.
- Watch your talent’s body language. If you see someone respond positively to a question, focus a little more on that topic or phrase the following question with that topic in mind. I’ve gotten some great answers by watching people I interview and doubling down on questions when I see a spark of interest.
- Ask a feeling question when you see a positive response from your talent. For example, how does that make you feel that ACME widgets have your back?
- Don’t interrupt someone while they are talking, even if it’s not what you want to hear or if they already gave you a great answer. Let them finish with their thoughts, and you might get some gems. Of course, stop the interview if you are about to fall asleep from someone rambling or if they go off-topic.
- Give the talent the questions beforehand to familiarize them with the content. This will give the person time to think about what they will say. It will feel more natural when the time comes for the interview.
- Pick the right person to ask the questions. You don’t want an introvert asking the questions. You should choose someone with experience or a natural ability to connect with people. Asking the right questions is crucial to create video testimonials that are engaging and authentic.
Video Testimonial Software Alternatives
There are several video testimonial software alternatives available, each offering unique features to help you create and share compelling customer testimonials:
- StoryPrompt: A user-friendly platform that allows businesses to create and share video testimonials with ease. It offers customizable templates and intuitive editing tools to streamline the process.
- Vocal Video: This platform enables businesses to collect and record video testimonials from satisfied customers. It provides tools for editing and enhancing videos, making it easy to produce professional-quality content.
- Piktochart Video: A versatile platform that allows businesses to create and edit video testimonials using a range of templates and design tools. It’s perfect for those looking to add a creative touch to their videos.
- Riverside: A comprehensive platform that enables businesses to record and edit video testimonials using a range of features and tools. It supports high-quality video and audio recording, ensuring your testimonials look and sound great.
Best Practices for Editing Testimonial Videos
Here are some best practices for editing testimonial videos to ensure they are engaging and effective:
- Keep it concise: Keep the video concise and to the point, ideally between 2-3 minutes long. This ensures viewers stay engaged and absorb the key messages.
- Use a clear structure: Use a clear structure, including an introduction, body, and conclusion. This helps to organize the content and guide the viewer through the story.
- Add captions and subtitles: Add captions and subtitles to make the video more accessible and easier to understand. This is especially important for viewers who may be watching without sound.
- Use music and sound effects: Use music and sound effects to enhance the mood and atmosphere of the video. Choose background music that complements the tone of the testimonial without overpowering the dialogue.
- Experiment with different editing styles: Experiment with different editing styles to find the one that works best for your video testimonial. Try incorporating transitions, text overlays, and motion graphics to add interest and keep the viewer engaged.
By following these best practices, you can create compelling and professional testimonial videos that effectively showcase your satisfied customers and build trust with your audience.
Learn how to record video testimonials like a pro.
I guarantee that if you follow these procedures, you will achieve fantastic results. I would recommend first-time shooters practice setting up an interview a few times so you understand how it works.
Before filming an interview or video testimonial, you should become familiar with your equipment. Once you’ve mastered the setup, practice interviewing a few coworkers to get a feel for the process. This will help you efficiently collect video testimonials.
If the video production process feels daunting, you can contact Mighty Fine Production Company, and we’d be happy to provide you with a quote for your next video testimonial. We have also consulted with organizations looking to set up a permanent space within their office to shoot videos.
Practice, practice, practice.
