‘Unscripted’, ‘authentic’, ‘spontaneous’, ‘extemporaneous’ - this is the mantra of a new generation of online video producers. Unscripted is a great way to shoot video… sometimes.

Image this scenario: You’ve hired a camera crew, a studio, some special equipment and your senior spokesperson/presenter is ready to go. You’ve given your presenter speaking notes – and he assures he doesn’t need them. A couple hours into the shoot everyone including the presenter realizes it’s not going well. The presenter decides maybe he should refer to the notes, but now he can’t deliver them well because he can’t memorize them and they are not his words. What do you do?

Short form, off the cuff video segments are becoming more popular today as companies look to build their brands by communicating in a less formal manner and by trying to engage their audience using a more personal approach. Corporate presentations and company overviews lend themselves well to this format where an exec and/or staff member might deliver an unscripted, but heartfelt explanation of what makes their company great.

You can be successful with this style of video production if you have a good plan for what you want to get out of the video (and how you will be delivering it), a smart set of talking points to reference and a good presenter who is comfortable with this unscripted format. If on the other hand, you are shooting a detailed product demo or a particularly long or complicated presentation or if you have a presenter who does not have a lot of experience in front of a camera you should consider renting a teleprompter.

These are some of the situations where a teleprompter is well worth the investment:

1. Using a professional presenter/actor. If the presenter is not a subject matter expert then they either have to memorize a script (which is very difficult to do well) or read from a teleprompter.

2. Long presentations. The longer the video and the longer each speaking piece in the video is, the greater the need for a teleprompter. You only have to sit through one session where the presenter continues to stumble over the correct delivery for a prolonged period of time to wish you had invested in a teleprompter.

3. Complex presentations. Product demos, technical presentations and presentations that require a lot of different verbal and physical actions to happen at the same time would benefit from the use of a teleprompter. Product managers and business owners know their products better than anyone but that does not guarantee that they can give you a fluid and professional read if the verbal requirements are complex.

4. Experience in front of a camera. Your best trade show guy might be a crackerjack pitchman in front of an audience (large or small) but that can all change quickly when they are asked to talk to a camera under the glare of lights and no one there to provide feedback. {Shooting them talking to someone on screen (or off) may be a good compromise if that style suits your business needs.}

5. Failure is not an option. {This may be the best reason to consider renting a teleprompter}.  If you’re investing a lot of time and effort for a video shoot (which is usually always the case), if you have asked for senior exec’s or business owners time to shoot the video or if you are working to a tight deadline (which is always the case) the availability of a teleprompter might just save the day. 

The problem is that unless you have seen the presenter on camera before you won’t know how the unscripted format is going to go. Your video production company should be able to guide you on when and where to use a teleprompter but if you are doing the video yourself you should be able to rent a teleprompter and an equipment rental shop for between $300 and $500 for a half day (This includes a teleprompter operator – the person who loads and keeps the onscreen text moving). Conversely you can buy the equipment and software yourself for under $1,000.00. If you plan on doing a fair amount of in-house video then this may be a good option. You’ll just have to train someone on how to use the software (it is not difficult to learn).

If you are blessed with articulate, charismatic executives then consider yourself lucky. If you are like most companies (large or small) however, you may want to consider hiring professional presenters to represent your company in your corporate videos.

This subject often triggers vigorous debate amongst the ‘authenticity’ purists. I tend to take a more pragmatic approach when considering whether or not to use a presenter. The answer to whether or not a professional presenter is necessary or appropriate depends on the context. Some examples:

Commercials. Most companies (large and small) use presenters/actors for commercials, for good reason. Stephen Jobs is arguably one of the best presenters on the planet but Apple doesn’t use him in their ads. Justin Long ( the “I’m a Mac” guy ) is a much better embodiment of the Apple attitude, style and demographic than Jobs. Sure, Dave Thomas was a great spokesman for Wendy’s, Sir Richard Branson is Virgin and Harland David Sanders was KFC – but these are the exceptions. Linking your brand to the CEO is not always a good strategy (especially if he/she leaves the company). Lee Iacocca and his outsized ego almost crushed Chrysler back in the day. Unless you have a compelling, articulate leader – one that your target audience identifies positively with, you are better off to use a surrogate.

Product Demonstrations. This category is much more complicated because there are many types of product demonstrations and many different audiences. As an example, if you are selling into a technical B2B market then a product demo is better delivered by the product manager – regardless of his/her on- screen abilities. Technical audiences trust technical people and rather enjoy ridiculing actors who “probably don’t have a clue about they are talking about”. If, on the other hand you are selling a non-technical product to a B2C market then a presenter that represents your target demographic would be more appropriate. If you are showing how something works – i.e. a real-world example (either in the field with a customer or in reinacting in a studio)  then actors / presenters may be much better suited to the task. “Show me, don’t tell me” is one of the sweet spots of online corporate video and product and service demos in particular.

Corporate Overviews. This is one of the broadest and most common Online Corporate Video Categories – usually the first point of entry for companies using online video to market themselves. This category also overlaps product demonstrations for companies where one product is the company. Corporate Overviews are the best place to show off the executives or employees because the business purpose of the corporate overview is to highlight the company (not necessarily the benefits of the products or services that you produce). In this case authenticity is very important. The challenge however comes when your owner/CEO/ executive is just not that compelling. Some video production companies will claim they can make anyone look good on camera, but the truth is that not everyone does well on camera. Awkward, confused, inarticulate, nervous, distracted, uninspiring… none of these characteristics help your company’s image. You may want to consider reaching down into the ranks to find someone who might have a stronger emotional appeal with your target audience and who is more comfortable on camera.

The desired format and structure of the video should determine the need for a teleprompter. If you are looking for a personal, unscripted style then it might make sense to give the executive some talking points, roll film and cross your fingers. If however, you have a very specific, detailed or structured message you should consider using a teleprompter with either a company spokesperson or an external presenter.

One of the challenges is that you often don’t know how you will do until in front of a camera until you are in front of a camera. It is the job of the video production company to make professional recommendations as to the use of a presenter versus an in-house spokesperson. It can be very difficult for the business to be objective about its own internal capabilities and it also can be politically challenging for internal staff to tell executives that they are not doing well during a shoot.