Title: Keeping People Safe and Informed With Safety Videos
1Keeping People Safe and Informed With Safety
Videos
Video is one of the most tried, tested and true
methods for delivering public health and safety
guidelines. Video content is engaging, effective
at communicating potentially life-saving
information, and its a cost-effective way of
training new employees. Video content is the
simplest way to deliver this essential
information in the new reality of remote and
hybrid working environments. You can also think
of it as a customized resource that gives your
organization a competitive edge within your
industry. A strong and robust orientation
process can go a long way in helping your
employee retention figures. A recent survey by
the Content Marketing Institute indicates that
video isand will continue to be for many years
to comethe most worthwhile investment for
marketing and communications teams in countries
around the world. This is especially true when it
comes to health and safety where visualization
is key for the retention of key
information. Especially with pandemic
restrictions lifting worldwide, its never been
easier to add some creative flair to your next
training video. But what exactly makes the
perfect and engaging video for your companys
health and safety training modules? And is it
worth
2- hiring a professional video team to create your
business needs workplace safety videos? The team
at Studio52 has put together this ultimate guide
for your company to make a masterpiece, whether
you hire the pros like us, or decide to tackle
the project in-house. - Whats Your Story?
- The story is the most important aspect in the
production of any video-making project. There
are so many styles you can use to tell your
story, from a simple voice-track narrating over
some stock visuals to a full-blown dramatic
re-creation using actors, props and
professional-grade lighting. But you dont have
to let your budget or access to resources
dictate the success of your video. - Plan Ahead
- A sure way to increase your chances of success in
any video production is to start planning early
and make sure that everybody involved in the
endeavour is going to be on the same page from
Day One. This is known as pre-production and
these meetings are essential to getting your
project off the ground and running smoothly from
location to scouting, to shooting and editing.
Getting your schedule straight and setting
expectations early will ensure you stay on budget
and dont waste everybodys time. - Whats Your Style?
- Your budget will determine what style of video
you end up shooting and the team at Studio52
will be here to guide you through that process,
but remember, no matter what style you choose, a
commitment to telling a great story will carry
you further than all the fancy special effects
or ensembles casts you put together. In any
health and safety video, the key formula to
stick with is a three-part process that includes
Situational Setup, A Conflict and The
Resolution. Always provide context for your
audience including what new equipment youre
working with, why its dangerous, and how to
solve the problem so nobody gets hurt. At the end
of the day, youre trying to teach a lesson
about leadership. - Dialogue
3- Know your audience when you sit down to write the
script. Dont use overly complex terminology or
bombard your viewers with lots of numbersthat
is, unless you have a creative way of displaying
them. Inject humour whenever possible if its
appropriate because a light-hearted attitude
will keep people engaged for longer. - Talk To Your Staff
- It can be a useful tactic to include video clips,
such as statements and reflections from your
employees because theyre more likely to
empathize and relate with their peers than some
stranger or executive leadership. Do not script
their responses, but ask the right questions and
youll find that youll most likely get a
thoughtful and organic response that will really
resonate with their co-workers. If your interview
subject stumbles on a thought, its totally fine
to ask them to repeat it. - Prompt Your CEO
- If you do decide to feature your CEO or other
members of your executive leadership group, you
want them to look and sound as good as possible.
Think about the backdrop, their lighting and
consider investing in a makeup artist. Finally,
you dont want to waste their valuable time by
doing multiple takes and you dont want to risk
their reputation by having them stumble or
stammer on camera. The solution to this is using
a teleprompter. There are many apps available,
both free and paid that you can utilize. - Use Different Angles
- If you want to keep your audience engaged, its
easier if you use multiple camera angles. Even
for interviews, if you can have a multi-camera
setup, you will be thankful during the editing
process. Avoid using too many wide shots because
that can get boring very quickly. If youre
filming employees using machinery and other
props, do lots of closeups and medium shots so
you have some variety to choose from in the
post-production process. - Get Moving!
- You dont have to always have the camera locked
off. Use tracking or panning techniques to
follow a person as they walk around the workshop
or follow them from behind in a hallway. Another
effective camera trick is a slow zoom in or slow
zoom out
4- to emphasize something. You can get creative in
the editing suite after shooting to add some of
these effects, but the most impressive shots will
come with a little fancy camera work during the
main production. - Light It Up!
- Many workplaces have dingy lighting or
fluorescent lighting that can turn your videos
subjects skin an unflattering colour. Try to
invest in some proper lighting kits for your
shoot so you can make the shots feel warm. If
youre on a budget, try to utilize as much
natural light as possible. Overcast days are the
best times to shoot outside or near windows. - Whats That Sound?
- Poor sound quality can turn people off a video
very quickly and distract from the important
messaging youre trying to get across to your
employees. Its important to invest in some
microphones. Not a stick mic like the ones you
see at a podium, but small microphones that can
clip to your shirt and get wired to a battery
pack that can be attached to a belt or dropped
inside a jacket pocket. Follow this advice and
youll come across as extremely professional.
Having this kind of smaller-sized microphone that
clips onto someone is especially important if
you are filming someone in a loud workspace such
as a factory floor or workshop. - Get Animated
- Shifting away from using real-life actors and
incorporating some animation can really inject
some flash into your video and perk up your
audience. Statistically, the human brain will
retain more than 90 of an image as opposed to
just 10 of the written word. Using bouncy
music, colourful graphics and an engaging
voiceover person can go a long way to making
your safety video production a memorable one. - Extra Content
- If you made a great video, now you have a captive
audience to push towards additional content or
bonus content on your company website. Direct
viewers to a website where employees can watch
more instructional videos, download educational
PDFs and retrieve contact information about who
they can reach out to if they have additional
5- questions. If its not too out-of-step with the
tone of your business, you could consider
putting together a blooper reel that people can
watch online. - Get Social
- If the video doesnt contain any sensitive or
confidential information about your business,
consider posting the videos on social media. It
will show the public that you care about your
workerspotentially attracting new employees. It
also lets your employees watch the video anytime
and on any platform. If you have an internal
social network such as Teams or Slack, you could
also challenge your employees to share their own
safety tips and stories with the allure of a
possible prize to be won. This will increase
engagement and boost morale about a sometimes
mundane topic! - Get Excited!
- Make sure every part of your production conveys
the excitement and passion your team had for
making this project. The extra thought you put
into sound, lighting and most importantlythe
storytellingwill be very evident and your
audience will appreciate the quality of
production. Be fun, be informative and be
relatable to the audience youre trying to
educate. - Studio52 Is Here To Help
- The mass return of workers to offices in a
post-pandemic world is going to prompt a lot of
questions regarding health. Youll want your
employees to feel cared about and safe. Thats
why investing in a top-quality health and safety
video is a crucial investment for any
organizationno matter its size or budget. - Studio52 is here to help with the entire process
for all stages of production and planning. Its
easy to get overwhelmed by schedules, spending
and editing. Trust our team of talented and
experienced videographers and editors with your
health and safety video. Contact us today for a
free consultation.