Working with the HSBC Early Careers team, we produced a series of recruitment videos to educate recent graduates on the various different career paths available within the HSBC group. But in the time of COVID-19, we had to shift to accomplish this remotely. UK Producer, Maria Salcher shares her approach to this remote production below.
The aim was to create honest and genuine videos that showcase a wide range of personalities and professional stories that would appeal and resonate to future grads.
With COVID 19 shutting down all on set productions from mid-March, but graduate programmes still going ahead from the beginning of September, it was essential to find a way to still deliver a series of films in time for the new academic year.
We opted for a virtual interview approach conducted via Zoom with the intention of demonstrating the authenticity of the subjects’ stories.
With each participant located in a different area of the world, it was important to complete preparatory technical calls to establish suitable video setups, lighting considerations and to advise on the best areas for optimising sound quality, while minimising disruptions. Each contributor was then booked in for a one hour virtual interview session to run through a number of questions based around their individual experiences on the HSBC graduate programme.
Directed by the Producer, each one of the interviewees was then given advice on talking points and responses to guarantee the best possible end product. This was also to ensure that some of our more nervous participants were made to feel at ease and guided through the process as comfortably as possible.
With Zoom enabling HD recording via the app, we were able to send the footage straight to our editors who would start the fine-tuning process immediately, ensuring an efficient turnaround. Once the initial narrative had been agreed by the client, the films were handed over to our animation department who started working on creating 2D animation illustrative flourishes that would work in harmony with the contributor’s responses throughout the interview. Bold on-screen text was also used to elevate key points within the interviews.
HSBC - Early Careers, Nieves
Going for a ‘window in’ approach, footage was laid against HSBC’s red background integrating new branding as well as animated end cards showing the brush stroke logo to complement the final footage.
HSBC - Early Careers, Adrian
The end result is a number of well conducted hero films with 30 second cut downs to promote key messages on HSBC’s social channels.
Related: Get everything you need to know about attracting and retaining top talent (and how we can help) in the Casual Films Recruitment Video Guide.
Zoom recording can offer a great alternative to on set filming in times like these and with the right approach, open up a variety of options especially when conducting interviews. One thing to note is that the audio quality that’s achieved via Zoom is still not good enough for most outputs so with that in mind, it’s advisable to use an external recording device to guarantee uninterrupted audio.
HSBC - Early Careers, Dupe
Pair that with a stable WiFi connection and the sky is your limit! And, a big shout out to the whole team that worked on this:
- Animators: Jon Gallagher, Chris Dudley, Neil Kainth
- Editors: Dan Duvall, Dan Hankinson
- Sound Mix: Matthew Alani
- Producer: Maria Salcher
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