Hello Everyone,

Its Josh here from Loveridge Designs, this week on “Getting into it with Loveridge Designs” We are going to cover the pros and cons of using staff vs professional actors in your video.

There is a lingering question between key decision-makers for many companies about videos they produce, “Do we use employees or employ skilled actors for our video?”
It seems like such a straightforward query at a high level. But either approach has pros and cons. Usually, the ultimate decision is guided by the budget, and it’s easy to believe that using personnel saves time and effort, but this is often not the case. Here’s a rundown of a few variables you can remember during your decision-making process.

We will get started with the pros of Using staff
When you need to put a face on your company, using employees is perfect. A brand is not just a logo or a trademark, it’s the corporation’s identity. You can add organic integrity and reliability to your material by using business partners in their real-life positions. With real actors, this can be harder to do. Using real-life case studies in your advertising also engaging the audience to the employees behind the company, which serves as an effective medium of narrative and brand awareness.

There is some Cons of Using staff though
Not all staff are positive about being on tape. Even the ones you assume are “natural” or “will be awesome!” “That’s not their responsibility, either. They’re simply not trained actors. Sometimes in comparison to using a skilled actor, triple the amount of employee participation is required in order to reach the desired outcome. It is because they need more time on camera to reach their rhythm, or get relaxed.

Using Professional Talent, on the other hand, has many benefits also
Professional talent enables you to choose the best “style” for your product. You will find the person who satisfy the requirements for your projects by performing the casting process. A professional actor offers a positive presence on-camera, they also have the capacity to take guidance and have the experience to help develop the reputation of a company. Another thing to remember is that if the on-camera presentation has a strong dialogue with scripted lines, the obvious option is professional expertise. By elongating the project and requiring more editing, struggled lines and unnecessary re-takes will increase costs, and even then, the final product typically results in a substandard performance that decreases it’s value. Finally, good actors provide the produced content with durability by removing any worry about staff turnover.

However, when using skilled actors, there are a few pitfalls to remember. They are not familiar with the business or its procedures, so they may not have been comfortable performing complicated dialog, or may not be confident with technical terminology. To help avoid any mispronunciations or misconceptions, it’s a great idea to have a technical expert on hand during shooting. Clearly, cost is a major concern as well. Volunteer staff are less expensive than professional talent, as their name suggests.

The bottom line is, there are several cases in which employees nudge ahead on a limited budget for on-camera execution. But, for purposes which go beyond just the original shooting expenses, investing in professional talent may be the greatest economic option in many cases. Great talent, amateur or expert, can produce great results with careful planning and solid guidance during the shooting.

Thank you very much for taking the time to watch the video I hope you found it both informative and engaging
Until next time.