Matching Talent With Your Needs

What's the one factor that usually separates the video novices from the burgeoning pros?

Talent.

When you tackle the trials and tribulations of working with real live talent, you know you've become a pro.

For the sake of this article and for most videomakers' purposes, we will define talent as any purposeful presence either on screen or off, of a person explaining, demonstrating, hosting, narrating or otherwise acting in your video.

Using talent is the logical next step to improving your video productions. Before you even consider coaching and directing these people-a subject worthy of volumes-you must first decide what type of talent you need for each specific project, and more importantly, how and where to find this talent.

Who's On First

Determining the type of talent needed for your video project depends on four factors: the script, the target audience, the kind of talent you need and the budget.

Let's say the Smalltown chamber of commerce hires you to produce a video to attract corporations to the new industrial park on the edge of town. The tape must celebrate the beauty, convenience and friendliness of Smalltown, convincing corporate viewers that this area would be a great place to locate their next manufacturing or warehousing facility.

After consulting with your clients, you're ready to begin your search for the perfect Smalitown talent. The first step: the script.

The script tells you that you'll need both on- and off- screen talent. On-screen talent is talent that appears in front of the camera; off-screen talent is heard rather than seen, as in the case of voice-over talent.

For your Smalltown tape, you'll require several types of on-screen talent, the most important being the host. This person will lead the viewers on a walking tour of Smalltown, pointing out city highlights and hot spots along the way.

The script describes the walking tour in detail, naming several key stops on the tour. Each stop demands more talent.

For instance, about two minutes into the production, the host makes a stop at the city park, where several Smalltown families picnic and play in the sun.

These families frolicking in the background primarily provide atmosphere; such atmosphere players are known as extras.

You'll also need extras for other segments: a stop at the high school, views of the lunch crowd in the downtown food court, some workout footage at a gym complex and several scenes inside a factory at the industrial park.

Upon closer examination of the scenes involving the high school and the factory, you discover that you must shoot interviews at both locations. At Smalltown High, the host discusses the local educational environment with teachers who grew up in the community, went away to college and then returned home to teach.

At the facotry, the company's vice president tells the host why he likes conducting business in the area; the host also interviews a human resource manager and a scientist.

On-screen talent requirements noted, it's time to go back to the script and determine your off-screen talent needs. The tape begins with a voice-over introducing the program. This same voice-over closes the tape, encouraging viewers to remember Smalltown when they decide to relocate. So you know you'll need off-screen talent for these voice-overs.

Note: there are many ways to use voice-overs when putting together your video.

For example, try employing voice-over comments from local citizens about the various settings in the video-the park, gym, restaurant, theater to enliven segues between segments shot at these locati…