Your marketing team may have the tools to edit a video but still need someone to capture the interviews, workplace activity and product footage. You can commission filming separately and keep the edit in your team.

The handover needs planning before the camera starts recording. An AI editing tool can help work with the material you have; the shoot still needs to capture the words, sound and pictures your story depends on.

Give the camera team an editing brief

Explain the audience, message and intended use of the finished video. Share a rough structure, interview questions or script, plus examples of the style you want. Tell the crew which statements, demonstrations and scenes are essential.

Identify who will edit the footage and involve them in the planning. They can explain what they need to assemble the film, including supporting shots, pauses around answers and room for captions or graphics.

Agree these points before filming

  • Outputs and framing. Specify whether you need landscape, portrait or square versions. Decide how the shoot will allow for those different frames, rather than assuming every shot can simply be cropped.
  • Recording format. Agree resolution, frame rate, file format and any colour workflow with the editor. If compatibility is uncertain, ask for a short sample to test in the intended editing setup.
  • Audio. Explain which voices and location sounds matter. Agree microphone coverage, any separate audio files and how those files will be identified for the edit.
  • Supporting footage. Plan the products, processes, people and surroundings needed to illustrate the interview. A list of essential shots is more useful than a general request for “some B-roll”.
  • People and access. Arrange contributor availability, a suitable interview space and site access. Agree how filming permission and contributor approval will be handled.
  • Handover and usage. Confirm what footage is included, how it may be used, how files will be organised and transferred, and the agreed storage or retention period.

Capture enough material to tell the story

For an interview-led film, list the points the contributor needs to explain. Allow time to repeat an answer, clarify technical language and capture the supporting action. Keep the questions connected to the purpose of the video.

A product or process demonstration needs its own sequence: an establishing view, the important steps and the detail that makes those steps understandable. Tell the crew about actions that cannot be repeated and restrictions on what may appear on camera.

For example, our Network Rail case-study film for Project7 Consultancy used on-location interviews to explain an internal development programme. The story and contributors shaped the filming requirement.

Make the footage handover easy to check

Agree a folder structure and clear names for locations, contributors and audio before the shoot. Establish who receives the files and who checks that the transfer is complete. Test representative video and audio files in the editing setup before starting the full edit.

Keep the recorded originals separate from working copies. If your team uses an AI editing service, check that the agreed permissions and your organisation’s handling requirements cover uploading the footage there.

Be clear about the boundary of the job

Filming-only should describe an agreed handover. It should not leave either side guessing about whether selecting takes, syncing audio, colour work, transcripts, captions, music or finished edits are included. List the services you need and agree who owns each task.

Our guide to corporate video production costs explains how planning, locations, filming and post-production affect the scope of a quote.

Studiowide continues to provide full video production in Liverpool and across the North West, from planning through filming and editing. We also take filming-only enquiries from teams that want to edit themselves. Crew availability, recording format, audio, usage rights, transfer and storage are scoped for each project.

Tell us what you need to film, where the shoot will take place and how your team intends to edit it. We can work through the capture and handover requirements with you.