Testimonial video is one of the most powerful tools to grow your business, which can help you get prospects to pick up the phone and land your deals quicker.

By capturing your client talking about their experience of your product, in a candid and credible way on video, you can share their thoughts easily with any prospect.

At Napoleon Creative, we specialise in asking the right questions in interview that allows the client to speak their mind, while revealing the reasons why people should invest in you.

How to capture a Testimonial Video

Planning something unplanned

The testimonial should be given free rein to say what they like. However, to make sure you get what you need from them, we follow a simple process. We start by working with you to write the perfect testimonial. What are they key things you want them to say? What was a particular challenge in their story that you want people to know about?

From this ‘perfect testimonial’, we list the questions that will inspire the contributor to give these quotes. Of course, in the actual interview, we change and adapt the questions as the interview progresses.

Establish the pain you solve for your clients

One of the first questions we ask is why they needed to engage our client. What challenge were they facing? Did they have pain points in their business? What problem were they looking to solve?

This helps your potential customers see that they’re not the only ones looking for your solution, and helps them empathise with the speaker.

Why did your Client choose you?

By asking about your client’s selection process, we establish what sets you out from the competition. We often get quotes like “they understood our problem” or “they have the most flexible solution.” This all shows that you stand out against your competition.

Testimonial VideosWhat was it like to work with you?

There are two sides to this question. Of course, there’s the practical – did the product work, was in implemented well. Then there’s the human side – did you listen to their needs? Did you take a collaborative approach? Did you go above and beyond?

What were the benefits of the benefits?

With the product or service in place, we ask your client what the benefits have been. This answer is often one of many of the key product features that our client uses to advertise their product. So then we ask, what were the benefits of those benefits? This is where it gets really interesting, with your client revealing new tasks they could achieve, or the benefits of the faster decision making, or the impact of new insights.

Spoiler Alert: Our Favourite Question when making a testimonial video

Our favourite question is a simple one: what surprised you about this project? This always opens up a rich seam of conversation, and often reveals new things about the product or service. It also reveals the features and benefits that you might not be telling your client about during the sales process.

Ask for a referral

After we’ve talked through their experience of working with you, we ask your client a simple question:

Imagine someone in your network asked you about your experience, what would you tell them?

What makes this a great question is by asking them to “imaging someone”. Straight away they’re thinking of friends and colleagues. When they answer, they start talking very personally, as though one-on-one. We find this questions gets a less ‘corporate’ answer, and it almost always ends up in the final cut!

 

B-Roll is essential for a Testimonial Video

B-roll is the name given to those shots which play under the person talking, like the ones you see here. These were filmed for a client testimonial film we made for Infosys. Our client’s client who gave the testimonial not only have up time for the interview, but also gave us another 45 minutes filming b-roll. We set up a few scenarios: looking over a document with a client, sat at their desk, on a conference call, and, as shown, having a catch up meeting. On a technical level, it allows you to cut different takes of the interview footage down to shorten a long quote, or change the order the answers came in. It also brings the testimonial to life, with footage of the person at work. When you’re asking someone to do a testimonial for you, always ask if you can shoot a few shots like this.

 

Why Choose Napoleon Creative?

Here are some great reasons why we think you should choose our team to film your testimonial video:

We’ve filmed hundreds of interviews, and we know how to deliver a great testimonial film.

We make sure the filming location and style looks great.

The person speaking looks at their best, their hair isn’t sticking up at the back, and they don’t have spinach on their teeth.

They’re comfortable with how the interview is going to run, and they’ve got some good solid tips for giving a great performance on camera.

We’re experienced at shaping their answers to be good for editing, without putting too many words in their mouth!

When it comes to the edit, we’re careful to make the end result say what you want to say, without contorting what was said.

With our editorial expertise, we take what is sometimes an hour of interview content across three different contributors and cut this down into a short and punchy 3 minute film with impact.

Testimonial Video FAQs

When clients come to us asking to film a testimonial video, there tends to be similar questions asked, so we’ve added the most frequently asked questions about our testimonial videos below. If you have any other questions about our testimonial video production service, or our video production services more generally, then please get in touch and we’d be happy talk about your project.

Who should I get to be our testimonial?

If you’re working on a large project then it’s good to get a testimonial from the decision maker who commissioned you to do the work, as they put their trust (and money!) in your hands to take on the work. It’s also good to get someone who was directly involved in implementing the project to get their more ‘hands on’ experience. These combined will give both the larger impact and granular details of the project. You can also consider getting one of your team to be filmed, to tell your side of the story.

How long do they need to be interviewed in the testimonial video?

We recommend setting aside an hour. That breaks down to ten minutes in the room discussing the project, and getting them settled in front of the camera. The interview takes 20-30 mins, depending on the scope of the project. Then we grab some b-roll (ideally we have 10 mins at least. Hopefully they’re let off in around 45-50 mins, so they get an extra 10 mins free in their day!

Do they speak to the camera or off camera?

We find that if they’re talking off camera, then it seems much more candid, like they’re talking to another person.

Should they know the questions in advance?

We recommend sending a list of questions to the interviewee in advance, so they can look through them. We ask them to maybe make notes, but don’t prepare full answers, as this always ends up looking a bit stilted in the interview. We never share the full list of questions anyway, so there are always some surprises for them!

What do I need to think about when choosing a filming location?

We always ask for room that accommodates 8-10 people, as this is enough room to get the camera and lighting in, with room to breath. It’s nice if it has a view on to the office or somewhere that there’s a bit of movement in the background, as it gives energy to the shot. Equally, they can be in the middle of the shop/workroom etc but keep in mind sound. Also, remember the logistics of filming in your office.

How long does it take to complete the film?

Well, we can turn around a short interview in around 48 hrs. However, the reality is that it will take longer than that. The biggest stumbling block we find is getting the contributor’s sign off – often the film has to be run past their marketing/PR team for approval. With one big organisation it took three months!

Our Testimonial Video Service

Our testimonial video service follows a 6 step process from preproduction all the way through to delivery of your completed testimonial video.

Preproduction

In this step we start by doing some research about the project, so we know more about it, based on information you’ve given to us, and also our own investigations. We then have a call to discuss the project, and create the ideal testimonial, as mentioned above. From this we build a question list for you, with some to send to the client and other to surprise them on the day. We set up the filming, sort out the crew and kit according to your needs and the budget. We work with you and the contributor to set a schedule, and issue a call sheet with all the details.

Production

We arrive at the location, set up to film. We have a quick look around for places we can film b roll. When the contributors arrive, we talk them through what we’re after and give a few filming performance tips. We then start the interview! When complete we’ll grab some b-roll. When everything’s done, we pack up and head back to the studio!

Assembly

With this stage, we send you a sequence with just the contributor’s best answers. You’ll receive a link to Wipster, a great video review app. At this stage you tell us which comments you like and critically – the clips you don’t like. This makes it much easier to start cutting down the material.

Working Cut

Here we start mixing up the answers, adding a few text boards is appropriate, and adding some b-roll shots to cover cuts in the interview. By the end of this process we have hopefully got the story right, and it’s down to around 4-5 mins.

Final Cut

This is where we make some further cuts, and really start to bring in b-roll and graphics, plus music. Once signed off, we do a sound mix so the different voices are balanced, and we grade the footage so it looks consistent and fantastic.

Delivery

Once the film is complete, we then send you the final files. This is usually two version of the film, one with subtitles burnt in and one without. We also provide which can be uploaded to put the subtitles on online players.

At Napoleon Creative there are no Account Handlers or PA firewalls.

When you contact us you'll get straight through to our Creative Director, Gavin Ricketts.