The Talking Head Stays in the Picture

This week brings a video shoot for client MajorRetail. We are producing an instructional and motivational video for them in which we'll showcase Holiday merchandise and merchandising techniques, and some inspiring words and threats from two Vice-Presidents.

The shoot will consist of at least one day working in a store. We'll shoot and light several featured items in as many ways possible, then we'll shoot some more.

We'll also spend at least a day shooting these two executives on camera. The client has requested that we put the two executives in a "comfortable" room and let them talk. But they don't want talking heads.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter how comfortable the room is, or where you put it, two guys talking to each other, and talking to the camera, are talking heads. Ain't no way around it.

I encounter this kind of brilliant thinking all of the time. It generally comes from people in the marketing department.

I honestly have no idea what this means, "...put them in a comfortable room, but we don't want talking heads." So, we'll put them in a comfortable room, work with them extensively so that they look and sound great on camera, and we won't call them talking heads.

But they really are talking heads. I hope they're comfortable.

Also, in a situation like this, where you have two nervous executives sitting together in front of the camera, it's just uncomfortable to watch. Because when one of them is talking, what does the other one do? It's not like the early morning show where you expect lots of dumb looks and head nodding. No. In situations like these, generally, one guy does all the talking. The other sits there and fidgets with his or her notes, or looks at the camera, or thinks about all the emails piling up on his Blackberry. It's goofy, but it's what sells as good corporate television because it kind of looks like "Good Morning America."

Note: Some of the creative direction for this project comes from ProdCoX's (for whom I'm a sub-contractor) arch nemesis. She's a Princess in the ranks of MajorRetail. She's one of these people who spent 12 years in broadcast. Doing what?