Scripts and Storyboards
Part of Planning a business video shoot
Preparing employees for their first filmed interview
Help employees prepare for a filmed interview with clear topics, participation expectations, claim boundaries and a calm on-camera process.
Explain the video’s purpose, the topics the employee can speak about and what will happen on the day. Let them answer in their own words. Their job is to explain what they know accurately, not to deliver a polished sales script.
Agree on participation and boundaries
Tell the employee where the video is intended to appear, who may see it and how their contribution will be reviewed. Ask whether they are comfortable taking part and who should answer questions about recording or later use. If the intended use changes, discuss it again rather than assuming the first agreement covers it. Follow the organisation’s applicable privacy and release process.
Clarify their subject area with the relevant manager or product owner. An employee may be able to describe what happens when a customer contacts their team without being authorised to promise response times or future features. Give them approved facts and conditions, plus a person to consult if a question falls outside their remit.
Privacy and compliance considerations
- Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)Requires informed consent for handling personal information, including photos and videos.
- Australian Privacy Principles (APPs)Organisations must ensure data collection is limited to what is necessary and used only as agreed.
- ACCC guidelines on advertisingClaims must not be false or misleading; employees cannot promise features or response times outside their authority.
Send topics, not a performance test
Share a short note beforehand: the viewer’s question, a few discussion themes, practical session details and the kinds of examples that would help. Invite the employee to think of a real process they understand. Do not ask them to invent a customer outcome or memorise a testimonial.
Use specific, open prompts. For example: What information do you need before you can begin this task? Follow up with what happens next and what varies. Let the employee finish any condition attached to an answer; keep it with the claim in the eventual edit.
Offer a brief conversation beforehand if they want one. Use it to clarify terms and find factual gaps, not to make them repeat wording they would never normally use.
Make the session predictable
Explain whether they will look towards an interviewer or the camera, where the microphone will sit and when recording begins. Set up equipment before they arrive where practical. Keep unnecessary observers out and allow a pause or reset.
Start with an easy factual question about their role or process. Listen to a short recorded answer so the team can catch an unclear term, noise or incomplete sentence while a retake is possible.
If the employee loses their place, pause and ask again. Explain the actual review process without promising that every unwanted line can be removed regardless of context.
Protect the meaning after filming
Mark answers needing fact-checking and topics the participant asked to revisit. Keep the original question with each selected answer so a cut does not appear to answer a different question.
Have the appropriate business owner check factual claims. Give the participant the agreed opportunity to confirm that selected statements retain their meaning.
