London · Guide for companies, marketing teams and agencies
“Corporate video doesn't have to look corporate. It has to be clear, credible and made for where it will be watched.”
Corporate video production in London covers far more than a talking head in a meeting room. A company might need a brand film, a run of short ads, an event covered on the night, an interview series or a video podcast, and each one is planned, shot and delivered differently. This guide walks through the main types of business video, how to plan them, how to film interviews people actually watch, and what to ask for at delivery, with real London examples: IBV Gold's ten-ad series, the KEN Talks panel evening, the LYSSA interview series and a four-episode video podcast.
IBV Gold · Mayfair, London
01 · The types
What kind of company video do you need?
Start with the job the video has to do, not the style you like. A film that wins trust from investors is a different production from an ad that has to stop a thumb in two seconds.
| Type | Its job | What the shoot looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Company brand film | Explain who you are and why you're credible, for the website, pitches and LinkedIn | Your people, your premises, the work itself, one or two interviews |
| Short ads | One message each, for paid social | A series shot in one or two days, presenter to camera, captions designed for sound off |
| Event coverage | Prove the event happened and was worth attending; promote the next one | Stage, speakers, audience, sponsors, networking, fast selects |
| Interviews and documentary | Give a founder, expert or client a voice | Seated, two or three angles, clean sound, cutaways |
| Video podcast | Regular long-form content plus clips | Three cameras, a mic per person, a repeatable set |
| Internal | Training, onboarding, leadership updates | Simple and repeatable, often filmed in the office |
02 · Ads
A worked example: ten ads for IBV Gold
Establishing shots of the building place the business in Mayfair before anyone speaks.
For IBV Gold, a London gold company, SwainUK shot a series of ten short ads on an iPhone 17 Pro kit from swainuk.com, then did the animation and the edit. Each ad makes a single point with a presenter to camera, the product in shot and animated figures and captions on screen. An earlier set of Meta ads for the same brand used London streets, a car and the vault itself as locations, and the brand's building in Mayfair, with its stone facade and iron railings, appears as the establishing shot.
One idea per ad
A single fact or question. A series of simple ads lets you test which message works.
Show the real place
Your building, your vault, your office. Real premises are proof a stock clip can't give.
Design for sound off
Big on-screen numbers and a caption for every line.
Batch the shoot
Write all the scripts first, then shoot every ad in the same location before you move.
The kit and settings for this kind of shoot are in shooting paid ads on an iPhone 17 Pro. The same company also took sponsorship content at Chestertons Polo in the Park for its team, Team Cape Town, which is written up in sponsorship content at Polo in the Park: a useful reminder that a company's events and its ads can share one look.
03 · Events
Corporate events: plan for the posts, not the album
KEN Talks: the printed programme and a sponsor's table. Details like these open the recap.
KEN Talks was a panel evening on 11 May 2026 in the Studio Theatre at artsdepot in North Finchley: four speakers, a host and a foyer full of guests. The project credits list Marc Shelkin, Head of Social Media at Maratopia, as director and Amit Rachmian Sank, founder of Shalom Speakers, as producer. People who think in social posts commission coverage for social posts, so the shot list follows the people who will use it: wides with the branding, every speaker mid-sentence, reactions, the sponsor stand and candid networking. The gallery holds 115 photographs alongside film of the evening.
Before: the run sheet, the speaker list with photos, the sponsors and their stands, and the time the first selects are needed.
On the night: clean sound from the stage feed or a mic on the lectern, a wide and a tight camera on the panel, a roving camera for the room.
After: selects the same night or next morning, then speaker clips, a short recap and the full gallery.
The stage light and panel coverage are covered in detail in the KEN Talks case study, and the general shot list in event photography and recap films.
04 · Interviews
Interviews people actually watch
LYSSA, Soho: a calm room, a sofa and a conversation rather than a Q&A.
Most company videos rely on someone talking: a founder, a client, an expert. The LYSSA series, filmed on Dean Street in Soho with lighting and equipment from swainuk.com, shows an interview format that holds attention for over half an hour. It cuts between a wide two-shot, a medium single on the speaker, a tighter side angle and a reverse on the interviewer, with a small clip-on microphone on each person. The same recipe works for a CEO as for an artist.
The medium single carries most of an interview: eyeline just off the lens, a soft, simple background.
Pick a quiet room
A neutral space with soft furniture beats a glass meeting room with traffic outside.
Ask for stories
"Tell me about the day you..." gets a usable answer. "What are your values?" gets a slogan.
Don't send the script
Send the themes. Memorised answers sound memorised.
Film the work too
Cutaways of the people, the product and the premises hide every edit and prove what's being said.
The full breakdown is in the LYSSA documentary series case study.
05 · Series
Video podcasts and series for companies
A regular series gives a company something to post every week without a new shoot each time. The What Was I Gonna Say video podcast was delivered as four episodes with HD masters and the podcast audio. It was filmed on three Sony FX3s, a wide and a single on each person, with a wall of windows as the main light. One episode was a single recording of almost 64 minutes, cut to about 48. For a business, that model means one studio day can produce a month of long-form content and the short vertical clips that bring people to it. The set-up is in the video podcast production guide.
06 · Planning and delivery
How to plan a corporate shoot in London
1. The audience and the platform. Who watches, where, and on what screen. That decides length, shape and whether captions are essential.
2. One message per film. If you have five messages, make five short films.
3. Who appears. Names, roles and availability. Senior people get the least time, so schedule them first and keep their set-up ready before they arrive.
4. Locations and permissions. Your building's management, neighbours and any filming in the street. The London commercial shoot guide covers permits.
5. Approvals. One person signs off, with a date. In regulated sectors, build compliance review into the schedule.
6. Releases and usage. Signed releases for everyone on camera, and the licence agreed for paid use.
| Deliverable | Shape | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Main film | 16:9 | Website, YouTube, presentations, LinkedIn |
| Cut-downs | 9:16 and 4:5 | Reels, TikTok, Shorts, paid social |
| Captioned versions | All shapes | Anywhere that plays muted |
| Stills | Frame grabs or photography | Press, website, team pages |
| Masters and audio | High-quality files | Your archive, future edits, podcast platforms |
Choosing who to hire is covered in how to hire a videographer in London.
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Interview and series work
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FAQ
Common questions
What does corporate video production include?
Brand films, short ads, event coverage, interviews, video podcasts and internal videos, usually with planning, filming, editing, captions and versions in 16:9 and vertical shapes for each platform.
How long should a company brand film be?
Long enough to make one clear point. Many brand films run one to two minutes for the website, with 15 to 30 second vertical cut-downs for social.
How do you film a good business interview?
Choose a quiet room, light the face softly, use a clip-on mic per person, film a wide, a medium single and a closer angle, ask for stories rather than statements and film cutaways of the work.
Can one corporate shoot produce several videos?
Yes, if it's planned for it: write every script before the day, batch the shots by location, and capture vertical and horizontal versions so one shoot feeds a main film, ads and social clips.
Written by Joshua Swain, who films brand films, ads, events and interviews for companies in London and Dubai. See the IBV Gold ten-ad project.