Why Using Employees in Videos is Better Than Using Actors

It doesn’t matter how much they may try to play it off, every person gets a kick out of seeing themselves on screen. They also love seeing their friends and coworkers.  That’s why we always promote using your own employees in video productions as opposed to hiring actors.

Let’s be honest. We’ve all had to sit through some kind of safety or training video at some point in our life.  And when we’re talking about the world of industry, it’s very easy to spot when someone on screen has no idea what they’re doing.  You take a seasoned veteran of the oil and gas industry and have them watch a safety video featuring an actor with a new hardhat and highwater jeans, they KNOW that person has never actually been out in the field.  The danger in that is that the employee is now paying more attention to this faux pas instead of the message you’re trying to convey.  Thus, they’ll forget what to do in a particular situation because they weren’t paying attention at the critical moment.

Another element to this is the pride most employees have in who they work for and where. When they see locations in a well-produced safety video that they’re used to seeing every day, as well as people they work with on a daily basis, there is a strong sense of pride in being a part of that company.  It also gives some ammunition for a little bit of ribbing amongst the employees, which helps build comraderie, thus, a stronger workforce. 

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve shown up to a location to shoot a video with employees who, at first, are hesitant and nervous about being in the video, only to watch them transform into bona fide actors wanting to make the next take better than the last. That’s when you know you’ve got a good video on your hands.