Festive filming – how to avoid the pitfalls
NHS and private healthcare providers work tirelessly throughout the year, and Christmas is no exception. In fact, it’s often one of the busiest times of the year according to those on the ground. Producing a healthcare film during this period is likely to come with its own set of unique challenges. Festive filming is certainly easier said than done!
Budgets and time constraints are often two of the biggest hurdles for healthcare providers to overcome when filming, regardless of the time of year, but if you’re looking to produce a film during the festive season, be it promotional, recruitment, a live stream, medical training or public awareness film, make sure you avoid the seasonal pitfalls to get the best value for money from your film project.
Don’t restrict your content with seasonal settings
One of the best ways to achieve this is to ensure the content you create can be repurposed all year round. The issue here is that Christmas decorations in the background of your footage will make this difficult, so it’s important to be prepared for this before filming and make sure you can clear the scene if needed.
And if you WANT a seasonal film, check the decs are allowed
Sometimes you need a seasonal background for the topic of your film – but don’t always assume you’ll find one awaiting you. For hygiene and/or safety reasons, some hospitals and healthcare practices may not have many (if any) decorations at all, it may be policy not to display Christmas decorations due to infection control so be sure to check your film ‘set’ in advance.
However, many healthcare practices do put up decorations at Christmas.
Be sensitive to patients’ wellbeing
Christmas can be a difficult time for anyone seeking medical care, and decorations often play an important role for patients’ well-being, offering festive cheer, especially for children or vulnerable in-patients spending the holiday season away from home – so if you do need to remove them, bear in mind how to limit disruption.
There’s a lot to think about when producing any medical film, but especially during the festive season with so many additional complications and sensitivities involved. Hiring an expert medical film crew can assist and guide you on this. Our team at Healthcare Films by Wildwood can easily adapt your environment to make the process of filming at Christmas as practical and stress-free as possible.
Here are our top tips to achieving a timeless video:
- Check out your location first and avoid filming where decorations cannot be easily removed (especially if patients will be disturbed)
- Check noticeboards – are there references to Christmas events or seasonal activities that will be visible to the viewer? Film against relevant posters instead if you’re looking for an interesting visual. And of course, check there are no patient details!
- Avoid filming interviews outside if it’s snowing, windy or raining.
- Make sure whoever’s in front of the camera is dressed in the correct attire – no festive jumpers and no scarves or bobble hats.
- Try to film in daylight if you have no film lights – as the nights draw darker, avoid filming near windows and outside if there is no natural light. Professional film lighting can be used in interior environments instead to mimic soft natural daylight. And while artificial hospital lights can be used to add to the aesthetic, it’s important to make sure that these don’t come across too heavy, making the video feel like more of a spotlight interrogation than an informative medical training or public awareness film.
*For more tips check out our recent blog: Are you getting a good return on your video investment? *
Get expert filming support
By creating content that’s not time-specific you can repurpose your video all year round – not only saving you time in the long run but saving you money too!
If you’re looking to film this holiday season, including medical training or public awareness videos, our qualified and experienced film crew at Healthcare Films by Wildwood know how to use your environment to get the most out of your medical video.
We use top-spec equipment to get the best visuals and clearest sound – enhancing the power of your message, while ensuring that your film stays relevant and if required, be repurposed to create new content to be used any time of the year.
Looking for professional help to take the headache out of your film project? Book a 30-minute no-obligation call to discuss your ideas with us.