Company portraits are becoming increasingly popular. Why? In an increasingly digital and noisy world of social media, the trend is towards strong personalities. Whether in job applications, company marketing or presenting a research project, there should be a strong personality or a strong team behind everything today.
Find out here what a company portrait – also called an introduction film, pitch video, video pitch or portrait video – is and how to use it profitably.
A company portrait or introduction film is a film, often 60 to 180 seconds long, that presents a team, a person or a project in a nutshell. Because it is short, the film works well in today’s social media world, or as a handy kick-off to an in-person presentation of your career, your team or a current project.
A company portrait is almost always narrated personally through original sound, often in an interview situation. The viewer sees the speaker speaking. The person either looks directly into the camera, which creates even more closeness, or at an (imaginary) interviewer, which creates more distance but also conveys professionalism.
Company portraits are the little brother of the corporate film. They are cheaper, quicker to produce and more personal – ideal for job applications or career moves, too. They are often also called pitch videos, introduction films or Kickstarter videos, but in the end it is the same form of film: short, punchy and to the point.
What is a company portrait?
A company portrait presents a company, a team, a person or a project in an entertaining and informative way.
So as not to blow the scope and cost of a company portrait, you should first set a specific goal for it: do I want to raise support or funding, perhaps even sell a product before it is actually finished? Or am I applying for a management position or to lead a major project?
Companies also benefit from company portraits to present themselves to their customers in an even more personal and authentic way. In a recruitment video, for example, new colleagues can talk about their everyday work and introduce themselves at the same time. Or the managing director talks personally about the company’s business areas and customer benefits.
At its core, it will often be about backing up your plans by presenting your personality or your team’s experience. In short, a company portrait shows: your (future) customers and partners are in the right place with you!
Unlike a product or marketing video, which is often part of a larger campaign, 15 to 30 seconds is often not enough for a company portrait. At the same time, many people find it hard to listen to another person for more than five minutes.
The ideal length for a company portrait video is 60 to 180 seconds. Many founders use portrait videos as an elevator pitch and limit them to 56–60 seconds – but especially if your brand, project or product is unknown or needs explaining, you should rather go for length to give your personality and your ideas enough room.
Let’s imagine you are applying for a new position, or applying with your company for a new franchise. In this case you could easily fill 3–5 minutes to include your career path, your vision and perhaps even your future team in the film.
The difference between a corporate film and a company portrait
The corporate film is the big brother of the company portrait. Its aim is to create or strengthen a positive image. To do this, it doesn’t necessarily have to show the “real” employees and key people, but often works with professional actors and voice-over artists.
A video portrait is always personal – with all its charm and all its rough edges. It can only show what is there, rather than creating or strengthening an ideal image like a corporate film.
The company portrait often comes at the start or at a turning point of a project or career and focuses on one or a few personalities, while a corporate film presents an entire company.
Of course, a company portrait is much cheaper than a corporate film. This means you can get the most out of a limited budget even at an early stage or with limited means. If money is no object, forget that last sentence and get your wallet out!
The following video example is almost five minutes long and still well below the budget of a real corporate film.
A company portrait as an application video for managing a new hotel. Shown before the actual presentation, it helps you win over investors and partners.
PowerPoint then, video pitch now
When did a PowerPoint presentation last trigger emotions? Make a personality tangible or let people feel the vision of your pitch? PowerPoint has had – and will continue to have – its place in the business world, but you should know the limits of your promotional and presentation tools. On the other hand, you don’t want to simply animate 25 pages of competitor analysis, complete with graphs and statistics, into a video either. That only costs money unnecessarily and adds little value. Depending on your goal and where you want to use the video, it definitely makes sense to use PowerPoint alongside it.
For example, you can touch on facts in the video and set visual anchors that you then cover in detail later. This way the viewer immediately remembers the overall context after the film. Of course, this works not only with PowerPoint but also with an online landing page or product website. Start-ups, for example, can use a video portrait to tease stretch goals on Kickstarter and then explain them in detail with graphics online later.
This introduction video comes from a competition and is shown at the awards ceremony. This gives all attendees an impression of the participants and nominees – and lets them get straight into networking after the event. You could do it with PowerPoint, too, but it’s much cooler on video.
A company portrait works brilliantly as a conversation starter or at events, replacing PowerPoint introductions and enabling networking.
Who is a company portrait useful for?
If you have been paying attention so far, you will already have collected a few examples of how to use it. In fact, there are hardly any other company films with as wide a range of uses as portrait videos. Anyone who wants to – and can – win people over with their personality benefits from a company portrait.
Besides private individuals, these entrepreneurs benefit most from video portraits:
Founders, creatives and Kickstarter projects
Competitions, awards and award ceremonies
Sole traders and small businesses
Founders, creatives and Kickstarter projects
Start-ups are one of the main target groups for company portraits. Whether you want to promote your products or services, are looking for supporters for creative projects on Patreon and Kickstarter, or want to start your first video marketing on a small budget: a film says more than a thousand words.
You don’t have a strong brand yet, you are not a well-known expert, and your product is, well … new. At this point, an expensive long corporate film isn’t worth it, and your future customers often don’t have much patience yet either. The shorter the film and the more universally it can be used – at competitions, on Kickstarter or on social media – the better. Every euro counts, especially at the start.
Ways to use video portraits for start-ups:
Kickstarter campaign
Investor meetings
Prototype presentations
Unlocking further research funding
Applications to competitions and juries
A first “small corporate film”
Competitions and project presentations
Speaking in front of a jury or on stage in front of invited guests isn’t exactly your dream job? Then it makes sense to put as much information as you are allowed into a film. Sure, standing confidently in front of the camera isn’t necessarily easy either – but unlike a pitch on stage, nobody knows how many takes (repetitions of a scene) were really needed to shoot your film. What sticks is “that one confident performance”, ideally coached on set by a professional director or camera coach. Then there is the complexity of an idea, or the vision of tomorrow.
The faster you can lead viewers from images and examples of the familiar to your innovation, the better. In this case, it is best to look for a film production company with as much experience as possible with innovative products, industries that need explaining or pitches. That may sound trivial at first, but it is often your own expert tunnel vision that keeps you from seeing a simple, punchy pitch. Especially when competing against others, you don’t know at which position you will pitch – or how bored, stressed or hyped the jury already is. It is priceless if you manage to stay in the jury’s mind even after a session lasting several hours.
Are you organising a competition or part of a jury, and do you think video pitches are a worthwhile alternative for everyone involved? Why not raise the topic internally and ask a film production company you trust for a no-obligation quote? Some film production companies offer substantial pro bono discounts here – and in any case volume discounts or favourable terms through framework agreements.
Ways to use video portraits as a pitch
Stand out from the crowd
Hide weaknesses in public speaking
Practise a confident appearance
Get information across concisely
Stay in the jury’s memory
Ways to use video portraits for competitions
Put all participants on an equal footing
Ease the load on the jury and audience
A multimedia highlight at the awards ceremony
An extra incentive for participants if provided free of charge
The company portrait as a substitute for a corporate film for sole traders and small businesses
A corporate film is a powerful marketing tool – but unfortunately often a powerfully expensive one. Especially for sole traders, where many aspects such as branding, corporate culture or human resources are less pronounced, or where a complete all-round package isn’t needed, a company portrait may be exactly the right marketing weapon. Even if your company is built around the reputation or expertise of its managing director, it can make perfect sense to use this as a marketing strategy and have a larger portrait of the entrepreneur filmed instead of a corporate film.
Ways to use video portraits for small businesses
Cost-effective video marketing
Highlight the owner’s expertise and personality
An affordable substitute for a corporate film
A personal thank-you to employees
The video portrait as an application: your calling card for a career move
The best positions are hotly contested, and for the dream job at the dream company with the dream salary there is no second chance. Don’t even dream of leaving an important career move to chance. A company portrait can set you apart enormously from the competition or liven up longer PowerPoint presentations. But we are clearly talking about decisive applications for management positions here. As good as it is to have a filmed calling card, that doesn’t mean every graduate should put thousands of euros into a film to start their career! Unless, of course, the student grew up in Daddy’s Porsche and would otherwise spend the money on a designer suit for the interview anyway. In that case … decide for yourself!
How much does a company portrait cost?
For a company portrait, cost is decisive for cost-effectiveness.
First, it is important to understand that a company film in general is less a fixed product than an individual service, with countless variables that can make the budget shoot up.
Where will filming take place? How many shooting days do we need to make the personal story or the product tangible? Perhaps the perfect film idea also needs an impressive office, but in reality you work from a laptop in a rented flat?
These are all factors that can make your company portrait expensive. But in the ideal scenario, where you can show everything at one location, the effort should be 1–3 shooting days, plus about the same time in post-production (assembly, editing, sound design, sound and colour correction, finalisation, delivery).
With an average day rate of 800–1,500 euros, this comes to 2–6 days, i.e. around 1,600 (very cheap) to 9,000 euros (quite expensive).
You should definitely scrutinise any offers that are below or above this rule of thumb. Even so: in this price segment, a company portrait is a real bargain compared with a corporate film, which usually starts at 10,000 euros.
Video portraits: small corporate films at a package price?
Experienced film production companies find it particularly easy to estimate the effort involved in company portraits and portrait videos. As a client, you therefore benefit from so-called package prices – for example by sharing day rates with other clients nearby.
Unfortunately, company portraits are also a particularly easy variant of the corporate film to make, and are therefore increasingly offered by (student) freelancers, videographers and small, young film production companies. Online in particular, there are a great many low-budget offers around – because a camera doesn’t cost much any more and a website with a “package price” is quickly put together.
Be particularly careful here, especially if the price is unrealistically low. A company video for 500 euros? Just roughly calculate the working time on site yourself (plus 1 to 2 times that in post-production) and compare the result with the hourly rate of a reputable service provider. You don’t need overpriced professionals who charge 200 euros or more an hour. But less than 30 euros an hour is rarely viable for a reputable business.
Experience in many industries, many completed projects and a feel for each client’s unique personality and vision … that easily takes 10 years of experience or more. And this experience is simply missing from providers of package prices who “quickly film you” at low hourly rates.
That’s why our tip is: although – and precisely because – money is tight at the start of your business or career, every single euro counts. And euros burned for nothing hurt the most.
Video portraits: hire a film production company or do it yourself?
Company portraits and video pitches are comparatively easy to produce. Should you spend money on a professional at all, or just do it yourself? A fair question that every sensible entrepreneur should ask.
Every researcher, engineer, businessperson or visionary is extremely good in their own field – at researching, calculating, inventing, number-crunching and so on. But not at filming. I, on the other hand, am a filmmaker; I enjoy technology, but I wouldn’t go and build a machine because of it.
This is about your vision, your project, your research and your career. Stick to what you are good at and don’t be dazzled by modern possibilities: even every YouTuber who makes it onto your home page has a long road of failures and accumulated experience behind them. You, however, only have limited time to give yourself the chance of reaching your goal with the finished film.
Family or friends don’t always have this experience either – and on top of that, they are often biased by their personal relationship with you, overly critical for the same reasons, or simply look at the wrong things. Trust is important, but trust comes through experience.
Another plus point of hiring professionals: you can concentrate fully on your performance in front of the camera, knowing that an impartial professional behind the camera is making sure you are presented in the best light.
So I would always advise you to go for a professional film production company with the relevant experience. Of course, I’m biased – I work in the film industry. But I’m also an entrepreneur, and my time is precious. In most cases it is better to rely on other people’s expertise than to invest your time in learning skills for a one-off use.
Conclusion: the company portrait as a way into video marketing
Good job – you have reached the end of the article. If you are still waiting for a clear direction, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. This blog aims to inform, not indoctrinate.
Only you can decide whether a company portrait or portrait video is right for you. But in an increasingly digital, anonymous and competitive world, it can’t hurt to show a bit of personality at a small price. With the help of professionals, a very personal and charming film about you or your company can be made in a short time and help you in many ways. As a way into video marketing, a company portrait is definitely a worthwhile investment.
Tom Wolt ist Marketingberater & Regisseur bei Pathfinder Studios und Experte für Medien, Marketing und Filmproduktion. Mit 18 Jahren Berufserfahrung, erfolgreichen Multimedia-Projekten für 450+ Kunden und über 1.000 Drehtagen am Set ist er ein erfahrener Marketing-Experte für europäische Unternehmen – vom Tech-Startup über Hidden Champion-Industrieunternehmen bis zu Konzernen wie MAN, Miele und Audi. Seine Werbefilme und Kurzfilme haben mehrere internationale Auszeichnungen gewonnen, sein erster internationaler Kinospielfilm ist derzeit in Fertigstellung.
Tom Wolt ist Marketingberater & Regisseur bei Pathfinder Studios und Experte für Medien, Marketing und Filmproduktion. Mit 18 Jahren Berufserfahrung, erfolgreichen Multimedia-Projekten für 450+ Kunden und über 1.000 Drehtagen am Set ist er ein erfahrener Marketing-Experte für europäische Unternehmen – vom Tech-Startup über Hidden Champion-Industrieunternehmen bis zu Konzernen wie MAN, Miele und Audi. Seine Werbefilme und Kurzfilme haben mehrere internationale Auszeichnungen gewonnen, sein erster internationaler Kinospielfilm ist derzeit in Fertigstellung.
