Choose the audience before the interview questions
A local resident, investor, prospective employee and technical partner arrive with different questions. Trying to answer all of them in one short film usually produces a sequence of broad statements.
- Community information: location, visible changes, access and the approved explanation of local effects.
- Project stakeholders: completed milestones, dependencies and the next stage.
- Commercial partners: capabilities, delivery approach and verified experience.
- Recruitment: people, roles, working environment and the skills involved.
Plan a principal film and specific shorter versions when audiences differ. A technical interview can provide material for several edits, but each version needs its own context and approved claims.
What the Coryton work involved
On the first visit to Root-Power’s Coryton BESS project, one videographer spent approximately four hours on site capturing interviews and extensive B-roll. Professional drone filming added the wider layout and relationship between areas of the development.
Approximately a year later, we returned for updates featuring Dan Shore, Head of Delivery, and Dan Moore, Head of Asset Management. A teleprompter supported accurate, structured delivery of detailed information. Running infrastructure created substantial continuous noise, so close microphone placement, monitoring and substantial dialogue restoration were important to the finished work.
The lesson for commissioning is concrete: a later-stage visit may require a different recording plan from a construction visit. Access, operational noise, permitted viewpoints and the information being communicated can all change.
Give each type of picture a job
Aerials establish relationships. Show the site’s extent and surroundings where the flight can be conducted lawfully and safely. Agree the relevant boundaries with the client rather than letting an editor guess from the image.
Ground coverage shows the work. Capture equipment, people and operational details with enough context to identify what viewers are seeing. Film approved demonstrations rather than directing changes to live equipment.
Interviews interpret the milestone. Ask what has been completed, what evidence supports that statement and what must happen next. A delivery specialist and an asset manager may contribute different perspectives rather than repeat the same introduction.
Graphics explain the invisible. A simple labelled flow can show a relationship that the camera cannot. Have the technical team review arrows, terminology, scale and implied direction. A polished animation can still communicate the wrong process.
Keep power, energy and project status separate
MW describes power; MWh describes energy. A hypothetical 10 MW system delivering that power for two hours corresponds to 20 MWh before considering the real system’s limits and losses. That example is arithmetic, not a claim about Coryton. NESO’s glossary provides the underlying units.
Battery storage is also not the same thing as renewable generation. Be precise about what the project stores, generates or enables. Avoid implying that attractive green surroundings prove environmental performance.
Words such as installed, connected, commissioned, energised and operational should come from the project owner’s approved status. Do not substitute one for another to simplify a caption. Date the footage in the project record and check whether a milestone changed between filming and release.
Build a claim sheet alongside the script
For each important number or assertion, record the exact wording, source document, responsible approver and any qualification. This is particularly useful for capacity, timelines, emissions comparisons and statements about homes served.
“Enough for 20,000 homes” needs a stated basis and time period; a bare number can confuse power with annual energy. If the evidence cannot support a simple comparison, use the precise verified figure with a short explanation instead.
Plan access and audio early
Confirm inductions, escorts, PPE, restricted areas and approved filming windows with the responsible site team. HSE’s site induction guidance is relevant during construction; operational facilities also have their own controls. The shot list must fit them.
For active infrastructure, test speech at the planned interview position before lighting it. Our industrial interview guide explains the sound workflow and its limits. Drone filming needs a separate assessment by the operator, not just the landowner’s agreement.
Deliver an update that can be reused accurately
Keep names and roles checked, captions supplied, dated milestones traceable and versions labelled by audience. Preserve enough clean context for a later project film without making old construction footage look like the current operational state.
Send us the project stage, audience and access constraints to discuss a renewable energy or BESS production. We can build the filming plan around the communication requirement and the site’s actual conditions.
