In short: Use your own staff when credibility and real knowledge matter most, such as testimonials, behind-the-scenes and insight. Use actors when a script needs a clean, confident delivery. Many films mix the two, with actors for the scripted parts and staff for the real voices. Whoever appears needs a brief, a clear time and support on the day.
Your own staff are the right choice when credibility matters more than polish, and actors are the right choice when the words have to land exactly. Most corporate films need a decision line by line, not one answer for the whole film.
When your own people are the right choice
Staff add trust. A viewer who sees the engineer who built the product, or the team lead who runs the service, believes what they say more readily than a polished presenter. This is most useful in testimonials, in behind-the-scenes films, in recruitment films and in any piece where the audience wants to see the real people behind a brand.
Staff also know the material. They can answer a follow-up question on the day and explain a process the way a customer would hear it.
When actors are the right choice
Actors bring a steady delivery. They can read a line several times and keep the timing, and they follow direction without needing the subject explained again. A scripted explainer, a training film with a consistent presenter across several modules, or a piece where the tone has to be warm and controlled all suit actors.
Actors also protect staff time. A day on set takes people away from their work, and an actor does not need to be pulled off a desk for the day.
How to decide, line by line
- Write down what each person needs to say. Mark each line as a fact, an opinion, a story or a scripted sentence.
- Put the scripted sentences and the lines where the wording must be exact with actors.
- Put the facts that only an insider knows, the opinions and the stories with your own people.
- Ask each staff member whether they want to appear, and what they are comfortable saying on camera. Do not assume.
- Get written agreement from everyone who appears. Check with your own HR or legal contact what their policy requires. This page does not give legal advice on consent.
- Brief each person on camera: the time, the place, what they will wear, and what happens if they stumble. Our guides on what to wear on camera and how to help a nervous boss relax on camera cover the practical side.
Common mistakes
- Making the most senior person read a script they did not write. They will sound like they are reading, and the edit will show it.
- Scripting a staff testimonial word for word, so it sounds like an actor. Give them the points, not the sentences.
- Choosing the staff member with the best title rather than the one who is good with people on camera.
- Leaving the consent step until the edit is finished, when it is too late to change who appears.
- Forgetting that staff time costs money too. A day away from the job is part of the budget.
Where Granary fits
If you want the day, the crew and the edit handled together, our Content Studio does that. A Brand Content Day is a full day with a videographer and a photographer, with brand video and vertical clips edited and delivered, from £2,950 +VAT. It suits filming your own people.
For how long the edit takes once the day is over, read how long does a video take to make?. For how to tell whether the finished film worked, see how to measure whether a video worked.
Sources
- Spiel Creative, Top 20 most common FAQs about video production (answered!), read 5 November 2026
Related guides
The picture at the top of this page is an illustration, not a photograph of a client or a real job.
Questions we get asked
Should a company use its own staff or hire actors for a corporate video?
Use staff for testimonials, insight and behind-the-scenes, where real experience counts. Use actors for scripted sections where the wording and delivery have to be exact. Many films use both.
Can I script what my staff say on camera?
You can give them the points to cover, but a word-for-word script usually sounds like an actor reading. Let them put the points in their own words, and edit around the natural phrasing.
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