BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEOS: WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

Have you ever watched a film or a music video and thought, ‘I wonder how they made that?’ Of course you have! And videos from behind the scenes (aka BTS videos) are becoming more and more popular. It’s a great way to connect with fans and to extend the life of your content. Plus, if you’re interested in filming techniques – such as green screen or prosthetic make-up, VFX or choreography – BTS videos are a great way of gaining industry know-how.

What is a Behind the Scenes Video?

BTS videos help to demonstrate the ‘real side’ of a company, service or product. Or, in the case of films and music videos, a franchise – such as the Marvel Universe or Star Wars – or an artist. If you’re creating business content, then BTS videos offer a sneak peek of the inner workings of a company by presenting its story – and the people who are part of it.

BTS videos can help brands to build trust and create deeper connections with their fans and customers, no matter what the subject matter is.

Why Should You Utilise Behind the Scenes Footage?

There are many reasons to capture BTS material – here are just a few benefits:

• BTS videos create brand value by showing fans or customers more about your business or content
• Brand value is the difference between being ‘faceless’ and personal – customers will invest more in companies or content that they have a personal connection with and feel good about buying from or interacting with
• Taking people behind the scenes helps to reveal the quality of your product, content or service – revealing the process behind your creativity convinces fans of your dedication to creating content of the highest quality
• As BTS information feels more authentic, it can help to build trust. Trusted franchises, brands or production companies are the ones which can guarantee fans that are passionate about your work and will spread the word
• A BTS video helps to tell your brand story and enhances other digital marketing, which again creates that all-important emotional connection that will keep fans coming back for more
• People love to know ‘the story behind the story’, getting insights and feeling closer to the thing they love

BTS videos are also great for social media, as they’re normally shorter and more informal than other marketing materials you might be producing.

What Should You Include in a BTS Video?

This depends on your product, service or content, as well as which platform you want to share the video on. A few ideas for BTS videos are:

• Interviews with stars or key crew members – ask them to include personal anecdotes, insider info and some key thoughts on the project’s creative process
• Photos and reels of the team interacting
• Time-lapse video of the project being put together – e.g., sets being built, or cast members having prosthetics or make-up applied

The content and length of the video will depend on whether you’re planning to share it on Facebook or Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or a business platform such as LinkedIn, as some have time limits for videos. You can also use BTS footage on your website, in presentations, or as part of showreels. Shorter is usually better, but if you’ve got content that’s really interesting, you don’t have to cut it off at an arbitrary two or three-minute mark.

Types of Behind the Scenes Videos

On social media, you can share behind the scenes footage to share stories from your day-to-day to engage your audience, perhaps building excitement for a movie or TV release, or teasing an upcoming music video. Or why not share blooper reels and other BTS material of your cast, crew or artist having fun?

When you’ve got an epic show that’s full of world-building such as HBO’s House of the Dragon, you can be sure that fans want as much BTS insight as possible, covering everything from backstory to creating the visual effects, costumes to set builds and the detail they might not have caught on a first watch:

Shows such as The Last of Us take you ‘inside the episode’ after each one has dropped, featuring interviews with the showrunners, stars and members of the crew:

Or, go behind the curtain and find out what iconic scenes look like before the effects have been added:

Here are some other ideas for BTS content:

• Set visit – take fans behind the façade, and point out some fun set items and props
• Meet the team – introduce the camera people, make-up/hair crew, talk to the costume team, etc and have them describe and show what they do
• ‘A day in the life’ – show your daily activities, from prepping to performing
• Things you can’t live without – whether it’s coffee, music or some knitting for that down-time whilst the next shot is being set up…
• A look at the tech – from recording set-ups to instruments you gig with for music artists, to phone apps or anything else that’s important for doing your job
• What are you working on? – a sneak peek is always a draw for fans

The Making of the Movies

For a look at some great behind the scenes videos, here are five of our top picks:

Star Wars Behind the Scenes

In a galaxy far, far away, there is an abundance of behind the scenes opportunities – characters, creature designs, sets, effects, stunts and storytelling. From the big screen to the Disney+ small screen spinoffs, fans can dive into all kinds of content.

There are tonnes of great Star Wars behind the scenes videos, but one of our favourites is this one, detailing the inside story of the original trilogy, including the design of Luke’s Landspeeder and the Millennium Falcon, the Death Star, TIE Fighters, Jabba the Hutt, Yoda, costume design, puppetry and more.

Check out some lightsaber stunts:

And have fun with an epic bloopers collection:

The Star Wars universe is ever-expanding. Can’t get enough? Take a look at how The Mandalorian was made (including Easter eggs):

Avatar 2 Behind the Scenes

The original Avatar movie was released in 2009 and went on to break multiple box office records, becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time (surpassing the previous record by more than 50%), and the fastest movie to gross $1 billion.

It’s fair to say that after such a long wait for the sequel, anticipation was high. Avatar 2: The Way of Water, was not only the highest-grossing film of 2022, but also the third-highest-grossing film of all time.

Dive into performance capture and the technicalities of working in ‘the Volume’ with this BTS for Avatar 2, together with the lead actors’ inspiration:

If you love stunts and want to find out more about how the underwater sequences were created, then this is the BTS video for you:

Serious training was required to gear the actors up to the task of filming Avatar: The Way of the Water. This episode of Xplained takes a closer look at the training needed to film the movie:

Getting an insider view on casting is always great for BTS content – Avatar 2’s Casting Director explains why casting the human character of Spider in the film was one of the biggest challenges of her career:

Want to find out more about how the world of Pandora was created, both digitally and practically? StreamWars has you covered with BTS info on sets and costumes:

M3GAN Behind the Scenes

M3GAN kicked off 2023 by slaying it at the box office, making well over $165 million worldwide – not bad for a film with a reported $12 million budget. M3GAN is a fantastic satirical horror with echoes of Child’s Play and The Omen, which follows in the ‘deadly doll’ footsteps of Chucky and Annabelle.

Written by horror movie specialist Akela Cooper (Malignant, The Nun 2), and directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound), M3GAN follows an eight-year-old girl, Cady (Violet McGraw), whose parents are killed in a terrible tragedy. Her aunt, Gemma, designs a robot doll powered by artificial intelligence, the Model 3 Generative Android, to help care for her, and to help Cady with her feelings of loneliness.

The character of M3GAN is voiced by Jenna Davis, and physically acted by dancer and gymnast Amie Donald, who did her own stunts and helped to choreograph that dance. Their performances were blended with two animatronic puppets, used for dialogue and close-ups.

Go behind the scenes to find out more about the film, and how the character of M3GAN was created, with self-taught puppeteer Paul Lewis:

This BTS shows you how prosthetics and face masks were used in different scenes to bring M3GAN to life:

Fame Focus gives you a VFX breakdown, together with an intriguing take on the psychology of the production design, including the furniture and textiles; the toy factory and how the blend of animatronics, masks, digital and a child actor created the ‘uncanny valley’ feel for the doll, which gives viewers a sense of unease:

The Film Guy shows some key scenes being filmed:

While if you want to know more about M3GAN’s killer choreography, stunts and the incredible flexibility which Amie Donald used to create the doll’s super-creepy movement, then watch this:

Top Gun Behind the Scenes

Top Gun: Maverick was one of the biggest blockbuster hits of 2022, and another highly anticipated sequel. And those astonishing flight sequences took a lot of training.

In an age ruled by CGI, Top Gun director Joe Kosinski realised that the only way you can really feel how extreme being a pilot is, is to really be in the planes. Find out just how challenging it was in this BTS with Kosinski and star Miles Teller:

Want to see the actors’ extreme training? We have the BTS for you:

‘My moustache fell off’ – yep, being in Top Gun: Maverick was gruelling for the actors:

But if you want a bit of light relief, can we bring you… Top Gun with a Cat?

What’s better than Top Gun with a Cat? The BTS of Top Gun with a Cat, of course! Find out how OwlKitty, aka Lizzy, and her owner put together this purrfect parody:

Hocus Pocus 2 Behind the Scenes

The original Hocus Pocus film is one of everyone’s favourite Hallowe’en movies. Now, the Sanderson Sisters are back, with more mayhem than ever. But was it as much fun behind the scenes?

Judging by this BTS, we’d have to say, yes:

BTS With the Best Music

So, now you know what to include in behind the scenes video footage and how to use it to promote your project. Need music to soundtrack your BTS? We have everything you need – with high-quality, original music created by the most talented composers, artists and producers in the world.

Go BTS with composer Sunna Wehrmeijer at the legendary Abbey Road Studios to see how our music is produced:

Our tracks are perfect for licensing for TV, advertising, movies and digital content – browse our hand-picked playlists, collections, and latest albums. Create maximum impact, go classical, take it global, or bring the beats.