A Series of Testimonial Videos Across Multiple Locations
Client: Christina Sternbauer
Project summary
Task: visit four clients and record testimonial videos within three days
Completed: 4 testimonial videos
Testimonials Highlight
When Every Location Is a Surprise
This project was a road trip through several cities, visiting the clients of my client. The goal was clear and very practical: to film video testimonials, real feedback from people about their experience of working with her. No scripts, no rehearsals, no staged setups, just real people sharing their stories in real environments.
Over the course of the trip, my assistant and I covered around 1,500 kilometers and filmed four testimonial videos in different cities in Germany. Each location was different, each story unique, and each shoot came with its own set of challenges.
Working Without Knowing the Location in Advance
One of the biggest challenges of projects like this is the lack of preparation when it comes to locations. I can’t ask in advance for photos or videos of the spaces where filming will take place. Every time, it’s a surprise: sometimes it’s a modern office, sometimes a meeting room with difficult lighting, sometimes a coworking space or a room that was never meant for video recording at all.
This means that all decisions have to be made on the set. You walk into a space and immediately start evaluating: where to place the person, how to work with the existing light, how to separate the subject from the background, and how to do all of this quickly and without disturbing anyone or interrupting their workflow.
Fast Decisions and Real Experience
In practice, it often looks like this: time is limited, the person in front of the camera may be nervous, and the space itself is far from ideal. My brain switches into a very practical mode: what do we have here, and how can we turn this into a clean, professional image?
This kind of work can be stressful. But it’s also where experience and technical knowledge really show their value. There’s no time to overthink. Theory turns into practice almost instantly, and many decisions are made intuitively, based on real-world problem solving and previous shoots.
Why I Value This Kind of Work
Projects like this are a reminder that video production is not only about cameras, lights, and technical settings. It’s about adaptability, trust, and human connection. Being able to walk into an unfamiliar space, quickly create a comfortable atmosphere, and capture an honest story is a skill that develops through experience and real working conditions.
What I also value in this kind of work is the opportunity to see new places, even if only briefly. These moments are not part of the production plan, but they often stay with you just as strongly as the shoots themselves. During this trip, I woke up early one morning in a small hotel and decided to go for a walk. Just nearby, I found myself surrounded by the quiet atmosphere of a foggy early morning on a golf course with the soft light, mist, and complete stillness. A small, unexpected moment that had nothing to do with filming, yet became one of the highlights of the trip.
In the end, the fatigue from long drives and fast setups is balanced not only by the work itself, but by these in-between experiences as well. Together, they create the feeling that you are exactly where you should be: doing work that combines technical precision, creativity, and real human presence.
