Build a Company Video Style Guide

A company video style guide is a short set of reusable rules. It tells anyone who makes video for your brand what to do. It covers framing, text, pacing, voice, captions, and disclosure. It is not a full production manual. It is a decision tool that removes guesswork.

This guide gives you a practical method. You will get a filled style table with proposed defaults, exceptions, and ownership. You will also see one fictional worked example, edge cases, and three short FAQs. The goal is a document your team can actually use.

Why a style guide beats ad hoc choices

Without shared rules, editors may make different choices. One editor uses yellow captions. Another uses a serif font. One presenter speaks fast. Another pauses too long. Viewers notice the mismatch.

A style guide fixes this. It names the default for each choice. It also names who owns that choice. When someone new joins, they read the guide and start producing work that fits your rules.

This is different from customizing a single AI avatar. That task sets one presenter's look and voice. A style guide sets rules for every video, no matter who makes it. If you need help with avatar-level choices, see How to Customize an AI Avatar to Your Brand.

The core style table

Use this table as your starting point. Each row has a proposed default, a common exception, and an owner. Adapt the defaults to your brand. The owner is the person or role who can approve changes.

Area	Proposed default	Common exception	Owner
Framing	Presenter centered, eyes at upper third, medium shot from chest up	Product demo may use a close-up on the screen or object	Video lead
Background	Solid neutral color or simple office wall, no clutter	Event recap may show the venue	Brand manager
Lighting	Soft key light from front, even exposure, no harsh shadows	Outdoor footage follows natural light but avoids backlight	Video lead
Text style	One sans-serif font, sentence case, high contrast against background	Keep disclosures readable on target screens; seek a specific review if space is tight	Brand manager
Lower thirds	Name and title only, two lines max, brand color bar	Speaker with long title uses shortened role	Video lead
Pacing	130 to 150 spoken words per minute, pause between sections	Tutorial steps may go slower for clarity	Script editor
Voice	Second person, active verbs, plain words, no jargon	Technical explainer may define one term per video	Script editor
Captions	Same language as audio, include key non-speech sounds, max two lines	Omit only when no meaningful audio needs a text equivalent	Accessibility owner
Transcript	Published with every video that has speech	Short looping social clip may link to transcript instead	Accessibility owner
Disclosure	Visible label when AI-assisted, plus platform-required notices	Live event recording may use a spoken disclosure	Compliance lead
Intro and outro	Same greeting and sign-off every time, under five seconds each	Campaign video may use a seasonal greeting	Brand manager
Color palette	Two brand colors plus one neutral, used in text and graphics	Partner co-branded video may add partner color	Brand manager

The disclosure row is a proposed company rule, not a claim that every AI-assisted clip must carry the same legal notice. Check the rules that apply to each release.

This table is a living document. Review it every quarter. Change it when your brand or audience shifts.

How to fill the table for your company

Do not copy the defaults blindly. Run a short workshop with three to five people. Include someone from brand, someone from video, and someone from accessibility. Ask each person to mark the rows they care about most.

Then test the defaults on one real video. Make the video. Watch it with the table open. Note where the default felt wrong. Adjust that row. Repeat once. You now have a guide that fits your actual workflow.

Keep the guide short. Start with a short summary. If a rule needs a long explanation, it probably belongs in a separate production manual.

A fictional worked example

Imagine a small software company called Northwind Labs. They make a project tracking app for remote teams. They want a style guide for their monthly product update videos.

Their team fills the table like this:

Area	Northwind Labs default	Exception	Owner
Framing	Presenter centered, medium shot, screen share appears in lower right	Bug fix demo uses full screen share with small presenter inset	Maya, video lead
Background	Soft gray wall with one plant	Customer story may show the customer's office	Leo, brand manager
Text style	Inter font, white text on dark blue bar	Warning text uses dark red on white	Leo
Pacing	140 words per minute, two-second pause after each step	Live Q&A follows natural speech	Priya, script editor
Voice	"You" and "your team," short sentences, no internal code names	API update may name one endpoint	Priya
Captions	Same language, include meaningful sounds like "[alert tone]"	None	Sam, accessibility owner
Disclosure	"Created with AI assistance" label in first three seconds	None	Dana, compliance lead

They test this on a two-minute update video. The presenter reads at 140 words per minute. The captions include a cue when an alert tone plays. The narrator describes the screen change in the spoken script, so the visual shift is clear to listeners. The disclosure label appears at the start. The team notices the lower third font is too small on mobile. They increase it and update the guide.

This example is fictional. It shows how a real team would adapt the table. Your defaults will differ.

Edge cases to plan for

Some videos will not fit the defaults. Plan for these now so your team does not improvise.

Live video. Live streams cannot be edited before publishing. Set a separate rule for live captions. The W3C notes that live captions are usually done by professional real-time captioners or CART providers. If you post the recording later, you will probably need to edit captions for accuracy. See the W3C captions guidance for details.

Music-only or silent video. If your video has no speech or meaningful audio, captions may not be needed. The W3C recommends telling users this. You can add a note like "Captions not needed: the only sound is background music." This prevents viewers from thinking you forgot captions. If the music carries meaning, such as a product jingle or a sound cue, include it in captions. See the W3C planning page for the full checklist.

User-generated content. If customers or employees submit clips, they will not follow your guide perfectly. Set a minimum bar instead. Require clear audio, no flashing lights, and a signed release. Then your editor applies captions and text style after the fact.

Emergency or time-sensitive updates. A quick phone video may skip the full style process. Set a "fast path" rule. For example, any video under 30 seconds may use default captions and skip the lower third. The owner still reviews it before publishing.

Multi-language videos. Subtitles translate speech into another language. Captions stay in the same language. The W3C distinguishes these clearly. Your guide should state which languages get subtitles and who reviews them. See AI Video Accessibility: Captions and Subtitles for more on this distinction.

Accessibility is a baseline, not a bonus

Your style guide should treat accessibility as a default. The W3C planning resource lists what pre-recorded video needs. If the video has speech needed to understand the content, captions are required at WCAG Level A. If it has visual information needed to understand the content, WCAG 2.1 Level A allows either audio description or a media alternative, subject to exceptions. Level AA requires audio description for needed visual information. A descriptive transcript can meet a wide range of needs and is easy to build from captions and description you already have. See the W3C planning page for the full tables.

Automatic captions are not enough. The W3C states that automatically generated captions do not meet user needs unless they are confirmed to be fully accurate. They often need significant editing. A missing word like "not" can reverse the meaning. Use automatic captions only as a starting point. See the W3C captions page for examples.

Your style guide should name who reviews captions before publishing. It should also state that accessibility settings are not blanket legal compliance. Laws vary by region and context. If you have legal questions, consult a qualified professional.

How this guide connects to your production workflow

A style guide is not a script template. It is the rules that sit above the script. When you write a script, the style guide tells you the voice and pacing. When you plan scenes, it tells you the framing and text style. When you finish, it tells you the caption and disclosure rules.

If you need a step-by-step script-to-video process, see How to Make a Video From a Script. That article covers briefs, timed reads, scene maps, and QA. Your style guide feeds into that process at every stage.

Three short FAQs

How long should a company video style guide be?

Start with a short summary. If it grows longer, move detailed instructions to a separate production manual. The style guide should be scannable in under five minutes.

Who should own the style guide?

One named owner works best. That person approves changes and resolves conflicts. A committee can review it quarterly, but one owner keeps it current.

Do we need a separate guide for AI-generated video?

No. The same rules apply. Add one extra row for disclosure. State when and how you label AI-assisted content. Platform rules may require more, so check each platform before publishing.

Start with one page this week

Do not wait for a perfect guide. Open a blank document. Copy the core table above. Change five rows to match your brand. Test it on one video. Adjust. Share it with your team.

A short, tested style guide beats a long, ignored one. Your team will spend less time guessing.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about video style and accessibility practices. It is not legal advice. Accessibility laws and platform rules vary by region and context. Consult a qualified professional for questions about your specific obligations.