I didn't watch the video, but will assume it's at least partially staged. While it may be an actual checkride, the participants had to know it was going to be on film. That would cause me to be extra prepared if I were the student.
I have had a variety of checkrides. My CFI was friendly with the DPE when I went on my PPL, so he stopped by with lunch and they bs'd while I ate. I had my books with me as a reference if I didn't know or wasn't sure of an answer, but I don't remember if I used them at all or not. The examiner had a yellow sheet of paper that he took notes on. We sat across a desk or small table, in a lounge at the airport FBO. He asked a question about a topic, then wrote a word or two to keep track of what we had covered. I think all told I was in and out in about 45 minutes. We (I) cancelled the flight due to approaching thunderstorms. I came back a couple of days later for the flight. The flight was fun, there are things I could have done better, and he called me on it (I made a nice engine out approach to a corn field, oblivious to the grass airport that was within gliding distance) and taught me a few things, but it was a comfortable, largely stress-free experience.
I've taken several exams in a 141 environment. They were unremarkable. I took my Commercial ride that was similar to the private. It was longer and more in-depth, but it was a similar set up. We stopped the checkride with a couple of landings still to do so he could get out and use the bathroom. Even though I got a little out of sorts during the cross country portion of my flight, I was able to over come it and pass.
A lesson from my CFI checkride... Don't open your mouth when you don't have to! Usually an examiner can tell how well you know the material fairly early on, and asks appropriate questions. Sometimes they are open-ended, sometimes they are factual yes/no type questions. Especially if you're unsure of an answer, don't ramble on. Answer a yes/no question with a yes or no. I find it hard to hold back, especially if I'm confident about the particular subject.
On my CFI oral, toward the end, the examiner said, "Answer yes or no to the next questions. Have you heard of the subject of (I don't remember any longer)?"
My answer, "Yes, it's....-"
"Yes or no. Do you know how to deal with it?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Let's go flying."
Rambling through an answer often leads the examiner to probe further. As I said earlier, the examiner usually gets a feel for how the checkride is going early on. While this will contradict the previous advice to a certain degree, if you are very confident in a subject, offering a little extra in an answer could help form a favorable impression in the early going.
I've never flown a checkride where I couldn't have been failed. Be it an altitude excursion to 120' or a temporary heading drift, there has probably been at least one moment on each checkride I've taken that could have resulted in a failure. The PTS gives quite a bit of latitude to the examiner to determine what is a bust. Usually, a pattern of exceeding PTS limits, or a large, uncorrected deviation will result in a bust, whereas something minor with active correction doesn't. I've always gone to the airplane knowing the oral has been passed, but even when fairly confident about my performance, I'm never sure until the examiner says congratulations at the end. My ATP (I took a single engine checkride with my original DPE) and following type rides, I've been pretty sure about, and no longer get too worked up over exams.
When you get to your instrument rating, I think flying wise, it's one of the easiest rides. Instrument flying is all about precision, which with practice comes easily. For me, an instrument rating is far more about learning new rules and procedures.
For most of my advanced rides, I've been given the flight sequence in advance...maneuvers, approaches, etc. It allowed me to set up for approaches and such as early as possible. I think that helps mitigate the fact that in most real instrument flying, you have awhile enroute to set up and brief the approach. Finally, the test is not so much checking at your ability to adapt to change and surprise. When you're recommended for a checkride, the CFI is saying you meet all the PTS standards already, and are competent for said rating. The examiner is the final seal of approval.
