WHAT MAKES A GREAT EVENT VIDEO
Before you engage a filming crew for your event you need to think about a couple of creative, technical and operational things. Check below our advice about what matters the most.
Video Length
The most important thing is to decide how long and what format the event video will be. These 2 variables define your video approach and will lead the way you work from the very beginning. Not knowing what you are doing from the start might jeopardise all your efforts and waste your and the filming crew time. Thinking about the exact content and creative concept of the videos is also crucial. For example, ask yourself:
Do we need to cover the whole conference?
Do we need to record speakers` speeches from start to end?
Are we going to gather also “behind the scenes” footage?
Which channels am I going to distribute the video?
Powerpoint Presentations
At some conferences and major events, speakers use slides to support their talk. The challenge here is to reproduce the speech concept together with the slides in a film. There are different ways of filming you need to discuss in advance with the filming crew. Some of the approaches include: using 160 degrees angles to film together with the speaker and slides or use the slides only combined with voice over. Another obstacle you might face is the projector quality, lights and conference hall reflections. Barely visible slides or dark room make the videographer job really challenging and thinking about these factors in advance is the best thing you can do.
Reactions and emotions
Very important creative ingredients in event videos are people’s reactions and emotions. Capturing these genuine moments and including them into the final cut of the video makes it very personal and gives an authentic feel to it. You can focus on the impressions after a presentation, during lunch or when the audience is engaging with marketing materials or participating in conference activities.
Filming Crew Size
If you went carefully through the previous three considerations you are most likely thinking about how you can collect the best moments all over the place. Well, the answer is it is not possible, although it’s a must to consider more than one person for the filming day. Then you can have coverage on stage, the audience as well as behind the scenes.
Technical Effects
The most effective way to get the video concept you have in mind is to discuss any technical effects with the team before the production. Being on the same page with the production team saves time, budget and ensures the final cut will meet your expectations. There are different techniques such as time-lapse, repetitive actions, screen titles and many more. If you have any favourite ones feel free to share examples with the team.
EVENT VIDEOS EXAMPLES
TEDx Berklee Valencia
The goal of this project was to summarize a 2 hours TEDx conference into less than 3 minutes by focusing on the speakers and their key messages. The main target was the people who couldn`t attend and the underneath strategy was to create inspiring footage that combines interviews from all the speakers, insights from their speeches and stage performance.
TwoSpace - Co-ground Launch Party
TwoSpace transforms evening spaces into co-working communities during the day. When they opened a new location in collaboration with Co-Ground coffee we had to film the event with the purpose to catch and emphasise on moment related to community, connecting with people, sharing stories and collaborating. This was the event topic and we had to create a video which creates these feelings into the viewers. One of the challenging requirements was to include audio from the actual talks.
DECATHLON: Opening Box Hill Store
Decathlon is a French company in the sports goods space which opened doors in Melbourne in 2018. We were responsible for filming the store opening in Box Hill. The goal of the video was to inspire people to visit the store by capturing visitors emotions, reactions and using product positioning technique. All this encapsulated in less than 2 minutes.
BENEFITS OF FILMING AN EVENT
Hub Content
Events and conferences are the best sources of Hub content. As we mentioned earlier this footage is so versatile and you can use it to create educational hub content. One way of doing so is creating a weekly series sharing the speaker’s` expertise and experience. Another powerful tactic is to split the footage into topics and create a hub content related to specific topics. Whatever your video marketing strategy directs it’s a must to upload and keep your content in a centralised hub uploaded at YouTube.
Other
Capturing and delivering the content from your events to those who couldn`t attend is also an effective strategy. It creates a buzz and long-lasting effect among your audience. In addition, hosting a shortcut of the video on your website generate trust and genuine interest. Events and conferences videos are multifunctional and a great evergreen asset for every business.
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
Here are the most important clarifications you need to communicate with the production team:
-What’s the goal of the video?
-What’s the main audience it is targeted to?
-How are you going to show it to this audience?
All these are factors which control the production so it can influence consumers in the desired way.
The technical equipment available on site and lighting is crucial and the more shared information the better so the filming crew can be prepared.
Managing the whole process and the team is essential and in particular the planning in the very beginning. Scheduling everything, setting up goals and deadlines as well as marketing fundamentals how is the conference video aligned with the overall video content strategy, what is your goal, who needs to see your film etc.