5 Tips (From Pride 2019) For Surviving Event Videography
It’s June. The weather report forecasts a sunny, 90-degree day. You shuffle the several pounds of video gear on your back as you attempt to pick out your subjects in a sea of parade-goers. Welcome to event videography.
Event videography is a marathon of a project. Less structured than a wedding and lacking the built-in narrative of a performance, you must take a collection of unpredictable raw material and turn it into a short but memorable story. The reward, an unrepeatable look into a particular moment in history, can feel impossible when timing, equipment restraints, and even the weather go against you.
When I was asked to film The New Jewish Home’s participation in the 2019 World Pride March, I was challenged to capture a compelling visual story for this organization during an outdoor event where over 150,000 people could be doing anything, at any time.
While we couldn’t completely prevent Murphy’s Law from happening, preparation and flexibility helped prevent avoidable mistakes from getting in the way of a great experience.
Here are five tips for surviving event videography and creating the best final product your brand or client.
Get as much information as possible
Do your homework. If you are working with a client, get on the phone as early as possible to learn more about the event and their involvement. Understand why they are participating, their history with the event, and why they want to document their experience. For complex and chaotic events, knowing this information up front will help you identify the key video coverage you will need to tell the best story.
The New Jewish Home has marched in Pride for the past four years and commits resources to help their LGBTQ+ residents feel comfortable. They wanted to highlight their residents and staff’s participation in the march and connect it to their ongoing commitment to their seniors.
Based on these needs, I was able to put together an accurate estimate of the required equipment expenses for the project, which helped the client and myself plan conceptually and financially.
Make sure to also do your research around event logistics. Know what time the event starts, its location, and when your client is going to show up. Understand what the crowd situation will be, and select gear based on those constraints. For example, I knew that the parade time would exceed four hours and is often delayed. Based on this information, I needed to have extra camera batteries to last for the duration of the event.
By having this information documented in advance, you will eliminate surprises.
Know when to ask for help
In early conversations with The New Jewish Home, we discussed interviewing residents and staff throughout the parade, to add additional insight into The New Jewish Home and its work with residents.
Our small budget limited us to a small crew of one-to-two people. Despite this, I knew it would be impossible to have both high-quality video and audio with one operator. We brought on an additional crew member to act as an experienced audio operator to record the interviews.
Despite the scale of a project or the unpredictability of an event, make sure you have the necessary talent to do the job well and find room in your budget. Know what your strengths are and supplement your weaknesses with additional outside expertise.
Be realistic in what you can accomplish
A 150,000-person event can be overwhelming, and you might be feeling pressure to “film everything.” Rather than fall into this trap, refer back to the list of goals you discussed with the client. This should always be your priority. For The New Jewish Home, our list was straightforward:
- Staff decorating the buses that would follow the marchers
- Residents interacting with the crowd
- Staff marching with the organization banner
- Interviews with key subject throughout the march
Everything else was extra. Once you let go of the panic to record everything, this openness also allows you to capture unexpected yet valuable moments, like the one below:
Show up early
This goes without saying. If you’re early you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late; and if you’re late, you’re fired.
Beyond creating a good first impression showing up to the event early allows you to survey the space and mentally inventory any last-minute changes. That way, before your client or videography subject arrives and spots a potential problem, you’ll already have a solution.
With videography, expect the unexpected
World Pride 2019, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, saw a record number of marchers and attendees easily above two million people. With that many people crammed into Midtown NYC, delays and overcrowding were inevitable. And during the march itself, the weather went from broiling to windy to rainy within the span of two hours.
As nerve-wracking for your shots — and your gear — as this may be, take a deep breath: this is part of the job. Rely on the prep work you did to see you through these difficult moments and always be ready to change your plans. Bring equipment that is portable and easy to break down. Pack water. Wear a hat. And remember: every experience makes you more prepared for the next videographer job.
