Capturing great video for your event: A videographer’s guide for marketers
Getting video for your event can be a complicated beast to wrangle, especially if you are unfamiliar with everything involved. To ensure you get the final product that meets your vision, I’ve put together this quick guide so you can ask the right questions before the cameras start rolling.
Any good videographer should ask these questions during your initial meeting, but sometimes there are unique circumstances that popup or meetings get rushed, so here are some things to consider with notes from a videographer’s (that’s me!) perspective.
What kind of video do you want?
There are many different kinds of videos that promote an event, but I find they kind of fall into loose categories:
- Talking Head — the majority of the video is filled with someone speaking, maybe at a separate location or a different time than the event, describing what they do and what the event is, with B-Roll from the event (footage that was captured at the event that punctuates what is being said)
- Highlight reel — flashy edits set to music that captures the event like a good overview “what you missed” type thing. Generally has no ‘on-location’ audio
- News-style — can be from the point of view of the public with the goal to bring them up to speed, as if it were a news story about the event. It may contain streeters (look at all this cool lingo… a streeter is an unrehearsed interview with the public, or in this case an attendee, to find out what they think) or pre-coordinated interviews happening at the event (see video in header)*
- Live-event — a video that captures an event from the back of a room with a live feed to monitors. These tend to be viewed after the fact by about 2 people.
The video may also be a combination all of the above. It’s the Wild West, there are no rules.
The difference in these videos? Price and prep. The above list is generally ordered from most expensive to least expensive — but this can vary greatly.
The following are some things to consider before filming begins. These are important to have nailed down so there aren’t any surprises once the camera starts rolling. It follows the simple Where/Who/How long — both how long they need to film for (this is usually dependent on who they need to capture) and how long the final video will be.
Length
You need to respect the audience’s time. This has been talked about to death in blogs and videos primarily blaming the viewer for their short attention span. Realistically it’s the amount of content and ease of access to it that is to “blame”. You have to compete with everything out there for eyes and attention.
What/Who must be captured?
No matter the style, you’ll need to have an itinerary and lay out everything that must get captured. Brainstorm thoroughly what’s important and unique to this event that you want to portray. A videographer who’s making a highlight reel will capture anything and everything, but if you have an end goal in mind, certain footage/interviews will be required, so this will need some coordination.
Any video that needs audio on-location requires even more planning. The videographer will ask questions about the PA system, such as the soundboard or what the location is like (more on that next). For Talking Head interviews, these will require the videographer to deal with lights, audio, and the talent (AKA the person who’s speaking). If the talent has a script, you’ll likely need somebody on hand to ensure they hit all the talking points. For a news-style video, it’s preferable the talent would have somebody asking the questions (or a camera person who knows the right questions to ask).
Location
What you think may be a perfect location to film may actually be a bit of a nightmare for your videographer. The lighting, both artificial and natural, how noisy a space is, what it looks like (from beige office with plain walls to modern and glassy i.e. lots of reflections) can all prove to be headaches when capturing it. Your videographer will work with you to get the best footage possible, which will include needing photos of a place so they can plan it out before arriving.
Parking
Depending on the shoot they may have to haul bags and cases of gear, it’s nice to not have to bring this stuff too far.
Powwaa!
Access to electrical outlets may be needed. The video person should have extension cords but if you have extras, they’re always appreciated.
Storage
A safe place to store gear may be needed especially if it’s a public event.
Konrad Ciężki — Pexels
The Final Product
Depending on the project, your videographer may send a draft/rough/small snippet so you can get an idea on what the final video will look like. They should know what to include in the video and the style based on speaking with you and the music chosen. Every editor has their own style so your video will likely have a bit of their flair in it too.
Side-note: Unless you clear it with their music label, your favourite Beyonce banger won’t be allowed in a public-facing (or technically any internal) video. “But I saw a video that used it!!” you might say. That video infringed on copyright. It’s unprofessional to use someone else’s work to promote your own, so unfortunately Lemonade won’t be the anthem to your Widget Festival video any time soon.
Hopefully this provides some tips and informs your expectations when it comes to event video. With the right amount of preparation and collaboration, you will get an effective video that markets your event and gives you content that can be used for years to come.
*Fun fact: In the video above we used a High School Musical microphone from a video game with a real lav mic taped to the back of it — look for the wire :)
