Whether it’s a glamorous fashion show, an interesting book launch, an informative medical conference, an inspiring startup meet, or a ground-breaking TED talk, event videos are one of the most interesting, yet demanding video production jobs. Often companies or organisers leave the job of event video production to event organisers to save their time and effort in dealing with separate vendors. But video production is a highly specialised job and requires a professional team. We have seen a lot of interesting and successful events translating into bad event videos due to lack of planning, faulty stage set-up, unprofessional crew and other similar mistakes.
If you have an upcoming event or if you are organising an event for the very first time or if you want to further improve the quality of your event videos, we have made a list of 7 key points that would assure that your event videos are stunning and up to the mark.
1) Multiple Cameras: At the centre of your event video is your camera and your cameramen. It goes without saying that if a single camera is covering your event, you are risking too much. A camera after-all is a machine and any machine, as you know, can malfunction. Having multiple cameras not only adds variety to your shots but also ensures full coverage of the event without no or minimum loss. An event covered with multiple cameras not only provides full coverage but also makes the resulting event video dynamic, high quality and engaging.
2) Audio: Make sure that the arrangement for audio is top notch. Ask your crew to check the audio equipment at the venue once to ensure that they are getting the best sound in the camera or a separate recorder. Remember, people forgive a bad video but not bad audio. To make sure that your event video casts a great impression on your viewers, make sure that audio arrangement is your priority.
3) Choice of Cameras: When it comes to cameras, events are a different ball game, and it is advisable that it should be treated differently. Cameras that work for films don’t work for events, however expensive they might be. Most events need you to stay sharp and zoom in/out, pan, change positions on the go. While we would recommend that you stick to specialised video cameras or camcorders such as Sony Pmw 200 and the likes of it for event videos, you might sometimes need DSLRs or Cinema line cameras for pulling off a cinematic effect. But in general, we would recommend going with a Sony PMW200(and similar cameras) instead of a Canon5d Mark4 or any other DSLRs unless there is a specific requirement.
4) Recce: Not having prior idea of the venue before filming is a crime. Ask your crew to visit the location. You will be surprised to see how most organisers don’t keep the unique requirements of video in mind when setting up stage, seating and lights. Talk to them and tell them that you want certain things in a particular manner to produce a quality event video. They will happily accommodate your requests.
5) Make a list of shots but also be flexible: Depending on the number of cameras, plan your frames and the cameras you will use to shoot them at what point in time. Explain the objective of your shoot to your cameramen. It is important that your crew has a good idea about the final output that you have planned. Also, bear in mind that each event is different. Your planning may fail, and you will be required to decide on the spot. For example, you will have a speaker who does not stand in the designated well-lit area. So be prepared and train your crew to take decisions on the go keeping in mind the outcome.
6) Do trials- Do you know where do most of the problems happen? Right at the beginning of the event. The sound won’t work. The lights will fail. Your camera will have some issue. To avoid all of this, do a test run to check if everything is in order. Ensure that your cameras are working. Ensure that you are getting the perfect sound. Ensure that the lighting is proper. This will save your day and save you from embarrassment.
7) Respect your crew- Treat your crew with respect. Don’t make them wait for lunches. Prepare the team in advance so that it does not have to run around unnecessarily and miss important things. Talk to them before the event and have everything planned. Give them an event schedule so they can plan accordingly too.
With all these tips, you should be ready to master all your event videos finally. As one of the most reliable event videographers and event video production company in Delhi NCR, we have covered a large number of events across India. Whether it’s a TEDx event, a medical conference, a book launch, an award ceremony, a cultural event, a conference or even an annual meeting, we have done it all. If you are in need of event videographers or an event documentation company that makes killer event videos, please reach out to us at [email protected]
Happy filming!