There are situations when you want to reflect an event or a task your business is performing. Perhaps it is something that is only going to happen once and you have someone with a camera taking some footage. Well, how can you make sure that you come away with the most useful material possible and that it can then be condensed into an overview for your website or You Tube? Clearly each event will need a slightly difference approach, but there will be some common themes.
Come Up with an Idea Before the Event
Plan your work and work your plan! If it’s a one camera shoot, you can’t be everywhere at once so think about the most important aspects of your shoot and where you need to be to capture this footage. Considering your finished product before you’ve filmed anything should really help you be more efficient. Is there a key point of the proceedings, something that can be at the heart of your video and help tell the story? Interviews can be a great tool for this. Here is an example of a shoot for Thames 21 where we used one central interview to lead through the important aspects of what was happening (condensing the message into under 2 minutes):
Maximise Your Time
Arrive early and get filming straight away. You can always finish early if you get everything you want, but if you start late you can’t necessarily extend the event because you need more shots! It’s often amazing how quickly the time will go when you’re looking for good angles and you’re moving around.
Build Up the Shots – the Cutaways
Sound may not be so important for this part of the filming. You want to get lots of incredible shots that you can stitch together in the edit to reflect what is going on. Get as many varied shots as possible, everything from wide shots to close ups, recording static shots for at least 10 seconds. It doesn’t matter if you record a zoom or a pan, but just make sure you also have that static shot as you will need lots of these! Close ups are often the most useful shot size, particularly if you’re filming people – it gives detail (and people’s facial expressions generally tell a story themselves). Zoom in on people to catch their natural reaction, rather than sticking a camera in their face. In many ways you don’t want them to spot you! Keep on the move rather than being tethered to the spot.
Don’t Miss the Killer Content
If there is a climax to the proceedings, then make sure you capture it. Even if there is some waiting before this moment, it might be worth filming anyway. You can always edit out the wait but if it’s a handshake or cutting a ribbon it could all be over very quickly. Similarly, if you are recording a speech it might be worth recording continuously even if you’re only going to use a snippet. You want the moment that everyone is talking about and that may not become apparent until after the event is over.
Good Quality Sound is Essential
While parts of the filming may not require you to record any sound (especially if it’s a montage), when you need sound make sure it’s good! This is where the external microphone socket plus a directional microphone come into their own, particularly if you’re recording in a noisy atmosphere. Read our article on improving the sound for your production for more helpful tips.
If you have any more specific examples of events you want to capture, then leave a comment below and I’ll try to give you some more focussed advice.
