Conference Videography
Capturing a work event through conference videography can be an effective way to document key moments, share insights, and enhance your company’s engagement. Striking Media offers some tips to help you successfully capture your event:
Pre-Conference Videography Planning
It’s all in the planning! Take your time – plan ahead – and think about what you want to achieve. There is no sense in capturing the entirety of a multi-day event for a 90 second hype reel, so think about key moments, speaker sessions, attendees and plan your content accordingly.
Talk to your production team about the equipment needed to capture the conference videography. You may need a gimbal to capture less formal shots, a handheld microphone or lavalier microphones that clip onto interviewees, depending on where you are capturing content – a busy event space, or a quiet side room. Your team will be able to guide you but by sharing your goals, they can plan and serve you in the best way possible.
Share a schedule. A conference videography team will arrive at least 90 minutes before your event begins. Make sure they have a point of contact for access if they are arriving before the conference team. Ensure all speakers have their microphones prior to speaking. Good planning leads to a productive event, and with shared information, the team can ensure your schedule runs smoothly.
Share location photos. This will allow the team to plan positioning of cameras and lights to cause minimal disruption. How many attendees are expected? Do you need a sound system? Is there a soundboard in the room? So many questions, best answered before the event day.
During the Conference
On event day, your conference videography team will work seamlessly. Usually dressed in blacks, they will position cameras and lights so they are discreet and not in the way of audience members.
If you have key audience members – maybe local politicians or important donors, firstly ensure the team know who is who. You may need to assign a team member to the crew to point out key figures. Secondly, capture B-roll footage that shows interactions, networking, branding, socializing. This will highlight to others that this is an event worth attending next year.
Conduct interviews, either in a separate room or ‘news-style’ with the ambiance behind the interviewee. Be clear how these interviews are being used, so they have clean introductions and outros for the edit.
Ensure you have all the interviewee names and titles for lower thirds that appear on screen – you don’t want to be chasing these afterwards!
Post-Conference Editing
Your production company should always be looking to give you as much content as possible. What social media platforms do you use and where are your target audiences spending their time? Do you need vertical content? A reel? A loop? Do you really need full panel recordings or are these likely not to be used.
Ensure you have a conversation with your conference videography team about a timeline for deliverables. Do you need any of the footage urgently? A fifteen day turnaround is typical but most companies can adjust if the client needs a more expedited product.
Client feedback is often offered as two or three rounds of comments. Keep it clear and concise. Your conference videography team should share with you a feedback form so comments can be tracked and noted. Don’t create an endless email chain as this is where communication gets unclear and feedback isn’t managed efficiently. Instead use a shared document, noting timecodes and client/ production team comments.
Distribution
Once you have your videos, share them internally and implement your pre-planned strategy for distribution. Share shorter clips on your social media platforms with a call to action to view on your website, or elsewhere as a longer version. Gather feedback on videos to improve future conferences. Share far and wide for maximum eyes on your conference!
Share Internally: Distribute videos to attendees and stakeholders via email or internal platforms.
Client Example:
College Funding Coach chose to capture their event with conference videography. They brought their advisors together from across the United States and created a hype video as well as a series of testimonials about how College Funding Coach supports the advisors in their daily professional lives.
Tips for Success with your Conference Videography
- Stay Flexible: Be ready to adapt to changes in the schedule or unexpected moments.
- Engage Your Audience: Encourage attendees to share their thoughts and experiences on camera. What is the value of this event? Why is it an important date in their calendar? Will they be back next year?
- Legal Considerations: Ensure you have permission to record speakers and attendees, especially for interviews – get release forms. Use copyright free music.
By focusing on these elements, you can create engaging and informative videography that effectively captures the essence of your work conference.