If you could travel back in time for just a few hours, what moments would you want to witness? History is littered with moments that changed everything for better or worse, even if the people there at the time didn’t necessarily realize it. What would you give to be a part of some groundbreaking event that you missed the first time around, and relive one of those special moments at your own convenience?
Through video content marketing, localized events have become more accessible than ever. Now, you can help capture your brand’s best live events and activations and then share them with an exponentially larger audience online that could ever hope to possibly attend in-person.
This is excellent timing, too, as the demand for event videos had never been higher. Younger generations are increasingly burdened by “Fear Of Missing Out” – often abbreviated to FOMO for short. There are many complex factors at play in the dramatic rise of FOMO, though social media is arguably the most prominent cause. When young people are constantly exposed to an array of carefully-curated moments designed to make them feel like they missed something fun, naturally that will shape their culture. In fact, a recent study shows that nearly 40% of Millennials have overspent or even gone into debt trying to keep up with their friends’ lifestyles.
Event videos can be a terrific way for your brand to help alleviate FOMO by bringing even your most exclusive events to people who would otherwise never have the opportunity to partake in them. And with video content becoming more popular than ever over the past few years, this presents the perfect chance for you to connect to audiences already interested in your events, while also expanding your brand for Millennial viewers.
With all that in mind, here are seven simple tips for making sure that your next event video is flawlessly produced and creatively successful.
1. Choose Your Style
Before you begin filming your live event, make sure that you have a clear concept of what you want the end product to be. There are countless reasons to create video content, which means that your video should be aligned towards a focussed, achievable goal from the start.Think about what kind of event you’re filming, think about what you want it to accomplish, and then begin building a production framework from there.
2. Make A Plan
Because of the inherently spontaneous nature of live events, you might feel like you can just call in a couple camera ops and then have them wing it. But the exact opposite is true: Event videos require just as much–if not more–planning than a traditional video. Map your location in advance, stick to a tight time schedule, and make sure that everybody in your crew is familiar with their responsibilities. Remember, unlike with a traditional video shoot, if somebody bungles their take, calling “cut” is not an option.
3. Prep Your Sound
Arguably the hardest part of live event filming is making sure that your sound quality stays up to snuff. It’s possible that you will not not have the opportunity to use traditional mics while moving around a venue, which means that you may need to either use smaller mics for each individual camera or (if this is an event with performances that utilize microphones) plug directly into the venue’s sound system. But even then, be careful. Just because your audio sounds good on the venue speakers does not mean that it’s recording well. Have a sound engineer on-hand to carefully monitor for peaking, distortion, and other potential audio issues.
4. Keep It Consistent
When you have multiple cameras filming multiple aspects of a live event, it is important to double check that all of your footage stays stylistically and technically consistent. Set your white balance in advance, rather than relying on every individual camera’s “automatic” setting, for a crisp, consistent shoot. If there are any special considerations that must be made because of the venue’s lighting (especially if it’s outside or otherwise inconsistent) determine those before the shoot so that the entire crew has a course of action ready.
5. Believe In B-Roll
Even once you’ve checked off every frame of your shotlist, don’t put down that camera! Your b-roll footage will be especially invaluable during a live shoot – things like shots of the audience can help establish context for the event, make scene transitions easier, and cover up any cuts that you might have to unexpectedly add during post-production. And believe us when we tell you that there will always be unexpected problems to contend with during the creation of an event video.
6. Safety First, Always
When you are filming a live event for an event video, you cannot help but take on an extra element of risk. Instead of just your professional crew and camera-ready talent, you must additionally be responsible for an environment that was not designed with your shoot in mind, as well as the people in it – most of whom will not be overly conscious of (or care about) your equipment, team, etc. Less awareness equals less safe behavior, so always choose safety over getting the shot. Organize gear in a way that prevents it from obstructing walkways, and try to scout out any potential environmental hazards, like uneven stairs or rickety platforms, far in advance. Keep one eye on your subject, and one eye on the world around you, to prevent slipping, cracking, breaking, bruising, or worse.
7. Act The Part
This last tip may seem a bit silly, but remember that when you’re filming for an event video, you are still a representative of your brand or company. Everybody in your crew must behave as professionally as possible, from their manner of dress (no sloppy sweatpants) to the way that they interact with attendees. The event itself is the focus, and seriously disrupting it for the purpose of content creation will generate ill will among your audience. Always be respectful, be unobtrusive, and treat others the way that you would want to be treated.
By following these seven tips, you can guarantee that your event video comes together as intuitively and effectively as possible. Don’t let FOMO keep you from connecting with a new audience.
Let us help you create your event video today and experience the power of video marketing.
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