Is event coverage simply filming a sports match or a sales conference? Not in our world. We use video to help sponsors and organisers get the most out of their investment in events.
Imagine if the World Cup was just announced with the first match? No-one would watch it or even know about it until we were approaching the semi-finals! In our opinion, every public event, no matter the size, should be approached with the aim of getting the most exposure and return on investment - and using video is a great way to do this.
An event is usually something that you want to shout about - and one of the keys to success is to build momentum beforehand. A few social media 15-or 30-second teasers can really help build excitement and engagement in your event. It doesn’t matter if the event hasn’t happened yet, an interview with the organiser, a time-lapse of the event set up, a look back at coverage from the previous year, a drone footage of the site of the event - all snippets like these help to build anticipation and excitement so that your audience is ready to engage as soon as the event goes live.
When the Invictus Games took place in Orlando a couple of years ago, we went out to capture footage of the pre-games training to build a social media story in the run up to the main event. This gave the organisers great content to use in their marketing and allowed international excitement to gather pace. The thing about live events is that you need to think fast and film quick - and in the case of the Invictus games, we needed to edit quickly too - often overnight, sending footage back and forth across the network, making the most of the time difference so we could release films on a daily basis.
This was a large scale event, but with any live event, we have to think quickly and act fast. Live events of any sort - whether they’re sporting events or music gigs - are unscripted and usually involve members of the public, who aren’t always predictable! Spotting opportunities for filming, Vox-pop style interviews and having a sufficient team of talented filmmakers in place to capture all the action is key.
