7 Tips and Tricks for Event Videography
#1 Timing
Timing is everything. Look around, don’t spend too much time on camera settings. Try to set it up at home, before hand. If you are close with the organizers, try to figure out the itinerary of the event before starting the shoot. This will help you to organize your time slots and you know how much time you have for each motive.
#2 Angles
You would want to make your video interesting to watch right? So refrain from using boring angles and try going down on your knees, go behind tight spaces where eyes normally would not go. Try a good mix between wide and close up shots. This gives you more diversity in your shots without changing the content too much.
#3 Communication
Talk to the organizer, the people you are filming, or even the sound technician and fellow photographers and security. This is your way of letting people know what you’re doing and then they will respect you and sometimes try to help you with the shots you need.
#4 Pack Light
Events are quite tiring because you have to film non-stop to not miss a moment. Pack light to make sure you will not sweat to death and stay as flexible and mobile as possible. Try to reduce the amount of times changing lenses and choose a versatile all-rounder like a 24-70mm (12-35mm for MFT) or something like that.
#5 Ninja
Don’t ask for permission. Ask for forgiveness. Just film. Get your shot. Don’t ask. If the people don’t want to be filmed, they will tell you. Usually it’s the organizers job to make sure you can work properly. They would hang a sign that says that the event is being filmed. If you start asking people, you will lose precious time.
#6 Faces
Your video should transmit emotions. That means filming happy, laughing faces is a very VERY good idea. The people watching your video connect with the people in your video. Try to capture funny moments, emotional interactions, hugs, kisses, laughs, everything that is positive.
#7 Post Production
My style of an event video is a fast edit. This keeps the tension and new images tend to be less boring. try to edit to the beat but keep up the diversity. Try to not only use hard cuts, but also nice swipe transitions or for the pros, masking transitions. Don’t overdo it though. Sound is as important so make sure you add some SFX and edit your sound as well.