Highlight Reels are a great addition to have at any event or conference to keep the excitement high and showcase the success of your event for future marketing purposes. At Sparksight, we produce a wide range of highlight reels for multi-day conferences or single day productions. Here are a few tips and tricks we’ve incorporated into our list of best practices when filming a successful highlight reel.
1. Bring the proper equipment
Most events and keynote presentations take place in lower lit rooms, so it’s important to bring a solid set of DSLR cameras that perform well in low light. Using a combination of long telephoto and wide-angle lenses allow you to capture enough dynamic shots to keep your video interesting, while helping you keep still during crucial keynotes or presentations. Portable tripods, sliders, or glidecams are also important pieces of equipment to bring along. They help create a static-like or simple shot look more complex, while keeping background noise down when you’re moving. Here at Sparksight, we also like to incorporate Go-Pro’s in some of our productions. The Go-Pro not only provides a great time-lapse feature, it can also act as a ‘spy camera’ for continuous recording without disrupting the conference.
2. Capture the attendee’s best side
When shooting a highlight reel with the video team at Sparksight, we often produce final videos that incorporate a lot less footage than we shot. We’d rather overshoot an event and use our best footage than trying to use it all. Capturing your attendee’s smiling, laughing, and having a great time provides much better footage than shooting dull faces or people just staring off into space. Remember, you are creating a story of the event you’re shooting. Capturing the beginning, middle, and end will really boost the overall video, rather than just providing a myriad of shots at various times. Don’t be afraid to hover your finger over the record button and wait for attendee’s to laugh or clap to capture the best in-the-moment reactions. Also, food and snacks during event breaks often provide some of the best smiling and laughing shots we often use. Getting a little sugar in your conference-goers does wonders to the morale, and an increase in happy attendees means happy results!
3. Use sound bytes!
Take your highlight reel to the next level by incorporating interviews and simple “Man on the street” sound bytes. Don’t be afraid to ask for opinions about the event from the attendees. Asking a simple question such as, “What’s your favorite thing about this conference so far?”, can really add to your final product. Remember, you’re documenting the entire conference and event. The people you’re filming not only have pretty faces, but have a voice as well. Getting sound bytes from your audience or some keynote speakers can really take your highlight reel to the next level and add a whole new dimension to your event.
Have any tips of your own when it comes to filming an event highlight reel? Please share in the comments section below! We’d love to hear some of your ideas and techniques.