When hosting a corporate event or exhibiting at a trade show, you don’t want to miss a single detail – especially with your videography.
Experienced event coordinators working with photography and videography teams craft shot lists to ensure all parties are on the same page.
This event videography shot list will feature all elements the brand wishes to showcase later for company introductions, marketing materials, service or product demonstrations, and social media.
While each shot list will be a little different depending on the event or brand, some particular shots are pretty universal across the board.
Perspective Shots
Perspective shots really capture the size and scale of your event. These are the types of shots that put the viewer right in the thick of the excitement.
You can think of these shots as the “start” of the story.
From the point of view of someone in the crowd, videographers will use wide angles for establishing shots. As “establishing shots”, these will typically begin your video or teaser and set the stage for the rest of the finished product.
Another unique way to establish these perspective shots is with videography drones, which take wide shots from above to show scale in a creative bird’s eye view.
Venue Features
After perspective shots often come venue features.
At a trade show, for example, this shot could feature the booth or exhibit, as well as the overall venue layout, the visitors or attendees, and the setting with more focus on detail instead of the scale or scope of the space. The perspective shots take care of the scale, and the venue features zero in more on the detail.
Venue features aren’t just for the “during” part of the event.
Taking venue videography before the event, during setup, and while the event is taking place is a great way to showcase the effort, planning, and work that goes into a successful event execution. A time-lapse set to music is an exciting way to set the tone for a build-up and breakdown venue feature shot.
Action Shots
For brands showcasing products or services at a trade show, action shots are an absolute must on an event videography shot list.
Ultra close-up shots, aerial videography via drone, and slow-motion shots of all the action are all ways that these shots can be made more impactful and engaging. Videographers may speed up and slow down certain scenes in editing to focus on the particular details in your demonstration.
Shots Of Attendees and Guests
At trade shows and conferences especially, shots of excited attendees really set an important tone for your event videography.
These shots are excellent for websites and marketing materials, as they give a particular emotion to your finished product.
Seeing engaged and excited attendees lets audiences engage themselves in a personal and relatable way.
These attendee shots should include audiences interacting with your booth, exhibit, or product, listening to speakers, and interacting with one another.
Attendee shots make great intros, especially for interview segments; they introduce you to the audience before diving deeper into the real excitement of the attendee experience.
Point Of View Shots
Point-of-view shots are an interesting way to put the audience right into the moment. This sort of shot is taken while walking through an event or interacting with a demonstration from a first-person perspective.
For example, the camera will “walk” down an aisle at a trade show, turn to focus on your booth, walk up to your booth, and have an interactive experience with your exhibitor demonstrating your product.
On an event videography shot list, point-of-view shots may come before action shots and after venue features. Venue features lead into a point-of-view segment, which then seamlessly transitions into those exciting action shots live from your booth.
Multi-Subject Shots
Multi-subject shots aren’t capturing the subjects, but the relationship or the engagement between them.
For instance, a shot of an exhibitor at a trade show demonstrating a product alongside the attendees they’re giving their attention to. What the shot sets out to do is showcase the interaction with an emphasis on the engagement occurring within the shot. The subjects are the supporting cast, the interaction is the main character.
Multi-subject shots are a great way to highlight networking at conferences, engagement with keynote speakers, and interactions during demonstrations.
VIP And Special Guest Shots
Attending an event with VIPs or special guests is exciting, so it’s an essential event videography shot list when VIPs are in attendance.
These are excellent shots to use for event recaps, news stories, or press releases, as they grab attention straight away and emphasize excitement and importance.
VIPs and special guests may include sponsors, CEOs, keynote speakers, big-time industry names, and even celebrities.
Coordinators should provide a full list of important people to feature, and where or when they can be found on-site to get the best video footage. Footage may include a mix of candid shots and posed photos with or without branding.
Award Winners
Many events will feature award winners, and they should be showcased on any event videography shot list.
When capturing award winner shots, coordinators should provide videographers with a timeline of award announcements so both candid and posed footage can be captured for full impact. Candid shots will consist of the announcement of award winners, immediate reactions from the award winners, reactions in the audience, and footage of award winners making their way to a stage or podium to accept their award.
As for posed footage, this may include shots of award winners gathering together for posed photos giving a “polished posed candid” type of feel.
How And Where To Use Video Footage
Footage taken at trade shows and events can be used in a multitude of ways. They may be featured in how-to videos, used on your website or social media for marketing, to introduce your company to potential customers or investors, to feature in employee training videos, and to recap events. Videography can be the thing that makes you stand out from others in your industry.
To capture your next event, contact Expo Ease to discuss your essential event videography shot list.
