Corporate event - Promotional video
I have just completed a new promotional video showreel of the e2train annual user group event. e2train are one of the leading companies in the field of learning technologies. This short video is designed as an event showreel to be placed on the companies web site to help promote the user group event for next year and to use as a part of their marketing at presentations & exhibitions.
The client recognises that its never good to sit back and assume you will get a good attendance each year and they wanted to make ongoing steps to grab the interest of new audience attendies. My own personal experience is that it can be difficult to know if an event or conference is suitable to attend or a worthwhile investment simply by reading the marketing materials.
I like to know what it will be like if you were there and a video is a fantastic way to do that and I am glad to say the client has been very pleased with the end result too.
The objective was to capture the pace of the event, the high level of networking opportunity, the relevance of the event and content, the quality of the conference location and facilities and above all the quality and enthusiasm of the audience.
Having been asked to create the showreel, I attended the event over a 24 hour period, from mid day to mid day so that I could be there for the daytime, evening and closing session on the last day which would pretty much cover all the required content.
I worked as a single man crew using a Sony PD170 as the main camera. Its light and easy to use, its not intrusive on people and above all it does a fantastic job in various lighting conditions, so much so that I didnt need any lights except for the top light when I did some interviews in the evening. I also took along a wireless and directional boom mic to cover the audio. I did have a tripod to cover for any long presentations but for the showreel it would have been too static and slow to use so I did the whole thing hand held, allowing me to move around very easily.
My job is to stick pretty much to the background and capture shots that I felt would depict energy and mood of the event. I also needed to get some sound bites from a few attendees to help present why people would attend and if they felt the event was good or not.
There was little more to the brief than that, which in some ways is good but you spend the whole time hoping you are producing something to match the clients expectations.
The main challenge was editing the showreel as I went and having a product to play back at the wrap up session at the end of the event. Working on my own I needed to grab required footage but also shoot back to my mobile editing desk and start importing and editing the content down. As the deadline grew closer the more I had to add the finishing touches to the showreel to make sure the pace, energy, appropriate shots and music all timed in together to refelct the event and grab the audience approval.
For editing I used my Philips Freevents 1.67GHz laptop and Adobe Premier editing software. I also had the Sony DSR 11 deck for transfering tape to laptop.
Click here to go back to the main showreel page to watch the video.
Sure, it was time pressured but its great fun to work on the fly and let the creativity take you through to an end product without any real knowledge of what it was going to be like before you even started.
Thankfully, I got the basic showreel prepared in time to show at the wrap up session and it seemed to go down extremely well with the audience. In its own way it seemed to fuel the sense of a succesful event for everyone involved and certainly closed the event on a high.
However, the primary purpose of the video was to use for ongoing marketing purposes and once back at my office I could then go through and add the finishing touches and publish the video for the client to use at a coming conference and to later post on to their web site to promte the same event the following year.
Want to know more?
If you would like to know more about getting a showreel of your events made then call me now on 07976 881196 or email me at duncan@sousproductions.com and I will get in touch to discuss your needs and budget etc.