Filming an Awards Ceremony

Filming an Awards Ceremony Title
M&IT Awards – Filming an Awards Ceremony

Filming an Awards Ceremony

Earlier on this month we were filming an awards ceremony at Battersea Evolution in the heart of London’s beautiful Battersea Park. The M&IT Awards were organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine and celebrated the very best of those from within the business meetings and travel industry – including airlines, hotels, conference centres and those providing specialist services to the industry – both in the UK and overseas.

The awards consist of 19 main categories, plus a special award celebrating the M&IT Personality of the Year. What makes these awards even more credible and extremely valuable to the participants is that they are voted on by the customers of the nominees and independently verified.

Filming an awards ceremony can come in various guises, but in this instance our brief was to produce a short video diary which captured the essence and excitement of the event. Whilst serving as a memento for the organisers and participants, the main purpose for the film is to show potential sponsors just how glamorous and spectacular the evening is, highlight the profile of the entrants and help convince new sponsors that it’s an event which they should associate their brand with. Whilst they are never short of organisations wishing to enter the awards, the film should also demonstrate the value of winning an award and ultimately help them to continue to attract the very best entrants within the industry.

In addition to the main video diary, we also filmed short interviews with the winners of each of the main categories as they came off the stage. These interviews were editing together with the winner’s stage presentation and packaged as standalone films which the winners could purchase from M&IT to use as publicity tools and further promote their success in the awards.

The Challenges in Filming an Awards Ceremony

With nearly 1,300 attendees at the event, and various entertainment features taking place throughout the evening, the main challenge was in ensuring we obtained adequate coverage in order to tell the story and show the event off in the best light. During the reception period and up until the first presentations we were running three DSLR cameras. Light levels were very low during the drinks reception so DLSRs were the obvious choice.

Three shots from a single camera position
Three shots from a single camera position

During the main presentation we had one camera position front of stage operated by Dilip Patel – from which he was recording on three separate cameras. The main camera was our JVC GY-HM650 which was used as the main follow-action camera for the stage presentations. The second was a Canon 5DMkII capturing a stage wide shot. The third camera was a JVC Action camera looking back at the audience to capture reaction shots and red carpet walk-ups.

The JVC was recording ambient sound from its internal microphone plus a front-of-house mix from the staging company’s mixing desk back stage – fed to the camera via our Sony UWP-D11 radio mic system. The AV company was running several radio mics on stage so during set-up we worked with them to set our system to a frequency which wouldn’t interfere with them and gave us perfect sound – even though we were transmitting through the stage to our camera position which was about 50 meters away.

Back stage we had a black drape studio set up which the winners were directed to once they’d been presented on stage. The main camera here was another Canon 5DMkII with a Canon 550D used to capture a “dirty-two” of the set just in case I needed a cutaway at the editing stage (it turned out to be a godsend!). Live sound here was recorded using a boom directional mic connected to our Tascam DR-60 recorder which fed back into the 5D for synchronised sound. A safety back-up was also recorded on the Tascam in dual mode giving us an additional two levels of recording just in case there was any peaks in the main mix.

The back-stage set
The back-stage set

The costs and benefits of Filming an Awards Ceremony

There’s no standard rate card for filming an awards ceremony because each commission will vary according to our clients requirements and the resources needed to achieve it. However, for a simple one-camera shoot this could be as little as £1,000 for a single-camera 1-day shoot and 1-day edit. Whilst this is feasible, more extensive coverage from multiple cameras will give you a much more comprehensive result and is more likely to represent the event more accurately.

Capturing the celebrations backstage
Capturing the celebrations backstage

The benefits are manifold, but the main reason companies choose to invest in having the event filmed is to use it to promote future events and attract sponsorships and entrants. Whilst still photographs are great for organisers and winners alike, recording the event on film is far more engaging and useful.

If you are thinking about filming an awards ceremony, and would like to talk through the various levels of service we can provide, please give us a call on 020 3602 3356.

Filming a Corporate Away Day

I had a really busy June this year including filming a corporate away day at Highgate House, Creaton, Northants for CAT Publications Ltd – the publishers of M&IT magazine (Meetings and Incentive Travel).

The event was sponsored by the Norway Convention Bureau and Visit Norway and attended by event organisers from various companies across the UK. The purpose of the event was to introduce delegates to the various regions and conference/event facilities in Norway so that they might point their clients towards holding events there.

The underlying theme to the day was the work of the famous Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch and his iconic painting, ‘The Scream’. Apart from formal classroom-type presentations on the various Norwegian venues and regions, delegates were divided into teams to take part in fun and challenging activities including painting their own version of The Scream, making a short film based on the painting and taking part in an extreme crossing activity.

Painting like Munch
Painting like Munch

Video Artisan was brought in for two reasons. Firstly, CAT Publications wanted to produce a short overview of the event to help them promote future events and give an insight into their unique approach to managing corporate away days. The second part of the brief was to supply camera kits for the teams to produce their Scream films and to provide them with technical support. In addition, each team’s film had to be edited by the end of the day for a screening and judging session.

Filming a Corporate Away Day
Delegates shooting their Munch Film

Filming a Corporate Away Day

Having had previous experience in filming a corporate away day the short promo film wasn’t going to be too challenging on its own, but the addition of supporting the delegate teams in making their own films and then editing them together meant bringing in two additional crew members (Dilip Patel & Martin Baker). This left me to concentrate on managing the delegate teams and trying to get them to keep their ideas simple and easy to churn out on the edit suite within the given time. Earlier on in the day they had all watched a fantastic film that was commissioned by Visit Norway based on the same theme – so they were already building up some ambitious ideas for their own creations

In the quieter periods (there weren’t that many) I was also able to shoot interviews with the organisers, sponsors and delegates to help me tell the story for the promo film. I also used these moments to pick up on some establishing shots of the venue as well as more abstract coverage of the activities.

the Interviews
Filming a Corporate Away Day – the Interviews

Apart from the usual mass of filming equipment I take on these assignments I also had to rig up my old Edius 4.5 edit suite in a separate room away from the main conference area. This had to be able to output to DVD for the screening session and possibly a number of other digital formats just to be sure that the delegate’s films could be seen and judged when they needed to be.

The camera kits (two Canon XF105s) were supplied by Hireacamera and were been delivered on the previous day. I chose these cameras as I’d used them on similar events last year and they’d been incredibly easy to use in their ‘Auto-everything’ mode. The MXF file format that they record to is also ideal as my Edius system (as old as it is) can use these files on the timeline in their native form. I used Hireacamera because they are both dependable and really understand my needs – and they didn’t disappoint on this occasion either.

Another satisfied customer

After a couple of minor tweaks the promo film was signed off last week and I’m sure it will not be long before CAT Publications are pumping it out there to promote their next event. Following the event I’d also encoded the delegate team films to MP4 so they could be screened on their YouTube channel (Green Team, Blue Team, Yellow Team and Red Team)

The client certainly seem to be very pleased with the end result and have said there’s more work in the pipeline that they want to get me involved in. That’s exactly the response I aim for on every project and I hope to be filming a corporate away day for them again very soon.

More medical conference filming

I was conference filming for Dilip Patel of Double-Barrelled again at the weekend.  It’s always a pleasure working with Dilip – but I found myself sucked in by the subject matter more than ever this time.

The event was being run by the Merseyside Family Doctors Association at the Lace Conference Centre in Liverpool.  We wasn’t covering the whole event but rather concentrating on capturing a keynote presentation by Prof. George Freeman and Dr. Alison Hill entitled ‘Continuity of Care’.  We were also to film a short interview with them both following their presentation in one of the breakout rooms at the venue – with questions being put to them by the lovely Bryony Wolfendale.  Dilip was also filming other pieces to camera with Bryony to introduce the event and top-n-tail the video.

Conference filming in Liverpool
Working with Dilip and Bryony was a pleasure

As I was only providing a Canon 5D Mkii and tripod (as an emergency back up and to catch some cutaways) it seemed wasteful for me to drive all the way of from Loughton, Essex to Liverpool – so I found myself once again catching an early train from Euston.  I was at Lime Street station by 9:20 and at the venue about 15-mins later.  If it hadn’t been for a little London Underground “experience” first thing it would have been a completely stress-free conference filming experience.  But hey ho – by the time I arrived I was suitably snoozed and ready to capture some great footage.

The main presentation was filmed using two Canon XF105s which were on hire from the ever-so reliable Hireacamera.  Dilip and I had used these super-simple cameras on the Cardiff job earlier this year and their performance then suggested they’d be perfect for this job. This time it was an even simpler set up with each camera recording in isolation and Dilip cutting the footage in post.  There were also two additional cameras recording the action in the main hall – both 5D Mkii’s (mine and Dilip’s).  One was capturing a very wide shot from the back and the other was capturing a shot from behind the speaker looking out to the audience.

Conference Filming at the Family Doctors Association
Conference filming a reverse shot to give Dilip something to help him “cross the line”

The subject matter of the presentation by Prof. George Freeman and Dr. Alison Hill was really about explaining the benefits of, and encouraging GPs to provide, continuity of care to patients.  They also revealed how they are trying to educate government on the benefits of this approach and getting it adopted on a much wider basis.  Whilst continuity of care is achieved through many different techniques and approaches, the issues that I could relate to were that patients like to see the same GP (or at least someone from a small team of GPs) who appears familiar with them and their medical history.  The session outline some simple ways to make patients feel like they are more than just a medical record on a computer – and went on to explain how this approach can benefit patient health, the workload of the GP and the healthcare in general.  It was extremely encouraging to listen in on.

Whilst my mind was firmly on my conference filming brief, it was great to be involved in something that was relatively easy to understand.  More often than not these medical conferences are very specialised and therefore hard to follow.  Sometimes it’s as if they are being delivered in a foreign language!

With the interviews complete, and Bryony’s reverse questions, glances and noddies all in the can, I was back at Lime Street station to catch the 15:48 back down to London Euston.  I was back in Loughton by 18:45 so not much different from a normal day at the office.

Looking forward to the next one Dilip! : )

Facilities & Services

Video Facilities and Services

Look no further for Video Production Facilities in East London and Essex

We offer clients and other video production companies a comprehensive shooting and editing service on all video formats from our video production facilities studio in Loughton, Essex.  We benefit from excellent road links to Central London, the M25 and Britain’s motorway network and from having Loughton Underground station only minutes away and Stansted Airport within 30-minutes.

Editing Suite

Our Edius editing system is fully HD and 4K capable with both DVD and BluRay authoring and duplication. We can ingest all tape, card and HD formats and export and encode to almost anything. We also have voice over recording facilities in-house.

Please call for daily, half-day, hourly and weekend rates.

Format Conversions & Copying Services

We provide a comprehensive range of digital media conversion and copying services to businesses and members of the public. This includes converting PowerPoint and Slides to DVD, stills to DVD, video encoding and file format conversions. We also have data recovery systems for extracting images and video from corrupted media.

Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton
Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton

Shooting Services

We have fully kitted out JVC GY-LS300  Super 35 sensor 4K camera with a range of lenses – plus DSLR shooting kits running Magic Lantern – along with JVC GY-HM650 camera with Vinten/Sachtler Tripods, Sliders, Hood & Rails, Action Cameras, Mini Dolly, Steady-cam, various lenses and accessories.  Available on a wet-hire basis only – with full-day and half-day rates.  CLICK HERE to see our Freelance section.

Video to DVD

See our new dedicated information page on our popular VHS to DVD conversion services – CLICK HERE.

Drop-in and collect by appointment to our edit suite which is located off Clays Lane, Loughton.  30-minutes from Central London and Stansted Airport – 5-minutes from Britain’s Motorway Network – 1-minute from the beauty of Epping Forest.

Corporate Video production for All

corporate video production

Get your next corporate video on-line, on-cue and on-budget!

Thank you for your interest in our corporate video and business-based media production services.  We specialise in the creation and delivery of effective company video communications to businesses and organisations of all sizes.  Our aim is to help our clients to benefit from incorporating video content into their day-to-day business communications. Video Artisan has a wealth of experience and the creative talents to match any business film requirement.

Why commission a corporate video?

A well produced video is the best way to engage with your audience.  It delivers a consistent message in an easy to consume and adaptable format.  You only have to look at the rising prevalence of YouTube and Vimeo to see just how important online video has become in SEO.  Today, a website without a properly indexed and relevant video will rank lower than one that does – full stop!

There are probably many more reasons to commission a video but the most common goals are that you want to:

  • create wealth for your business
  • offer a more cost effective means of achieving a goal
  • and/or augment your brand and raise its profile.

Why Video Artisan?

Above everything else, we understand that your video is a business tool that has one of the above objectives to meet.

With our in-depth understanding of the technology, coupled with our creative approach to developing innovative ways of engaging your audience, Video Artisan can offer a complete script-to-screen service at very competitive prices.

Want to know how much a corporate video production will cost? Click here to read our useful article.

Are you ready to find out more?

For a no-obligation consultation please feel free to contact us today.  We would be more than happy to discuss your ideas and requirements and come up with a proposal which fits your needs, desires and budget.

Please call 020 3602 3356 or 0777 153 5692  – or Email: kevin@video-artisan.com

A bit more about Kevin Cook and Video Artisan

Kevin Cook first started in corporate video in 1985 and has helped many companies and organisations develop their video content for training, promotional, online and branding purposes. Kevin has also written many articles and papers on the subject, as well as giving presentations throughout the UK and Ireland on corporate video.

With contacts throughout the film, tv and creative-freelance community, Kevin is able to pool together and manage large creative teams on more demanding projects.

Corporate video montage copy
Choose the right partner to produce your next corporate video

Services include
Concept Development, Script Writing and Storyboard Design
Freelance Producer/Director, Videographer, Editor
Web encoding and video SEO
File format conversions and duplication

Client & Production Credit List include
Haynes Data, Trinity Catholic School, Air Products, Cimar, CAT Publications, TATA Communications, Anibas, Robertson & Co., JVC Professional, AKM Music, Crown Media, The MOD, Galliard Homes, Smiths of Loughton, Stylfile, Hyper Recruitment Solutions, Supadance International, Beaver84, Eiger Safety, Sony Broadcast & Professional, N2 Visual Communications, Robert Dyas, Hanover Foundation, Picco Dolly, Hills Pet Foods, Maspalomas Princes Hotel, Marley, LaRoche, Olympus HiSpeed Tests, Distillers MG, Fernaux Avionics, Tolmink, Waltham Forest Social Services, SelClene, Europa Logistics, Ultimate Animates