Conference Video

Whether your organisation has an event to engage with their staff; students; clients; suppliers; investors the reality is that not everyone will be able to attend and the most practical solution to share that experience is through video.

Whilst the content may vary, the challenges of filming such an event remain the same:

Light

The majority of conference speakers rely on Powerpoint slides whilst delivering their presentations. The light in the room will have been dimmed so that the projection is visible to the audience; the speaker is likely to require a spotlight in order be filmed.

My solution is to use a portable fresnel LED light, which allows me to focus the light on my subject without spoiling the view of the projected presentation. #cametv

Audio

In order to capture clear audio, the speaker must use a microphone; this is can mounted on a lectern, or wireless hand-held or clipped on to a lapel. The wireless options are convenient, but can be prone to signal interference, and if there are multiple speakers, there can a variance in sound levels.

My approach is to use a wireless transmitter from the venue's audio desk, sending a signal direct to camera, with a portable mixer that allow me to adjust the sound levels. #rodefilmmaker #saramonic

I also use an on camera shotgun microphone as a backup in case of any dropouts in the signal. #rodevideomicpro

Edit

The 2 camera setup above, allows me to film a wide shot of both the speaker and the presentation, and a close up shot of just the speaker, to provide me more options for the edit. I can zoom in on the speaker to add emphasis, when they're making a salient point.

If the presentation slides contain detailed information, I convert the Powerpoint presentation into separate .png image files and add them as cutaways to the final edit.

If the video is for overseas audiences it is also possible for me to transcribe the audio, and add subtitles in another language.

#conferencevideo