“Demo Reels, Event Photography, and Speaker Videos – Oh my!”
Very much like the classic “lions and tigers and bears” reference in the Wizard of Oz, deciding on a photographer/videographer as a speaker is no easy thing.
First, you're probably wondering, "why would I consider bringing my own camera crew, if the event says they'll give me their footage?"
Sure, that's great. (Definitely get their footage if they're capturing it.)
But, here's the reality:
Their event crew doesn't work for you.
You have virtually no say in what they capture, how they capture it, and whether it would be useful for your purposes.
So, this brings me to this little tip:
With the event organizer's permission, it's not a bad idea to bring your own photographer or videographer as well.
For example...
You may want to hire them to capture footage for your demo reel, or get action shots for your promotional footage, or a multitude of other reasons for hiring a fantastic imaging professional.
But here's where the real anxiety sets in:
First, hiring a professional photographer or videographer ain’t cheap, friends. And you’re unsure how to know if they’d do a good job.
And even after the event, you’re anxiously biting your nails until you receive the final product – which, hopefully meets your expectations.
It just feels like a “wing and a prayer” sometimes.
Fear not, friendly readers!
In this newsletter issue, I’ll share 5 surprising, speaker-focused, “must-ask” questions (that you likely hadn’t considered) to feel confident selecting the right photographer or videographer to showcase your brilliance!
1. Ask if they have experience shooting in "low light."
You’re hiring a professional because they’re the expert in image capturing, right?
So, naturally, you assume they’ll come prepared to get great footage of you at your finest – on stage, transforming lives.
Fast forward to reviewing your proofs and what do you find? Grainy video and dark photos.
Did your stomach just do flips thinking about that? Mine did.
(Ask me how I know.)
My dear friend, your photographer didn’t account for a low light environment!
It goes without saying that the more light you have, the better.
As a speaker, you may not have much say in the lighting setup for the event venue.
But, you should always ask your prospective photographer or videographer how they account for low light venues, as this is a very real possibility you may encounter.
While the light may be sufficient for the audience to see you, it doesn’t mean it’s enough for high quality image capturing.
2. Always confirm if you'll receive the raw unedited footage.
Your videographer may offer to create a demo or highlight reel for you. You may think, “Great! One less thing I need to do!”
But then, you receive the reel and are horrified that they highlighted when you essentially stumbled over your words. You clearly would’ve preferred a more powerful clip be featured.
I cannot overstate this – get the rights to the entire footage, raw and unedited.
Even if you have no video editing experience, this gives you the ability to slice and dice the footage according to any future needs.
There is plenty of free and easy video editing software out there – I actually create all my reels myself (and I’m no tech wiz).
I don’t need to tell you that this saves me a ton of money.
And, truthfully, I’m picky enough to know that I do it better than anyone else could have.
3. Ask about having 1 versus 2+ videographers.
When you think “videographer”, you’re probably thinking you only need one, right? Perhaps.
But, do you want a video that looks more dynamic, versus stagnant with one view? Switching back and forth between different views, while still capturing the entire keynote?
If yes, then you may need more than one videographer.
It doesn’t mean you yourself hire two separate videographers – likely, if this is something you and your videographer decide, they would bring a second colleague to run a second camera.
(Which you, of course, would pay for.)
So, one camera may be stationary – considered to be a “full view” of the stage.
The other camera may be either stationary (in a different position), or a handheld (“gimble”) camera – the latter of which is my preference.
4. Ask about experience in documentary filmmaking.
This is personal preference, of course, but the best images that have ever been captured of me – whether photos or videos – are from documentary filmmakers.
They just look more interesting.
Similar to Tip #3 above, these professionals tend to be skilled in capturing dynamic images and videos that serve to tell a “story”, rather than simply recording an event.
5. Discuss methods of audio-capture.
Do not – I repeat – do NOT use ambient audio to record your talk.
In other words, ambient audio would be simply having the camera capture audio of you speaking, without that camera somehow being connected to the actual microphone or audio feed.
Now, here’s the kicker – for high quality audio to be captured, you must have the camera connected to the audio feed (i.e., the microphone you are speaking into).
There are a couple ways this can happen:
- One is for the videographer to connect directly to the onsite A/V team’s setup – this is more complicated, but it’s a great option if both your A/V team and videographer have the tech available to do this.
- Another way would be for your videographer to supply you with a lavalier microphone that captures your audio directly. This would be separate from the microphone used to project to the audience, by the way.
In this second option, if you’re wondering about mic feedback (that “nails on a chalkboard” sound, yikes), this shouldn’t be an issue if the 2 mics are on different channels or frequencies – obviously, you need to test before you go live on stage though.
As for me, I’ve done it both ways, depending on the videographer. But, it’s always a conversation I have with them ahead of time, to determine if they are prepared for either scenario.
In summary...
Obviously, there are no 100% “fool-proof” ways to confirm your photographer or videographer is going to capture your dream images.
But, like any good relationship, communication is absolutely key – with as much as possible of it occurring prior to agreeing to work together.
These 5 tips you likely won't hear anywhere else (I never did!). I only learned them through experience.
But, it's my sincere hope that my experience can transform yours for the better.
A few more things…Share with your photographer/videographer the key moments you want them to capture. The style you’re looking for.
Okay, phew!
There are a zillion other tips I can share, but since you signed up for a newsletter and not a novel, I’ll stop myself here.
(As a speaker, I can be verbose. I know you get it.)
Hopefully, these at least get you started on the right foot. 😊
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Dr. Kathryn Preston
Keynote Speaker
info@kathrynpreston.com
www.kathrynpreston.com
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