Case study: University of Sheffield conference
The brief
The Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) run several events each year to engage with the international academic community, and asked me to provide full coverage of their conference at the end of 2019. They wanted a set of videos and photos to get the messages from speakers and discussions at the conference to an even wider audience online.
In addition to a full 5-6 minute summary video of the key issues surrounding the theme of “Capitalism in the 2020s”, I was asked if I could provide a fast turnaround news piece for publishing on social media within a few days of the conference to keep the conversation going. On the day, I would also capture the main keynote, the closing panel, and provide photography.
The project
Needless to say, it was a lot for one person to manage, so planning was key to ensure everything was covered. I worked with the University of Sheffield staff to help schedule the day in a way that was achievable for everyone, given that there were a number of interviews to be filmed in a separate part of the building to the main conference.
By preparing various elements in advance such as logos, graphics and backing tracks, I could be sure that once I was back in the edit I could drop footage in quickly to get the fast turnaround they needed.
Shooting & editing
Using a multi-camera setup during the main conference speeches and panels meant I always had a wide shot of the main room, whilst keeping myself free to move around with a monopod and zoom lens to get close-up shots of the speakers. Having two angles of the same subject allows me to cut them together in the edit to hide any distractions such as audience members walking into shot, and keeps the content interesting over a 40 minute video
Within two days of the conference, I delivered the photos and news piece for review, which were posted to social media shortly after. Following this, we worked on the themes for the full summary piece (below) and I put together the extended videos for the institute to host on their website for future reference.
“Your flexibility and very calm approach on the day itself was very welcome.
The end results are great - they’ll be enormously valuable to SPERI as they continue to develop new audiences.”
Find out more
Dan Waters runs Adarak, a Leeds-based provider of professional and affordable videography, photography and aerial footage. We’re here to help you turn your ideas, products, and case studies into something you’ll be proud to share.