“Today is about finding my tribe, my people.”
“It’s almost like a dream come true.”
“It feels invigorating. It feels like a sense of community. I love it!”
These are the golden moments that give me joy when I’m standing behind the camera interviewing a contributor. Each is a glimpse of a bigger story that I’m already thinking about how to weave into the final edit.
They’re also my cue to ask more. Why does finding your ‘tribe’ feel so special? What’s day-to-day working life like? What difference will today make?
Finding the story in your conference video
Understanding the shape of a story helps me know what questions to ask, what to include and, just as importantly, what to leave out. A 60-second reel needs to get to the heart of things quickly. A longer video gives us room to explore.
A conference offers opportunities for both. With some planning, one filming day can give your comms team content to share long after everyone’s gone home.
Recording keynote speakers for a wider audience
Recording full keynote talks captures the depth and insight for an audience who would love to attend but can’t. Those recordings can also become podcast episodes, giving people another way to listen and learn.
Alongside the finished videos, I can supply versions without captions or slides. This gives your comms team the flexibility to make short highlights themselves, using their editing skills to keep sharing the content.
Creating conference reels for social media
But the speakers on stage are only part of the story. What about the atmosphere and the impact on the people attending?
That’s where those conversations come in. What brought you here? What’s stayed with you? What would you say to someone who’s never attended?
The answers help us capture the emotion and experience of the day for short reels. Alongside them, I film the smiling faces, applause, practical activities and conversations over lunch. People catching up with friends and making new connections. The human moments that make a face-to-face event worth attending.
Capturing interviews about your wider work
A conference also brings together people who would normally be scattered across different locations. With some planning, it’s a chance to capture stories about your wider work too.
Perhaps someone can talk about a project you’ve funded, their experience of a course or a change they’ve made in their workplace. Setting aside time for these interviews can give you separate videos to support other communications priorities.
Making your conference filming budget go further
For a comms team with a limited budget, planning these different uses together helps make the most of a filming day. Full talks, short reels and individual stories each have a job to do.
My role is to work alongside your team, understand what you want to achieve and help people feel comfortable sharing their experiences. That’s how we find the stories that bring your organisation’s work to life.
If you have an event coming up, I’d love to talk about the stories we could capture.
