Making Slick Event Videos

On the 11th-12th November 2017, I was at the wonderful Hack Sussex 2017 event, ran by some of my friends. I had been invited along to record a summative video for the event.

Hack Sussex 2017

A summary of Hack Sussex's Hackathon 2017, which involved engineers, scientists and many computers to create an initiative piece of tech in 24 hours! Given the task of making an event coverage video, I wanted to challenge myself by taking it a step further... Inspired by the incredible 'Watchtower of Turkey' short film by Leonardo Dalessandri, I wanted to try some of this style, whilst keeping within the context of the Hack Sussex event, making sure to use colours in cyan/blues and yellow as reflection to the sources they provided me with. Music: Caravan Palace - Aftermath You can check out the Hack Sussex website for more info here: https://hacksussex.co.uk/ 'Watchtower of Turkey' by Leonardo Dalessandri: https://vimeo.com/108018156

I had made events coverage videos in the past before, and thought I would shake up the 'standard' approach: pretty framed, slow motion shot, cut to another similar looking shot, cut to the nearby lake, back to a slow motion shot of someone laughing... etc.

So this time, I thought I would try out a shooting and editing style perfectly demonstrated by Leonardo Dalessandri, who made the stunning 'Watchtower of Turkey' and several other travel videos of a similar style.

The key elements to shooting this style:

• Edit whilst you shoot: how is a camera movements going to blend into the next.

• Give yourself plenty of options: shoot a lot of things, each with loads of different camera movements in and out, will make your life a lot easier in post.

• Shoot at high frame rates: speed ramping is key to this style, give yourself the flexibility of slow-mo. I shot at 50fps (100/120fps would be recommended).

• Don't spend too long on each subject: you want to get variety, the shots you use will only be present for a couple of seconds at the most. In a speedy event that takes place in 24 hours, don't wait around trying to get it perfect. The perfection will come in the edit.

• Hyperlapse: this is a key effect of the 'Watchtower of Turkey' short film, usually being combined with zooms when focusing on subjects in busy areas. Or dolly style where the camera rotates around a subject. The venue I was at didn't contain the most scenic aesthetics, so I chose to use a hyperlapse to show the layout of the event.

Now, my approach to this technique was mainly a test and for a client, so it had characteristics that I might not necessarily have chosen if it was a project purely for me. There is a lot more you can do with this style. Once someone like Leonardo Dalessandri masters it, it is a beautiful and powerful style that can emote, incite anxiety and promote change, it is up to you as a filmmaker where you want to take it.