Declan Gale Videography
Guide

Recap or full record? What kind of event video you actually need

Most confusion in event video quotes comes down to two people using “event video” to mean different things. This sorts it out in two minutes.

A recap
Two to three minutes

A short, edited piece built from the whole event, cut to give someone who was not there a feel for what it was. The most common thing people ask for, and usually the most useful thing to have afterwards.

Good for

Website and social use, sponsor recaps, next year’s ticket sales, giving a board or funders a sense of the event.

Will not include

Every speaker, every session, every award. A recap is a selection, not a record.

A full record
Filmed end to end

A session or speech filmed end to end and lightly trimmed. Cheap to shoot, not built to be watched for entertainment.

Good for

Compliance, training material, AGMs, or anyone who needs the full unedited content of a specific session rather than a highlights version.

Will not include

The pacing or story of a recap. It is raw content, not a piece of communication.

Session capture
Several talks, individually

The conference version of a full record. Several talks filmed individually, with clean audio and slides, so each one can be published separately afterwards. A bigger job than either of the above, since it usually needs more cameras and a proper feed off the AV desk.

Good for

Conferences where individual sessions get repurposed as their own content afterwards.

Will not include

A single short piece. This is a library, not a highlight film, you will usually want a recap alongside it.

Why this matters for your quote

Two quotes for “event video” can look wildly different in price for a reason that has nothing to do with one supplier being better or worse. If one is quoting a recap and the other a full record, the numbers were never comparable in the first place.

Before comparing prices, decide which one you actually want, or say all three options to whoever is quoting and let them price each one.

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