Panel debate videographer
Frequently I receive commissions to work as a panel debate videographer filming talks and discussions. In this case study, I explain the process behind a recent commission.
Filming at a West End theatre
Multi-media production company Digital Drama recently commissioned me to film and edit a large panel debate. The debate would discuss a play called ‘Peace In Our Time’ written by Noël Coward. This is one of his lesser-known and little-produced plays. I filmed the event with two-tripod mounted cameras. To film the event I locked off one camera on a wide shot and then followed the action with my second camera.
Recording the sound
Each of the panel members was fitted with a radio microphone which were all fed to a mixer. Sound recordist Pietro Giordano expertly live mixed the nine different radio mic feeds during the filming. Pietro also recorded the separate radio mic channels. After the recording, he provided me with a final mixed version and all the separate mic channels for the edit.
Panel debate
This panel debate was chaired by Digital Drama Producer Alison Ramsey. Also on the panel were: Frances Gray, Brian Fillis, Katy Layton-Jones, Martyn Wade, Kate Valentine and Geoffrey Johnson Supporting the panel debate were actors Dorothy Atkinson, Adrian McLoughlin & Stephen Critchlow, who performed in the recent radio production of the play. During the panel debate, they performed clips from the play.
Video editing
I had been commissioned by Digital Drama to edit a full length edited version of the debate and also a 60-second version for social media. Once the filmed media had been transcoded and backed up on my RAID 5 drives, I synced the two camera video media to the sound recordings. With a long timeline of all the recordings in place, I then edited the best shots from the debate. With each separate sound recording available I was also able to finely adjust the recording levels as required.
A 60-second trailer filmed and edited from the event can be viewed on my YouTube channel.
Panel debate videographer
I really enjoyed filming and editing this debate and working with both Digital Drama and Pietro Giordano to make a polished recording of this event. If you would like any help with filming your project, please get in touch.
