One Event, an Entire Library of Content
The value of filming an event does not end when the event finishes.
When people think about having an event professionally filmed, they often imagine a fairly simple transaction.
There is an event. Someone arrives with cameras. The event is recorded. A video is produced.
Job finished.
But I think that seriously underestimates the potential value of the material that has been captured.
A concert, sailing event, product launch, workshop, presentation, awards evening or demonstration might last only a few hours. Yet, approached properly, those few hours could provide enough photographs, video and audio to support a business or organisation's website and social media for weeks or even months.
The important change is to stop thinking:
"We are filming an event."
and start thinking:
"We are creating a library of content while this event is happening."
That is a very different proposition.
One Event Does Not Have to Mean One Video
Imagine a small business holds a product launch.
Traditionally, it might commission a three-minute promotional video.
That is useful.
But during exactly the same event we might also capture:
the complete presentation;
interviews with the people behind the product;
customer reactions;
close-up product photographs;
demonstrations;
audience questions;
behind-the-scenes preparation;
vertical video for social media;
short comments from staff;
photographs of the venue;
photographs of people using the product;
atmospheric shots;
and perhaps several strong customer testimonials.
Suddenly, we haven't simply produced one video.
We have created the raw material for an entire marketing campaign.
And much of that material was captured during the same few hours.
The Content Multiplier
Suppose I film a two-hour workshop using several cameras.
The obvious output is the complete workshop video.
But consider what else could potentially be produced from exactly the same recording.
1. The complete video
This could go onto a website or YouTube channel.
Perhaps it becomes a training resource.
Perhaps it is supplied privately to customers or members.
Perhaps it is divided into chapters.
That is only the beginning.
2. Several shorter videos
The two-hour workshop might naturally contain ten or fifteen useful subjects.
Instead of asking somebody to watch the entire recording, each subject could become a separate short video.
One might be three minutes.
Another might be eight.
Another might be just sixty seconds.
Suddenly one recording session has become a video series.
3. Very short social-media clips
A particularly good 20- or 30-second explanation could become a vertical video.
A striking demonstration could become another.
A surprising comment could become another.
One event might therefore provide dozens of possible clips for social media.
4. Still photographs
If photographs are deliberately captured alongside the video, they can be used for:
websites;
newsletters;
posters;
future event advertising;
LinkedIn posts;
Facebook posts;
brochures;
press releases;
and promotional graphics.
Good photographs have an extraordinarily long useful life.
5. Testimonials
This is one of the opportunities that organisations frequently miss.
If customers, visitors or members are already present, why not ask a few of them:
"What did you think?"
A genuine 20-second response from a real customer can sometimes communicate more than a carefully written page of advertising copy.
6. Behind-the-scenes material
People are often interested in what happens before the polished final result.
Setting up equipment.
Preparing a stage.
Rigging lights.
Sound checking musicians.
Setting out a workshop.
Preparing products.
Briefing speakers.
These moments make excellent social content because they show the people behind an organisation.
Film for the Edit, Not Just for the Event
This changes the way I would approach filming.
If the objective were simply to record a presentation, I could point a camera towards the speaker and press Record.
Technically, the event would have been recorded.
But many opportunities would have been lost.
If I know that the material is going to become a library, I start thinking about the edit before filming begins.
I might want:
a wide establishing shot;
a medium shot;
close-ups;
audience reactions;
hands operating equipment;
product details;
signs and logos;
people arriving;
people talking;
applause;
the empty venue before everyone arrives;
and perhaps the same venue when it is full.
These shots might only last a few seconds in the finished production.
But they are enormously useful.
They give an editor choices.
Why Multiple Cameras Can Make Such a Difference
This is one reason I particularly enjoy multi-camera production.
Imagine somebody giving a presentation.
Camera 1 records the wide view.
Camera 2 concentrates on the speaker.
Camera 3 captures a closer angle.
Camera 4 might cover the audience.
Another source might capture the presentation slides directly.
Instead of one continuous view, we now have choices.
If the speaker refers to something on a slide, we can show the slide.
If the audience laughs, we can show the audience.
If the speaker demonstrates something small, we can cut to a close-up.
It immediately makes the finished production more engaging.
But there is another advantage.
Those different camera angles also provide considerably more material for creating the shorter derivative content afterwards.
A Concert Is Far More Than the Concert Film
Music provides a particularly good example.
Suppose a group performs a concert containing twelve pieces.
The obvious product is the complete concert.
But we could also create twelve individual performance videos.
Then perhaps:
a concert trailer;
a highlights film;
several 30-second musical excerpts;
an interview with the performers;
rehearsal footage;
photographs;
behind-the-scenes material;
performer profiles;
promotional material for the next concert;
and a retrospective post several months later.
One evening has suddenly generated a substantial collection of material.
The event hasn't changed.
What has changed is the way we think about what we are recording.
The Same Principle Works for Clubs
A club open day is another excellent example.
Imagine a sailing club running an open day.
We could simply produce:
"Highlights of our Open Day."
But while filming it, we could also capture material about:
learning to sail;
junior sailing;
racing;
different types of boats;
safety boats;
the clubhouse;
social activities;
volunteers;
the river;
rigging a boat;
launching;
coaching;
and comments from new visitors.
Those subjects do not all have to be published immediately.
Some might be useful six months later.
That is the point of creating a library.
Workshops Are Content Goldmines
A workshop or practical demonstration may be even better.
Imagine that I am demonstrating photography.
During a single session I might cover:
aperture;
shutter speed;
ISO;
focal length;
lighting;
tripods;
composition;
RAW processing;
lenses;
and camera settings.
The complete workshop could be recorded.
But each individual section could also become its own educational video.
A 30-second explanation of shutter speed might become a social-media clip.
A photograph showing two different aperture settings could become a graphic.
A comment from somebody attending the workshop might become a testimonial.
Photographs of the equipment could be used later when advertising another course.
The event becomes a content-generating opportunity rather than merely something to document.
The Power of the Interview
I think short interviews are particularly valuable because they can be used in so many different ways.
Imagine asking somebody three simple questions:
What brought you here today?
What have you found most useful?
Would you recommend it to somebody else?
Their complete answer might last two minutes.
That could become a standalone testimonial.
But perhaps there is one excellent ten-second sentence inside it.
That sentence could appear in:
a promotional video;
a social-media clip;
a website;
a graphic quotation;
or an advertisement for the next event.
One short interview can therefore have several lives.
Don't Forget the Photographs
When concentrating on video, it is surprisingly easy to neglect still photography.
That can be a mistake.
Video and photographs fulfil different roles.
A website header normally needs a photograph.
A poster needs a photograph.
A press release often needs a photograph.
A LinkedIn article may need a photograph.
A future event advertisement may need a photograph.
A thumbnail needs a photograph or a carefully selected video frame.
Therefore, if I am planning an event as a content-generating exercise, I want to think deliberately about the photographs I might need later.
Not simply:
"Did we take some photographs?"
but:
"Did we take the right photographs?"
Horizontal and Vertical Are Now Different Products
Modern content also creates an interesting production problem.
Traditional video is usually horizontal.
Much social-media video is vertical.
Simply cropping a horizontal shot does not always work.
The person who was beautifully framed in a 16:9 image may suddenly lose an arm, an instrument or an important piece of equipment when the centre of the image is cropped vertically.
This means that content repurposing works best when it is considered while filming.
Some shots can deliberately be framed with enough room for different crops.
Others might be recorded separately in vertical format.
Once again, planning at the beginning creates many more choices later.
The Content Should Not All Be Published at Once
Suppose an event produces:
one main film;
six short videos;
twenty photographs;
four testimonials;
eight vertical clips;
three behind-the-scenes sequences;
and several graphics.
There is little advantage in publishing everything the following morning.
Instead, the material could form part of a planned schedule.
For example:
Day 1: Event highlight photograph
Day 3: Short video clip
Day 7: Main event film
Week 2: Testimonial
Week 3: Behind-the-scenes post
Week 4: Educational extract
Week 5: Another testimonial
Week 6: Reminder of a particularly interesting moment
One event is still providing useful material six weeks later.
And there may be enough left for much longer.
Evergreen Content Can Be Particularly Valuable
Not every piece of content needs to be tied to the date of the event.
This is where the library idea becomes particularly useful.
Suppose somebody at a business presentation gives an excellent two-minute explanation of:
"How do you choose the right material for this job?"
That explanation might remain relevant for years.
Remove the event-specific introduction and it becomes an evergreen educational video.
Similarly, a sailing coach explaining how to tack properly doesn't necessarily need to be presented as:
"Something we filmed at last Saturday's training session."
It could become:
"Three Things to Remember When Tacking."
The recording may have happened during an event.
The finished content does not necessarily have to be about the event.
That distinction is extremely important.
One Piece of Content Can Become Another
There is another level to this.
Video can become audio.
Speech can become text.
Text can become graphics.
An interview could be transcribed and turned into an article.
The article could provide quotations for social media.
Those quotations could become graphics.
The original interview could become a short video.
Several interviews could become a compilation.
The audio could become part of a podcast.
The possibilities multiply remarkably quickly.
AI tools can now help with transcription, identifying possible short clips, summarising longer recordings and generating draft captions.
But I would still want a human making the final editorial decisions.
The computer can find words.
It does not necessarily understand which moment best represents the organisation.
A Practical Example: A Two-Hour Business Event
Imagine I am asked to cover a two-hour event for a local business.
Instead of thinking only about the final film, we plan the content before arriving.
We decide to capture:
the venue before guests arrive;
signage and branding;
staff preparation;
guests arriving;
the main presentation;
product demonstrations;
audience reactions;
networking;
four short customer interviews;
two staff interviews;
detailed product shots;
photographs;
and a closing statement.
From that one event, the business might potentially obtain:
1 main event film
3-5 subject-specific videos
5-10 vertical clips
4 customer testimonials
2 staff interviews
dozens of photographs
behind-the-scenes content
several promotional graphics
material for future advertisements
website imagery
newsletter material
content for LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube
The exact numbers will obviously vary.
But the principle is the important part.
We have transformed one filming session into a content library.
This Matters Particularly to Small Businesses
Large organisations may have dedicated marketing departments continually producing new material.
Most small businesses do not.
The same person may be:
answering emails;
dealing with customers;
ordering stock;
sending invoices;
updating the website;
posting on social media;
and actually doing the work customers are paying for.
Creating fresh content every few days becomes another job.
And eventually it gets pushed down the list.
That is why deliberately creating a substantial content library during an event can be so useful.
Instead of constantly asking:
"What can we post today?"
the question becomes:
"What should we use from the library today?"
That is a much easier problem.
Quality Still Matters More Than Quantity
There is a danger here.
If we can produce fifty pieces of content, it doesn't necessarily mean we should.
A weak clip does not become valuable simply because it is short.
Ten almost identical photographs do not constitute ten useful posts.
The objective should not be to extract the maximum possible number of files.
It should be to create the maximum amount of useful material.
That means asking:
Does this tell us something?
Does it demonstrate something?
Does it answer a customer's question?
Does it show the people behind the organisation?
Does it help somebody understand what we do?
Would anybody actually want to watch it?
Those are much better questions than simply counting posts.
Think About the Library Before the Cameras Arrive
Perhaps the most important lesson is that repurposing should not begin after the event.
It should begin before it.
Before filming, I would want to ask:
What is the main story?
Who should we interview?
What questions should we ask?
Which details need close-ups?
What photographs will be useful?
Do we need vertical video?
Which parts could become standalone educational pieces?
What material might still be useful next year?
What do customers regularly ask about?
With those questions answered, the filming becomes much more purposeful.
The Event Ends. The Content Doesn't.
This is the part that I find particularly interesting about modern video production.
The cameras may be packed away at 10 o'clock in the evening.
The lights go off.
The audience goes home.
The event is over.
But the value of what has been recorded may only just be beginning.
A photograph appears next morning.
A short video appears later in the week.
The main film follows.
A testimonial appears next month.
A useful explanation becomes an educational post.
A photograph is reused when next year's event is announced.
A clip becomes part of a completely different promotional film months later.
The original event lasted perhaps three hours.
Its digital life might last several years.
One Event, an Entire Library
Perhaps, therefore, businesses and organisations should stop asking:
"How much will it cost to film our event?"
and start asking:
"How much useful content could we create while everyone is already together?"
Because the cameras, people, products, venue and activity are already in the same place.
That is the opportunity.
With some planning, one concert can become a dozen performance videos.
One workshop can become a series of educational clips.
One product launch can supply weeks of marketing.
One club event can provide photographs and stories for an entire season.
And one day of professional filming can become something far more valuable than a single finished video.
It can become an entire library of content.
Philip M Russell Ltd
Video production, photography, multi-camera filming and content creation for businesses, clubs, organisations, musicians and events.
The value of filming an event does not end when the event finishes.
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