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6 Tips for Filming a Live Speaker with 1 Camera!

Here are 6 easy tips for capturing your live Speaker at your event if you are strapped for resources and only have 1 camera available.

What you’ll learn in this Guide:

Set-up the correct camera angle
Keep an eye on background light and projections
Watch out for unwanted side intrusions
Safe zones for your speaker
Framing
Sound and visual cues

The best choice of Camera on the market at the moment for easy and cost-effective filming, if you’re doing a 1 camera event, is the Mevo from Livestream.

Check out the links and give it a go for yourself. Here’s a quick snap on Instagram of a global event I worked on that used Mevo’s for just such a thing.

1. Camera Angle Positioning

Make sure your camera position is set up correctly well in advance.
Have a direct line of sight of the presenter, preferably Eye-Height with the camera.
Try to have as minimal audience heads in the shot as possible, as the below image illustrates.
If there are heads in shot Then aim more for the red square then when framing.

2. Background Light — Projections

In advance check the location to see if there is massive backlighting,
Or if projected images will appear on the Speakers face,
If either or both are true then try to move the Speakers position if possible.
If not possible then adjust framing as in Point 1 to lessen the effect of the lighting.

3. Unwanted Side Intrusions

You want to avoid any side intrusions from other people, props or equipment.
Scout the stage in advance and set up safe zones for your speaker.

4. Safe Zones for Your Speaker

Work out with your Speaker where the safe zones are and perhaps some hand signals if they wander too far to either side.
Check your camera’s framing to see where the Safe zones would be.

5. Framing

When filming with a single camera, like the Mevo, aim to have several shot types set up ready to be used.
A. Medium Wide Shot — Shot of subject from the waist up.
B. Close Up Shot — Shot of subject from mid-chest area up.
C. Interviews — If an interview is conducted on stage, try to include all participants in the frame. (Close-ups of any of the speakers can be performed later in post-production.)

6. Sound & Visual Cues

Test sound in advance of the day thoroughly.
Test the sound again on the day, can never test it enough, as it is more important than the image!
Work out visual cues with your speaker for their Safe Zones.
Also, visual cues for Time if a countdown timer screen in unavailable.
Examples:
A Clenched Fist for 30 minutes
Hands with fingers spread for 10 minutes
Hand with fingers spread for 5 minutes
Raised Index finger for 1 minute
Hands raised with fingers for the countdown from 10 to 0.

Final Tips!

Plan Ahead — Arrive with a clear plan of action
Know the venue by heart
Arrive Early, allowing for a lot of extra time to solve any issues
Re-check everything long before the event starts!

I hope that this piece has given you some food for thought and helped improve your own methods or at least offered a different viewpoint to consider.

Please do check out the other posts on æStranger.com, and please do leave a comment or contact us if you have some ideas of your own that you wish to discuss or if you would like to see other topics discussed.

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