TRICKS OF THE TRADE: PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY FOR EXPERIENTIAL MARKETERS
PART II: SHOT LIST OR BUST
5 Useful considerations to build YOUR shot list
Facebook for Creators Event, Salt Lake City
A QUICK RECAP:
Allow me to quickly catch you up to speed:
Last month on the blog, we revealed the first crucial step in planning for content capture at your experiential activation: art direction (read more about it HERE). Purposeful, aligned and strategic art direction will set the stage for achieving your desired results, and furthermore serve as the framework for the other elements pertaining to your plans around photography and/or videography.
Once your art direction is solidified,
the next step in the pre-production process is to build out your shot list.
While your art direction serves as the framework,,
the shot list is the
instruction manual for how to operate.
While your art direction serves as the framework, the shot list is the instruction manual for how to operate. Without one, you’ll have a content creator roaming around your event aimlessly taking shots based on gut feelings or making executive decisions based on his or her creative style as opposed to your brand's visual style guide and standards. You may end up with great photos or video at the end, but in most cases, you’ll be lucky to get a few pieces of content that work for your needs.
You invest thousands of dollars to hire a professional photographer or videographer to tell the story of your brand experience. Don’t waste that money. Prepare effectively so that you see an ROI.
FINDING THE RIGHT APPROACH
APP DYNAMICS Global Tour - Detroit
We’ve seen a wide variety of shot lists in our day; you’ve got your “IKEA” shot lists boasting a million tiny pieces accompanied by a set of instructions that require days and a translator to build, all the way to the “Fisher Price” version, which leaves much to the imagination. Over the years, we’ve developed a shot list that strikes a balance in between. We’ve been through many iterations of a custom shot list and continue to tweak them as we gather more information from our photographers and videographers and so lucky for you,
HERE ARE OUR TOP CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOU TO FACTOR IN WHEN STARTING THIS PROCESS:
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT SHOT LIST
1. LEAVE ROOM FOR CREATIVITY
As with IKEA and Fisher Price, there is a happy medium that exists. A shot list that is too detailed will not resonate with the content creator and can result in confusion on site, or also simply not be attainable with the hours allocated for documentation. It’s important to build out a document that has enough information so the photographer and/or videographer knows where to focus, but one that also leaves room and time for some creativity in alignment with the art direction developed.
2. MAKE IT EASY
In the same vane as finding the balance of how much information to include in your document, also think about organizing your shot list in a way that is clear to understand and easy to read. The document should be clearly written so the photographer and/or videographer can reference it quickly in between shots and know exactly what to focus on. As an event producer, you of all people understand most intimately how fast paced these activations are. Rarely does the content creator have time to pause and analyze the information outlined in their provided shot list, and so it’s crucial to make the information easy to reference and understand.
3. EVALUATE YOUR TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC
Harley Davidson at X-Games
The shot list should also take into consideration the environment within which you’ll be documenting, and provide parameters based on the art direction you outlined. For instance, are you activating as part of a sponsorship at a larger event with a wide demographic of attendees? If so, do you want your content to feature that diversity, or stay hyper-focused on your ideal target consumer? Think through these considerations and provide clear instructions accordingly. Are you activating a liquor brand? If so, we bet you don’t want to feature the children who happen to be at your footprint with their parents engaging in your touchpoints. Call this information out explicitly so that there’s no room for error.
4. EXPECT TO BRIEF
Epic Games at SIGGRAPH
A great shot list is the most useful tool for your photographer and/or videographer….unless of course they don’t read through it ahead of time. We highly recommend that you carve out time before the day of your activation to walk your team member through the document thoroughly and ensure he or she understands your directives. Make sure to leave enough time so your content creator can ask questions during this meeting when the situation is not high stress (like the last hour before you go live!).
5. BACK IT UP
A great best practice is to augment your shot list with supplemental documentation and resources, such as a creative brief. A creative brief can include references to images from other brand activations you produced that you liked, or didn’t like! It can also provide camera setting recommendations, additional equipment requirements and background on the overall program. Providing your content creator with visuals that align with the art direction you established as well as guidelines based on best practices around your desired product output will serve as a great reference. Can you imagine building an IKEA dresser without any images to support!? YIKES!
THE POSITIVE END RESULT
Using all of the factors outlined above, your purposeful and thoughtful shot list will guarantee that your physical experience yields content that aligns with your brand and serves your desired goals.