---
name: "event_videography"
description: "Plan and execute event video coverage: shot lists by event type, coverage math and staffing, audio plans, same-day edit workflows, and delivery deadlines. Triggers when shooting or planning video for a wedding, conference, corporate event, concert, or gala."
---

# Event Videography

## Purpose
Turn an event date on a calendar into a shoot plan that actually gets the footage, covers the audio, and delivers on time. Used for any event where the action happens once and cannot be reshot.

## Workflow

1. **Take the brief.** Before anything else, get: event type, venue(s), run of show with times, the 5-10 non-negotiable moments (speakers, vows, awards, performances), expected attendance, and the delivery list with deadlines. If any of that is missing, ask. See `references/shot-lists.md` for a per-event-type starting list to confirm against, and the brief fields worth locking in writing.

2. **Work out coverage.** Map shooters to moments on the run of show. Rules that hold up in practice:
   - One roaming shooter can cover candids and B-roll, never a scheduled key moment at the same time as another scheduled key moment.
   - Every key moment needs two angles: one locked wide (safety) and one roaming (story). A single-camera key moment is a gamble; say so in the brief.
   - Build the card budget with the formula: `hours_rolling x bitrate_Mbps x 0.45 = GB per camera`. Then carry 2x that in cards. Worked example and a staffing worksheet are in `references/coverage-math.md`.

3. **Plan the audio first.** Audio kills more event videos than framing does. Per key speaking moment, stack: a lav on the person talking (groom/officiant/speaker), a shotgun on the nearest camera, and a hidden pocket recorder as the worst-case backup. Wear headphones the whole event. Record 30 seconds of room tone at each venue. Triple the batteries you think you need. Details in `references/audio-and-delivery.md`.

4. **Shoot the day.** Open each segment with an establishing wide, then work closer: wide, medium, tight, detail, reaction. For multi-shooter days the second shooter takes alternate angles and reactions, never the same frame as the lead. White-balance and sync timecode or clocks at setup so multicam syncs without pain.

5. **Same-day edit (only if booked).** A same-day edit is decided at booking, never improvised: it needs a confirmed playback screen, a venue slot for the edit window, and an editor who is not also the roaming shooter. Shape: ingest right after the ceremony or key block, select while fresh, cut to a pre-licensed track, export with a buffer before showtime. Worked timeline in `references/same-day-edit.md`.

6. **Deliver on the deadline you agreed.** Standard norms: selects or a teaser in 24-48 hours, full film in 6-14 weeks. Use only licensed or royalty-free music in anything that will touch social platforms, since unlicensed tracks get muted. Organize deliverables by segment (ceremony, speeches, reception), not one giant folder. Details in `references/audio-and-delivery.md`.

## Output Contract
- A confirmed brief: moments, times, delivery list, deadlines.
- A coverage plan: shooter positions per key moment, card budget, audio chain per speaking moment.
- The finished deliverables, named and organized, delivered on the agreed date.

## Operating Rules
1. The event cannot be reshot. When in doubt, overcover the key moment and skip the decorative one.
2. Never promise a same-day edit that was not booked and scoped in advance. It needs its own shooter, editor, and playback slot.
3. One audio system is zero audio systems. Every live speaking moment gets at least two independent recordings.
4. Music licensing is decided before the edit, not during. If the client wants a specific commercial song, get the license or pick a stand-in and say so.
5. Put every deadline in writing before the event: selects date, draft date, final date.
6. Do not claim turnaround times you have not verified against your actual editing load that month.