Questions to ask before booking an event videographer

Audio capture and the feed from the AV desk

Audio decides whether a session recording is usable, and the determining factor is how the crew takes sound from the mixing desk rather than from a camera microphone. Ask which output the supplier expects — a balanced XLR mix, a matrix send, or a networked feed — and who in the AV team provides it.

Channel count is the next question. A separate lectern channel, a lapel channel and a room mix give an editor options that a single stereo mix never will, so ask how many discrete channels are recorded and to what loudness target the final mix is delivered. Free TV Australia's OP-59 sets a -24 LKFS target for television soundtracks, which is a sensible reference point.

Networked audio adds a small, deliberate delay. Audinate's documentation gives 1 ms as the typical default latency for a Dante device, with fast devices on gigabit-only networks able to run down to 150 µs, and that buffering is built around a 48 kHz sample rate. Ask who sets latency and what the backup audio path is.

Deliverables, file formats and handover

Deliverables are where quotes diverge most, so make the supplier list every output as a separate line item rather than as a bundle. Specify the number of sessions recorded, runtime caps, aspect ratios, caption files, whether slides are keyed into the frame, and exactly how many social cutdowns are included.

Master format matters to anyone who plans to archive. Apple publishes a target data rate of approximately 220 Mbps for ProRes 422 HQ at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps, which gives a sense of the storage a multi-camera conference generates. Agree early whether you receive camera masters, mezzanine files, or delivery-ready MP4s only.

Handover deserves the same attention as the edit. Ask how long files stay available on the supplier's download platform, whether a physical drive can be supplied, and who pays for a re-delivery a year later. Conference footage has a long tail, and getting more value from it later depends on still being able to reach the files.

Turnaround dates and editing milestones

Turnaround should be expressed as dates tied to your marketing calendar, not as a vague range. Ask for the first-cut date, the revision window and the final delivery date for each deliverable, then check those against the day your post-event email goes out and the day registrations open for next year.

Social clips and full session edits run on different clocks, so separate them in the schedule. A highlight reel cut for a next-day post is a very different commitment from forty captioned keynote recordings, and a supplier who quotes one blanket turnaround for everything has probably not read the brief closely.

Client approvals belong in the same conversation. Most schedules assume feedback comes back within a stated number of business days, and the final date moves if that slips, so ask what the supplier does when it does. The realistic turnaround ranges for conference editing are worth reading before you commit to a deadline you cannot move.

Footage ownership and usage rights

Ownership of conference footage is settled by the contract, and the statutory default is not what most buyers assume. Section 98 of the Copyright Act 1968 provides that the maker of a film owns copyright in it, subject to the commissioning provisions, and Australian copyright guidance notes that these rights may be varied by agreement.

Ask the supplier to state in writing which of the three common positions applies to your event.

Also confirm speaker and delegate releases, music licensing for any library tracks, archive retention, and whether the supplier may use your footage in its own promotion. Treat all of the above as general information for planning purposes rather than as legal advice.

Crew numbers, redundancy and equipment failure

Crew numbers separate a quote you can rely on from one that merely looks cheaper. Ask how many operators attend, which rooms each one covers, whether an audio technician is dedicated to the desk feed, and who acts as the single point of contact for your team on the day.

Recording redundancy should be specific rather than reassuring. Professional cameras can write the same clip to two cards at once — Sony's documentation for its professional camcorders describes simultaneous recording to memory cards A and B — so ask whether every camera does that, how footage is offloaded, and when the first backup copy is made.

Equipment failure needs an agreed answer before it happens. Ask what spare bodies, lenses, recorders and radio links travel with the crew, how long a swap takes mid-session, and what the plan is if a camera drops out during a keynote. A credible answer names the spare and the person who fits it.

Insurance, work health and safety and venue induction

Insurance sits near the top of most venue and association checklists. Public liability cover responds when negligence causes third-party injury or property damage, and business.gov.au notes that some states and territories require it for certain occupations, so ask for a current certificate of currency naming the insured entity, the limit and the expiry date.

Work health and safety duties cannot be pushed onto a supplier by a contract clause. Safe Work Australia states that a duty holder cannot transfer their duties, and any contract term attempting to do so is invalid, and separately that parties sharing a duty must consult, cooperate and coordinate with each other.

Induction requirements vary from site to site, so confirm with the venue which contractor inductions, site approvals or cards your video crew will need. Build that time into the run sheet rather than discovering it on bump-in morning, and ask the supplier who on the crew holds the relevant paperwork.

Bump-in access and venue liaison

Bump-in access determines whether the crew is ready before the first delegate walks in. Ask what time the supplier needs in the room, how long cabling to the AV position takes, how much of the room has to be clear while it happens, and whether a rehearsal or technical run is included in the quoted hours.

Venue liaison should be assigned to a named person. Loading dock bookings, lift access, power and any rigging have to be arranged in advance, and organisers should confirm with the venue which of those a video supplier may arrange directly and which must come through the organiser or the venue's own team.

Camera position matters as much as access. Platforms, tripod footprints and cable runs affect sightlines and egress paths, so ask for a floor plan marked with camera positions and check it against your layout. An AV company and a filming crew do different jobs and need separate allocations in the room.

Revisions, scope changes and sign-off

Revisions should be defined by count and by scope, not left to goodwill. Ask how many rounds are included for each deliverable, what counts as a round, what the supplier treats as a change of scope, and how additional work is quoted and approved in writing before anyone starts on it.

Standard form contracts now carry real consequences for whoever drafts them. Changes that took effect on 9 November 2023 extended the unfair contract terms rules to businesses with fewer than 100 employees or annual turnover under $10 million, which captures most PCOs and associations, so a one-sided variation or cancellation clause is worth querying rather than accepting.

Sign-off needs a named approver and a deadline. Nominate one person who can approve a cut for the organisation, agree the feedback format, and set the business days allowed for each round. What is typically included and what usually sits outside scope is covered in the cost guide.

Reference checks and building the brief

Reference checks are far more useful when they are matched to your event type instead of collected at random. Ask for referees from conferences of comparable scale, room count and sector, and ask those referees about what went wrong — late files, audio problems, crew who needed managing — rather than whether they were happy overall.

Market context helps you frame the request. The Australian Business Events Association's domestic forward calendar lists 806 secured events and $1.041 billion in projected delegate spend across more than 3,000 event days, so an established supplier should be able to describe comparable programs without disclosing anything confidential.

Collect every answer into one document and issue it with your brief. Attached to a scope for conference filming or livestreaming, it puts the same questions to every supplier and makes the quotes genuinely comparable. Get in touch to have the checklist answered for your event, or browse past work.

This article is general information for Australian event organisers, not legal advice. Copyright, contract and work-health-and-safety obligations turn on your specific circumstances — get your own advice before relying on any of it.