02/09/2022
The Headline (in case you don’t want to read the rest): We had the amazing opportunity to provide all the event coverage of the Eugene Riverfront Festival for Experience Revere and the CIty of Eugene.
Eugene doesn’t have elaborate free events often and as I heard all the details of what Revere had planned I was excited for the community, and pretty excited to be chosen to capture it. The event coincided with the world track and field championships and offered a live streaming of the event for people to watch.
Behind the lens: As far as approaches go, I knew I wanted dynamic shots and to cover every inch of the festival. With so much going on the shots had to be quick but engaging. Our team shot three separate days mostly in the evenings to get a wide array of happenings. Like the impromptu traditional Ethiopian dinner the event production team decided to put together for our out of town guests. One of the pillars of this event was inclusivity, but choosing to further pursue that as opportunities come up, is truly being about it. With an open and flexible approach in turn the event was engaging and meaningful. A lot of times we want everything buttoned up, when the real magic happens when we can be present enough to say yes to the opportunities right in front of us that align with our intentions.
With any shoot there are hoops and hurdles, we knew we needed to utilize drone for a project of this size to capture its magnitude and exciting location. However, when you have a world broadcasted event just miles down the road the limitations for drones can be a challenge. There was a strict no fly zone that took affect the first day of the event. Thankfully we were able to get to the right people (big shoutout to Chelsea with Revere there were no problems she couldn’t solve). A big thanks to EPD for taking the time and resources to monitor our drone pilot so that we were able to get aerial footage. No small task!
Sitting down for the edit, I had all this great footage. A big thank you to Michael one of our contracted videographers. His creative eye differs from mine and has rounded out our footage greatly. I knew we had some great footage from the event but I wanted to capture the energy that was bringing people together. I was drawn to a slow beginning. Setting the stage for what was bringing people together. I had to let myself carry out the vision before downing it with “it won’t match” or any other concern. A process I’m becoming more and more familiar with as I edit. Following your gut opens you up to a client potentially not liking something you personally felt attached enough to create. So playing it safe always sounds like a better option. I have still yet to hear of a client not liking that little something different we decide to go for.
I wanted this video to be engaging, visually appealing and dynamic. I’m so happy with the result. Hope you enjoyed getting to hear just some of the elements that went into it.
