Recently, we had the opportunity with New Belgium Brewing to produce a couple of videos centered around their annual bike and beer (and bemusement!) festival, Tour de Fat. The event drew 25,000 participants and raised $90,000 for local non-profits and charities.

We were tasked with filming the event to produce two different videos.  Now, if you’re not very familiar with video production, this kind of shoot can be a tricky proposition. The way video footage is shot depends on the style and feel of the end product. When you have multiple videos with a different target audience and a different goal for the video, you’ve got to keep both of those in mind as you capture footage.

The first program was a highly stylized “beer culture” video targeting Gen-Xer’s (see below).  The second program was for community organizations throughout the US that would be good candidates to partner with New Belgium on  Tour de Fat.  So our challenge was to capture footage for two totally different program at the same huge event – the same day!

On the day of the Tour, we loaded up with 5 cameras and operators to capture a long list of shots.  Some of our cameras would be solely focused on B-Roll. Others would be capturing interviews with coordinators, performers, and participants. And one camera we set up prior to the event to capture a very specific stylized look for the cultural piece (you’ll see it when you watch the video). Over the course of the next 12 hours, we captured the shots we knew we needed and as much extra footage as possible.

In fact, we captured so much footage that we were able to produce a third video from that footage which wasn’t even on the table until months after the event. See all three videos below!

 

First, a general overview of Tour de Fat Shenanigans featuring comedian/musician Reggie Watts! We had no idea we were going to create this video until about 6 months after the event. Lots of fun!

 

 

Second, a video targeted to prospective local community sponsors in cities into which New Belgium would like to expand this event. Think about how different this video looks and feels compared to the first, and then think about who the intended audience is.

 

 

Finally, the cultural piece targeted towards those Generation X’ers who might be unfamiliar with Tour de Fat or craft beer in general. Notice the look and feel compared to the other videos.

 

 

So how can you leverage your video shoots for multiple markets?

• Have A Plan
  • You need to have a goal in mind for the videos you want to produce, and have a pretty good idea of how it will look. Make storyboards and shot lists!

• B – Roll
  • Capture as much B-Roll as possible. You’ll need it!

• Find the Story
  • Every piece tells a story that serves as the backbone of the video. The interviews with Reggie Watts and event coordinators provided the narrative for the Fundraiser piece.

• Music Selection
  • The music of a piece drives the pace of the story and gives it energy. How do you want your video to feel? Pick music that supports the feeling you want to convey.

• Creative Approach
  • Have fun and be creative! New Belgium wanted a very specific feel and look for the Generation Y video, and what we came up with has a very cool “Alice In Wonderland” feel to open the piece.