The bottom line is you need an expert. Yes you can shoot some pretty cool shots on your phone, and that will capture the atmosphere, but making the kind of videos we produce will need planning, care, professionals, post production and experience.
Getting a video made properly is likely to cost at least £1,000, possibly more. So is it worth it? Well bang for buck, great photos offer a better return on your investment. But in my view, yes, a well produced video is very special. It’s a lifelong document of the event as well as a marketing tool to drive traffic to your campaign to raise funds.
Shooting a video of a firewalk presents many of the same challenges as shooting photos. Mainly…
- Shooting in low light which is technically difficult
- The firewalk happens very fast so very little time to get everything
- Getting enough shots and different shots to be ale to tell the story
- Shooting slow motion (we recomend 100fps) which is even harder in low light
- Editing a great video and editing it FAST. It needs to be out within a day or so of the walk
One thing bearing in mind is that most people will want a shot of their personal walk too.
We often set up an iPhone on a tripod and let it record a good angle of the whole event. Then we can chop it into bits and send to each walker. It’s labour intensive but you don’t need to be an expert to do this, just interested enough in the tech and process. Within a group of 30 walkers there’s usually at least one person or a connection to someone who can take this on and save you money.
Interviews or Not?
Most people don’t like being interviewed. That’s even more so when they are under stress like at a firewalk. But if they will, it’s an advantage as you can really set the tone. Ideally interview before the event and capture their fear, and directly AFTER the walk to capture their elation. The above video does this well, even though the last shot is out of focus.
Teaser Videos
We can also produce a teaser video to share when you announce your firewalk. This gives people something dynamic and intense to share, and it’s a great way to raise funds right from the get go… Above is one we made for a School firewalk.
To conclude…
The best way to get a cracking video is to let us take care of it, or hire another professional.
Chris Jones
www.FirewalkExperience.co.uk
Firewalk instructor, best selling author and film director, Chris has been training people, making movies and writing books for three decades. When he is not running a firewalk, he is currently directing splinter unit on Mission: Impossible 8.
