We know everyone has been on the edge of their seats since last week’s first installment of pros & cons related to going live with content on a virtual event! As promised, here is a similar rundown of pre-recording for virtual. As always, we would be happy to delve into this more during a Free 30 Minute Consult with you as it relates to your unique resources, speakers and audience.
PRERECORDED
First, we want to distinguish that pre-recorded content doesn’t have to fall flat or feel over-produced. You can stream pre-recorded sessions or speeches “simulive” (i.e. in real time, but “in the can”) which can lend a similar urgency as fully live to your audience with some mitigated risks. We will share the MANY options for capturing your pre-recorded content soon, so stay tuned ;)
Pros
One of the biggest pros of pre-recording is reducing the reliance on your speaker’s own internet connection or tech. Those issues can be adjusted for with a pre-record, and our chosen streaming service or platform will have a much more reliable connection for playback.
We can edit out blips and add your event’s unique style when editing pre-recorded footage. Especially if the content we’re creating together needs to have a longer shelf life than COVID-19, having content that doesn’t scream “quarantine” could be a big pro and justify the spend.
The prep time for speakers being pre-recorded tends to be less on both our side and theirs. In some cases we can prepare a speaker for the first 15-30 mins of a session and then go right into recording, rather than two or three prep sessions needed for live.
It’s possible for your program that having content ready to watch at kickoff can be a big pro for your audience. In our review of Create & Cultivate Money Moves we mention how the “on-demand” feature took away a bit of the spark, but the flexibility for the audience was likely still worth it.
Cons
Even if we record a week or just a few days pre-event, things can change rapidly in our new world. Permissions that were normalized last week are no longer viable this week, and tools and tricks that didn’t exist before might be our new go-to.
Depending on the approach to pre-recording we choose together (again, stay tuned for more or contact us sooner to discuss!) and how we’re approaching editing, there will most likely be extra costs for both of those pieces. There are certainly ways to scale these costs back if budget is the priority, but it will need to be accounted for on some level.
Scripts, graphics, accompanying PowerPoints/Keynotes, videos etc. will all have to be finalized much earlier than they would if your speakers were going live. Our timeline will have to be adjusted to include lead time for post-production and will be tied to recording schedules as well.
Coordinating with speakers for the time to pre-record (or really, time for anything above!) can be very challenging depending on the production timeline, your speakers’ location(s) and level of involvement. If we’re utilizing a virtual studio or other tool that requires a tech team that tends to be billed in 4-hour increments, so making a single date work for multiple speakers is ideal but difficult. Of course, we can always help make it work!
We hope this helped to outline some of the considerations of this major virtual event question! If you’d like to discuss further or delve into the cost side, feel free to reach out or to sign up for a Free 30 Minute Consultation to discuss this or any other topics!