We have talked to a lot of people over the last few weeks about what their virtual event is going to look like. And by far the biggest decision has been if they want to do a “live” event or a recorded event that “looks live”. Today, I want to go over some of the benefits of producing a recorded event that looks as if it were actually live.

The most beneficial aspect of doing a recorded program is the ability to record several takes. Through creative editing and a properly produced program, we can record the various segments of your program individually or at different times, so you don’t have to do everything in one day. Then, we can select the best recordings and edit them into a professionally produced program giving your viewers the best possible experience. And the viewer will never be able to tell the difference. 

The next reason we like recorded events is that there won’t be any surprises. You see it all the time on the news when people are reporting live on location… There have been drop-outs, connection issues, and mistakes. You name it, it can happen. Recording live leaves no room for forgiveness.

When recording, there is more time to get comfortable with everything. This is most likely your first time doing something like this, as well as the other people on the stage with you. So it is going to take some time to get comfortable with the steps involved and what’s required. The fact that you know in the back of your mind that you can “try it again” relives a lot of stress for the people on camera.  Everyone will appreciate that!

When you choose to record live, there are much more resources required to achieve the creativity and professionalism of a broadcast. On the flip side, pre-recording allows you to achieve the same results under much less stressful circumstances and with less resources – giving you confidence and saving you money!

For example, if you’d like to include graphics in a live program such as lower-thirds to introduce speakers, you need one person from our team entirely dedicated to doing just that, and nothing else for the entire duration of the event. With the pre-recorded format, that work can be split between team members in the editing process after the recordings have been filmed – again saving you time AND money!

When it comes to fundraising, if that is something that you want to do, we have a few different ways to incorporate the LIVE component of the fundraising into a pre-recorded event. We want you to know that it can be done and it can still look great! The only aspect we cannot include in a pre-recorded format is the ability to have real-time interaction with bidders. However, we aren’t so sure this is something you’d want to include anyway. We’ve seen a few things that have brought us to this conclusion, but they’re more easily explained over the phone. Feel free to give us a call or request a Zoom meeting so we can describe the risks involved in more detail.

Although the live events we have produced so far have been a huge successes, they have caused  our clients’ teams a great deal of stress. They have been extremely time consuming due to the planning and preparation required. In the end, choosing a pre-recorded format would have been just as effective!

When you are ready to dig deeper into the possibilities of a virtual event, we are ready to help you. We have examples ready to send you and can walk you through everything you’ll need to know. Just remember, the only downside to a pre-recorded event is sacrificing real-time interaction with your viewers. If you can live without this, you will have a much less stressful experience. I promise!