For the B&H video team, nothing is more exciting than covering a trade show—it’s also the most challenging. Trade shows are action-packed environments and producing videos from the show floor requires lots of planning, preparation, and of course, the right gear. Here’s a breakdown of our current kit.
Cameras and Lenses
B&H is “The Professional’s Source,” so we make sure to use professional equipment that will deliver a broadcast-quality image. Our choice of camera for these mobile and demanding situations? The Canon EOS C70.
Why Canon? One reason is familiarity. We’ve been using Canon cameras for years and our team is very familiar with the system. Beyond that, the C70 is a compelling option for mobile filmmaking because of its compact form factor, mini-XLR inputs, and built-in ND filter. These are critical features for fast-moving productions. The also C70 uses affordable SD cards—which we have tons of—and the batteries last for a very long time.
The only thing missing from the C70 is an EVF. Fortunately, its LCD screen is superb—so good, in fact, that an external monitor isn’t necessary to get the job done.
When it comes to selecting a lens for trade show coverage, versatility is key. It’s hard to go wrong with the RF 24-105mm f/4 L, though the team does have the new 24-105mm f/2.8 on their wish list. Trade shows tend to have enough light that f/4 is fine and the range of the 24-105mm, equivalent to approximately 38-168mm on the C70’s Super 35mm sensor, means that it can stay on the camera the entire time and get all the shot variety the team needs. The built-in image stabilization also helps smooth out any shakes that happen when moving around the floor.
Audio, Audio, Audio
To ensure we get the best possible audio recording, we rely on the EW-DP Digital UHF Wireless Mic System from Sennheiser. You just can’t beat the reliability of a digital UHF system, especially in heavily trafficked environments like trade shows where a 2.4GHz system simply won’t cut it.
For a conventional audio-recording kit, we pair the EW-DP transmitter with the MKE 2 Omnidirectional Lavalier Mic. This is our primary recording setup and what we use to record most of our A-roll. Our secondary option is the MKH 416 Shotgun Microphone. This is a classic pick for broadcast applications. It’s a high-quality mic, which is useful even if it’s only a backup.
To mount the receiver and other audio gear to the C70, we like to use a Tilta Full Camera Cage.
This allows us to get our gear comfortably situated on top of the C70 camera.
Support Systems
Tripods are our usual go-to support solution, but the footprint can be an issue in packed environments like trades shows. That’s why we typically opt for a video monopod from Manfrotto. Monopods are lighter and deploy faster, allowing our team to remain mobile and enabling some creative movements on the fly.
We also prefer monopods to gimbals because gimbals need to be balanced if you’re using zoom lenses, which we do, it can’t always remain balanced when you use the full zoom range. The monopods do have some feet to help keep the entire rig stable.
Editing and Post Production
For editing and post-production, our team utilizes a networked storage system that allows for shared data and a streamlined offloading process when footage is turned in by the shooters. At the core of this system are three M3 Max-equipped MacBook Pros. These are powerful machines, capable of handling all of the footage from the C70s and our graphics templates without issue.
For data storage and sharing, the team uses a Blackmagic 8TB Cloud Store, which is connected to a Ubiquiti UniFi 10Gb Switch. A 5G modem keeps everyone on site and back home in the NYC office synced up. A key benefit of this setup is that one computer can be dedicated to ingesting footage and creating proxies that can then be shared to all of the editors without having to wait or to transfer footage to each editor’s computer.
As for the NLE, that is Adobe Premiere Pro. Shared projects, nested sequences, and more make this an easy choice even though some of the team do opt for Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve for some projects.
Just for safety there are a couple Samsung T7 Shield SSDs on hand. This is useful for gathering press materials from brands or sharing assets when the team is working long hours at night.
There is a lot that goes into B&H’s trade show coverage and hopefully this helps give you a better idea on how you can configure your own event rigs.
If you have any questions, comments, or even suggestions, please drop us a line below.
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