In short
- Settle with participants and judges, before the day, what may be filmed and what may be published.
- Treat each pitch as possibly confidential. Ask each team to flag slides or answers that must not be shown.
- Agree when results and judges' remarks may be published, so the film does not give away the outcome.
- For university showcases, confirm whether the team or a research owner must approve a demo first.
For a pitch event, agree three things before the day: what each team allows to be filmed, what the judges are happy to have published, and when the film may be released. These decisions protect the participants and keep the film useful for the organiser.
This guide covers the extra care pitch events need. For the general service, see corporate event videography.
What can go wrong
Pitch events are different from a normal stage programme because the content is business ideas.
- A founder shows a slide with a client name or a number they did not mean to publish.
- A judge gives a candid remark about a business, and it appears in a public clip.
- A film is posted before winners are announced and gives the result away.
- A team withdraws consent after the event.
Most of these are solved by a short permission step before the day and a review step before publication.
Settle these with participants and judges
- Recording. May each pitch be recorded in full? Collect a yes or no from every team in advance.
- Publication. Is the recording for the organiser only, or may it be published? Teams may agree to one and not the other.
- Private information. Ask each team to flag slides, figures or answers that must stay out of any shared video.
- Judges’ comments. Agree with the judges whether feedback is recorded only, or used in public videos too.
- Audience questions. Decide whether questions from the audience are recorded and published.
Our private and public video version planner helps you separate what stays internal from what goes online.
Who decides what: a table for your brief
| Item | Who decides | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Filming each pitch | The team | Full recording, partial, none |
| Publishing the pitch | The team and organiser | Public, participants only, not published |
| Judges’ remarks | Each judge and organiser | Recorded only, published, not recorded |
| Slides with private data | The team | Kept off the video, or blurred in the edit |
| Release date of the film | Organiser | After results, after review, later |
When can the film be published?
Decide the release timing before the day.
- Same-day. If you want a short film on the day, say so early. Same-day editing is available on request and confirmed for each event, and the organiser should agree what it may show. See same-day event edits and time-critical edits and screenings.
- After the results. The simplest rule is to hold publication until winners are announced and the organiser has reviewed the edit.
- Individual pitch clips. If each team will receive its own clip, agree the format and the review round.
University hackathons and innovation showcases
When students or researchers show prototypes, the approvals may be different from a company pitch.
- Ask the university or organiser who must approve a demo before it is shown in a public video. It may be the team, a supervisor or a research owner.
- Do not assume who owns an idea or a prototype. Ask for the organiser’s rules in writing.
- Work in progress is often shown. Agree if unfinished work may appear in public clips.
For example, a university showcase might list the approver for each project in a table. The film is held until each team’s named approver has reviewed their clip. This is an illustration; each institution sets its own process. A full hackathon, with several hours of work-in-progress, needs its own coverage plan; tell us the hours and we will confirm what is possible.
Who approves what
Pitch events often involve the organiser, sponsors, teams and judges. Our video decisions and approvals planner helps you set out who decides what. Our filming and publication responsibilities checklist covers the responsibilities of each party.
What we confirm for your event
Tell us the venue and date, and we confirm the crew and travel. We also settle these points with you:
- How each pitch is framed so the slides and the speaker are both clear.
- Whether stage microphone audio and audience questions are recorded.
- How a team’s part is removed from the edit if it withdraws.
- How many review rounds the quote covers, and who reviews.
- Whether each team receives an individual clip after the event.
The event video brief builder helps you write down the participant rules and the review step before you send them to us.
If you know the format, the number of pitches and what the participants have agreed to, send us the details. We can plan the coverage and a review step around your rules.
Ask about your event