Esprit Award Series: Best Event Filmmaking and Photography
Thursday, February 21, 2019
The ILEA Esprit Awards program is a dynamic industry awards programs, attracting an exceptional range, depth and quality of entries from all areas of live and special events. The 2018 Esprit Awards Gala was held at ILEA Live on Friday, 17 August 2018, in Denver. There were 36 different categories and over 45 winners. Over the next few months, ILEA Experience will showcase these recipients and their award-winning events.
Think you have what it takes to win an Esprit Award? The entry period is open now through 11 March. Enter the competition.
Best Event Filmmaking (Videography)
Dawn & Steve's Rustic Mountain Wedding
Recipient: Chris Orwat, Pure Cinematography
Dawn and Steve tied the knot in the Colorado high country at Piney River Ranch nestled in the Gore mountain range above Vail, Colorado. A 45-minute ride through the national forest is required to reach this remote destination. We captured the couple’s special event with two cinematographers and five different cameras. Not only were the key moments in the couple’s wedding captured, but the nature around them, too. This was very important to them. We included gorgeous time-lapse scenes, including an epic mountain scape sunrise and vast views from atop Mount Powell, the highest point in the Gore Range, which can be seen from the ceremony site. The couple enjoyed the full experience the venue had to offer by getting ready in the rustic rooms on the property and enjoyed their first look on a sandy shore next to Piney Lake. With the wise words of a Native American officiant, they exchanged their vows in front of their guests on the ceremony deck with one of the best views in Colorado. After the unforgettable ceremony, they partied late into the summer night with family and friends.
We provided two days of coverage for this event. Day one was spent attending the ceremony rehearsal, scouting potential filming locations and filming b-roll of the surrounding area. On day two, we provided eight hours of coverage during the wedding. This wedding was filmed using five different cameras. All cameras are filming HD (1920x1080) resolution. One camera had optional super slow motion filmed at 240 fps in HD resolution. Two cameras were used for capturing time lapses. Audio was captured via the on camera mics, lav mics, or recorded through the DJ’s microphones and soundboard. For camera support, we used tripods, sliders, monopod and handheld techniques for some camera moves. Lighting was added during the reception to enhance dimly lit areas and to add texture and contrast to the toasts and dance floor scenes.
Best Event Photography
Triangle Wine: A Food and Wine Experience
Recipient: Kate Pope, Kate Pope Photography
In February 2017, 50,000 square feet of vacant retail space was transformed into the most glamorous event venue in Raleigh, North Carolina. Guests to the Triangle Wine Experience spent the evening tasting fine wines and delicious food, rubbing elbows with some of the world’s top winemakers and chefs, and bidding on luxury auction lots to raise funds for the Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center.
My company, Kate Pope Photography, provided all photography services for the event. In the past, the client had not paid much attention to the photography for this event, but this year, they recognized it was important to have quality photography to help them more effectively promote next year’s 25th anniversary event and were more concerned about ensuring comprehensive coverage of the event. On the night of the event, we arrived ahead of the doors opening for setup. The event was divided into four distinct sections: registration, silent auction, food and wine stations, and gala/live auction site. Knowing that time would be limited in the transition from pre-function to gala, we took time ahead of the event to set up several lights adjacent to the stage in the gala space, thereby ensuring that we would be able to transition smoothly and quickly from photographing the pre-function activities into photographing the live auction. Given the client’s desire to use images of their VIPs in local publications, I was careful to guide and position subjects in areas to achieve the best even, flattering light with minimal background distractions, which was a challenge in a very busy, crowded space.
Following completion of the event, I spent time carefully selecting the images that I felt would most successfully realize the client’s objectives with respect to the event’s photography. I took great care to select several room shots taken from different angles that reflected the grandeur of the gala setup, that reflected the contributions of participating sponsors, as many different faces and VIPs as possible, and as many different wine/food photos as possible. I culled down from thousands of images to just over 300 finished images, which I delivered to the client within five days of the event.
Stay tuned for the next installment of the Esprit Recipient Reviews!
Tags: Esprit Awards , Events Photography , Events Filmography