How to film at tradeshows: IBC2023 Edition

Written by Jesse Calis | Oct 5, 2023 8:00:00 AM

IBC2023 was a few weeks ago now, and now that we are all recovered from the event, we want to share the gear we used while filming at the show. This year, our team had the privilege of utilizing a powerful trio of tools that elevated our content creation game to another level: Canon R5C cameras, ATOMOS Ninja Ultra on-camera monitors, and the Sound Devices 888 audio recorder. Let's hear what our videographer thought about this gear.

Filming at tradeshows

Every year the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre fuels up for IBC and this year was no different. Despite being a huge venue with a lot of things going on, as a videographer, it is a must to have the right equipment and setup for a busy tradeshow event like IBC. Filming at different booths in different halls, we had to make sure our equipment was light and easy to carry everywhere. Not to mention the harsh light and ambient sound, which is very familiar to these kinds of tradeshows, we had to make sure we had the right kind of setup for lighting being what it is and having a whole lot of background noise.

Canon R5Cs paired with Canon lenses

Thanks to the awesome team at Canon, we were fortunate to use its Canon R5Cs as our main cameras, which were paired with three lenses: RF 15-35/2.8L IS USM, RF 24-105/4L IS USM, and RF 24-70/2.8L IS USM also provided by Canon. So we literally had all the focal ranges we wanted with this setup.

Canon R5C mounted on a DJI Ronin RS3

First impressions? Very nice! The camera is very light, compact, and easy to set up. We were able to shoot up to 8K which gave us a whole more room to play in post since we could crop our shots to our liking. I was mostly shooting the Canon paired with the DJI Ronin RS3, but the inbuilt camera stabilization in the R5C is great and works really well when shooting in a busy tradeshow environment. So, if you don't have a gimbal, don't worry, this camera covers a lot.

The internal camera stabilization in the Canon R5C was great

ATOMOS Ninja Ultras

To complement our Canon cameras and ensure we were getting the best shots possible, we paired them with the Atomos Ninja Ultra on-camera monitors. I had the Ninja Ultra attached to my gimbal to give me a clear view of my frames. The screen of the R5C is not the biggest, so to have the Ninja Ultra as an extra screen helped me a lot. There is so much possible with the new Ninja Ultra, that I even couldn't check all the new features out. There is only one note I like to make, make sure you bring plenty of batteries - they run out fast. Next time, we will definitely explore the camera-to-cloud features more closely!

Atomos Ninja Ultra being mounted on the gimbal

Sound Devices 888 recorder

In the world of media production, amazing visuals are only half the equation, whereas audio is equally as important. We used the Sound Devices 888 audio recorder, which is a true workhorse that ensured our audio recordings were as impressive as our visuals. It allowed us to connect a range of microphones and wireless systems, ensuring we had the right setup for every situation from single interviews to panel discussions.

All I can say is, the Sound Devices 888 recorder is such a great audio recorder to have.
You have 16 channels and 2 SD card slots which makes it super convenient. It was great to edit the audio with the 32-bitrate, it made it super easy. It is a bit heavier than the general Zoom recorder, so be prepared in advance for that.

Watch our IBC Aftermovie below to see the final outcome!

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