Fonix – Supply Of Camera Crew At Major Outdoor Events

Above: Behind the scenes – what happens in the “gallery” during a live shoot.

Starting in 2015, we were regularly commissioned to supply camera crews at major music festivals and outdoor events on behalf of Fonix, an LED screen hire company based in Bournemouth, to help ease their in-house team’s workload during the peak summer event season.

These events include Sundown Festival, Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival, Y Not Festival, and the Sky Ride cycling marathon, where we provided coverage of artists such as Shawn Mendes, Craig David, Clean Bandit, Pendulum, Stereophonics and Feeder – to name a few!

One of our camera operators filming Shawn Mendes at Sundown Festival 2018

Unlike most events that we film, where the objective is to capture content that will be shared after the event is over, the purpose of our filming with Fonix was to provide “image magnification” to help improve the event experience for event attendees.

Through the combination of Fonix’s large LED screens and our camera work, we were able to give members of the audience a close-up view of what was happening on stage, – something that would be otherwise difficult to see for many attendees, especially when the events we’ve covered have had audience capacities of up to 40,000 people. For some, the content on the screens defines the event experience.

Despite how it may seem, delivering this service is not just a technical exercise; it’s a creative one too. Throughout the duration of each event, our crew – usually three camera operators and a director – work tirelessly to broadcast every artist on the schedule to the highest possible standard. We’re very conscious that our work will be responsible for shaping the perceived quality of the artist (and the event itself) to a large audience, so we push ourselves accordingly.

A time-lapse showing our vision mixing work during Feeder at Y Not Festival 2017

One of the unique things about how we work with Fonix is that we supply the crew and Fonix supplies the video broadcasting equipment. This means that Fonix supplies the cameras, vision mixing equipment, and everything in between – including their LED screens. (Although we do have our own live streaming equipment for clients than need a full broadcasting service from us.)

Working this way allow us to take the stress off Fonix during peak times, and our flexible approach to pricing means that we’re an ideal trade partner for a broadcast services provider like Fonix.

If you’re an events or broadcasting company looking for a crew-only or crew-with-kit partner, or if you’re looking for a live streaming solution for your event, please get in touch.