Planning coverage for government or diplomatic events

Before you accept coverage of a government or diplomatic event, confirm who sets the rules, what the crew must show or submit, and who approves the final video. The organiser or host agency decides these things. A good supplier asks about them early.

Who decides what at an official event?

At most corporate events the client decides. At an official event, several parties may each hold a part of the decision, and they are not always the person who hired you.

Write down the name or role for each row. If nobody knows, that is the first thing to find out, not a detail to settle on the day.

What to confirm before accepting coverage

Work through these with the organiser or host in writing.

1. Access. Are crew passes, name lists or accreditation needed? By when must names be submitted?
2. Security. Will bags and equipment be checked, and how early must the crew arrive?
3. Protocol. Are there rules on seating, who is filmed first, or how officials are addressed in captions? Who briefs the crew?
4. Restricted moments. Which parts are closed to cameras, such as private meetings or arrivals?
5. Approval. Who approves the video before it is shared, and does the guest’s office also review?
6. Delivery. Who receives the files, and are there rules on where footage may be stored?

The tool to build an event video brief you can send gives you a place to note scope and open questions, and the video decisions and approvals planner helps when several offices must approve.

What we confirm for your event

Send the organiser’s written instructions and we go through them with you before the crew is named.

• Which accreditation documents and name lists the organiser needs, and by when.
• Which parts of the instructions are unclear, so you can ask the organiser early.
• That the people who attend match the crew named in the quote.
• Which moments are closed to cameras.

If your event requires clearances or security vetting, the organiser tells us what is needed, and we say before you book whether we can meet it. On the day, our crew follows the organiser’s rules and the protocol officer’s directions.

An illustrative example

This is an example, not a past job. Suppose a state agency holds a one-day investment forum with a ministerial opening, a panel and a lunch with invited foreign guests.

The agency’s media office instructs that supplier names are due a set number of days before, that cameras stay on a marked platform during the opening, and that the video is approved by the communications officer before publishing. The sensible response is to put each instruction into the brief, give the crew list by the deadline and name one person on the agency side who the crew can ask on the day.

Drones, livestreams and special requests

Treat every special request as a separate approval.

• Drones. The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia says standard drone applications should be made at least 14 working days before the activity, and Sabah and Sarawak need additional authorisation. Official sites may also have their own rules. See our drone coverage planning checklist and conditional drone footage service. For a drone request we also plan ground shots.
• Livestream or live feed. Available on request, confirmed for each event, and subject to the organiser’s approval of what goes out live.
• Interviews with officials. Usually arranged through the guest’s office, not at the event.

Which pages cover the moments inside the event?

This page deals with access and approvals. The filming of specific moments sits elsewhere.

For stage priorities, read filming formal openings and officiating ceremonies. For the signing itself, see filming signing ceremonies. For media questions, see press conference videography.

For the wider service, see corporate event videography. Early security arrivals, the number of locations and the hours of coverage move the quote here; see how pricing works. Send what you have, with the organiser’s written instructions.

For a legal question about your event, ask a qualified adviser.