Pitch events

Filming pitch competitions and startup demo days

Founders will show ideas on stage, judges will speak frankly, and some of it must stay private.

Share your date and area, and we will suggest coverage and confirm what is possible.

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.

Our corporate event videography page describes the general offer. This guide is about the extra care that pitch events need.

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

  1. Recording. May each pitch be recorded in full? Collect a yes or no from every team in advance.
  2. Publication. Is the recording for the organiser only, or may it be published? Teams may agree to one and not the other.
  3. Private information. Ask each team to flag slides, figures or answers that must stay out of any shared video.
  4. Judges’ comments. Agree with the judges whether feedback is recorded only, or used in public videos too.
  5. 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.

A table to keep in the 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

Timing of the film

Decide when the film is released.

  • Live or 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 parts are removed from the edit if a team 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.

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Useful next steps

Filming a property launch event

How to film a property launch event as an event, and keep it clearly separate from a property film or virtual tour. What to brief, what to check and what to ask.

Filming activations in shopping malls

What to agree with the mall, the brand and the activation operator before filming starts: permission, access, shoppers in frame, set-up times and who is responsible.

Questions people ask

Can every pitch be filmed in full?
Yes, if the organiser and each team agree. A full recording of each pitch is often useful for the teams and the organiser. Some teams may ask not to be recorded or published, so collect these choices before the event and tell us.
Should judges' comments be published?
That is the organiser's decision. Judges' remarks may include frank views about a team's business. Agree with the judges, in advance, whether their comments are recorded only, or also used in public videos.
What if a founder shares private business details on stage?
Each team knows which parts are private. Ask each team to tell the organiser which slides or answers should be kept out. A review step before publication allows those parts to be removed from the edit.
Can we publish the film before the winners are announced?
Only if the film does not reveal the result. Decide the release timing before the event. A same-day edit, if you want one, needs a clear rule on what it may show.
Who approves videos from a university hackathon or showcase?
The organiser sets the rules, and teams or the research owner may need to approve what is shown. Do not assume who owns an idea or a prototype. Ask the university or organiser, in writing, who must approve a demo before it is published.

Planning an event? Let’s talk it through.

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.

Share your date and area, and we will suggest coverage and confirm what is possible.

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