Choosing a videographer for a confidential corporate event

Choose a supplier who asks only for what the filming needs, explains who will handle the footage, and agrees delivery in writing. Settle who may approve the recording before you contact anyone.

Who decides that the meeting can be recorded?

Start inside your own organisation. A board meeting, a leadership offsite or a results briefing usually has a chair, a company secretary or a senior sponsor. One of them should approve the recording and tell attendees before the day.

Write down three things first:

• Who approves: a named role, not “management”.
• Why it is recorded: for minutes, for staff who could not attend, or for a short message to the team.
• Who may watch it: a short list, by role.

If any of this is unclear, the videographer cannot answer it for you. Rules on recording meetings are a matter for your company policy and your legal or compliance team.

What access does the supplier really need?

Less than most people expect. To plan, a videographer needs the date, venue, room layout, number of people, how long the session runs and what outputs you want. They do not need the papers, the figures or the names of what is being decided.

Share in stages:

1. First contact: event type, date, venue, rough numbers.
2. After terms are agreed: the run sheet, who speaks, which parts are filmed.
3. On the day: room access, and anyone the crew must not approach.

Do not send the board pack to get a quote. Ask for a quote based on hours and outputs.

What to ask about handling the footage

Footage is only as private as the people and storage it passes through. Ask the supplier these questions, and look for plain, specific answers.

A supplier who only says “it is all safe” has not answered these. We agree the actual steps with you for each event and put them in the quote, so ask what they would be.

A private board meeting, step by step

For example, a board meeting of a family-owned company wants a short opening statement from the chair recorded, and the discussion left unrecorded.

1. The company secretary confirms with the chair that recording is approved, and tells the directors beforehand.
2. The secretary gives the supplier the date, the room and the plan: film the first few minutes only.
3. The crew arrives, tests sound before directors enter, and stops when the chair signals.
4. The files go only to the secretary, by the method agreed in advance.
5. Both sides confirm in writing what will be kept, and for how long.

This is an illustration of the steps. Your own meeting needs its own plan.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending the full agenda before any terms are agreed.
• Letting each department invite its own supplier into the room.
• Assuming a venue’s staff and the videographer share the same confidentiality duties.
• Forgetting that the editor may not be the person who filmed.
• Agreeing to a public highlight film when only an internal version was meant. The private and public version planner helps you decide this early.

What to put in writing

Before the day, ask the supplier to confirm in the quote or a short email:

• who approves the recording and who is the contact on the day
• which parts of the session are filmed and which are not
• who handles the files, and whether anyone else will see or edit them
• how the files are delivered, to whom, and what is kept afterwards
• who may use the footage, and where it may be shown

The filming and publication responsibilities checklist is a good way to cover the last point. For the wider list of supplier questions, use the questions to ask your videographer tool, and read how to find out who will film and edit your event and the questions about subcontracted work.

If the session is part of a bigger programme such as a town hall, our pages on town hall and employee briefing filming and annual general meeting (AGM) and shareholder event recording show how those events are usually filmed. For general coverage, see event videography. For a legal question about your event, ask a qualified adviser.