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What to Shoot: Olympic Sports Footage
Get ready, the Olympics are coming! And although the much anticipated Summer Games happen only once every four years, there’s always a demand for great sports footage. From teamwork to failure, victory to defeat, well-produced athletic videos can portray a slew of concepts and themes. By planning your shoots carefully, you’ll find a high-demand for this type of content — not just during the Olympics, but year-round, as well.
Of course, with the 2016 games set to take place this August in Rio de Janeiro, demand is higher than ever for Olympics-related video. With that in mind, here are three important topics to think about when producing sports footage this season. Remember, customers are searching for these things now, so the sooner the better!
1. Training and Preparation
There are many ways to capture the anticipation and grueling preparation before a big game. Close-up shots of people’s faces mentally preparing or deep in concentration can portray determination and focus.
Kickboxing Woman Training by AilaImages
Do some research about the pre-competition rituals that athletes do for their respective sport. Shoot footage of things like athletes wrapping tape around their hands (like a boxer) or powdering their hands with chalk (like a gymnast).
Male Gymnast Chalking His Hands by hotelfoxtrot
You can include footage of athletes stretching, pacing up and down, warming up or even putting on equipment — a basketball player tying his shoe or a swimmer adjusting her goggles, for example.
Concentrated Female Swimmer by Gorodenkoff
See more examples of Olympic sports training and preparation video footage »
2. Competition
Capture the beginning, middle, and end of a competition. Include shots to indicate the game has begun, such the firing of a starting gun, boxers with their arms raised, or an opening pitch.
Runners Lined Up by ArtbeatsExpress
For game time, shoot footage that indicates teamwork. This can include people shouting to each other during a volleyball game, passing assists in basketball, or handing off a baton in a relay race. Try to capture close-up shots of athletes in deep focus during the competition, be it a weightlifter’s face as he holds a barbell, or a runner as she jumps over a hurdle.
Athletes Pass the Baton by VIAfilms
See more examples of competitive sports video footage »
3. Celebration or Failure
With competition, there’s always a winner and a loser. Don’t forget to portray both sides of the contest. From the ecstasy of victory to the despair of defeat, try to convey the wide spectrum of human emotions involved with any sporting event.
Male Athlete Gets His Breath Back by icsnaps
From a group of runners passing the finish line to winners receiving bronze, gold, and silver medals at an awards ceremony, this type of imagery evokes many different concepts and can be used for a wide variety of purposes.
Athletics Team Celebrates a Victory by hotelfoxtrot
The Olympic games can be an emotional rollercoaster. Whether it’s a boxer laying down for the count or a goalie blocking the final shot, these activities and visuals are relevant to all types of campaigns or video productions.
Boxer Knocks Out Opponent by VIAfilms
Everyone has their own unique style of celebrating, from cheering to crying, and from laughing to pouring champagne over people’s heads.
Professional Female Swimmer by Gorodenkoff
See more examples of sports results video footage »
Explore all the clips in this post and more in our full Olympic Sports footage collection below.
Stay tuned for more tips on what to shoot, like our post on shooting political footage, or for more on this topic, check out our post on The 5 Elements of a Great Promotional Sports Video.
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What to Shoot: Political Footage
Regardless of where you are in the world, it’s hard to ignore the political race dominating headlines in the US. As November looms closer and things continue to intensify, the demand for footage in campaigns, political ads, and news reports only grows larger. If you’re creating video and looking to increase your customers, you won’t want to ignore this trend. To help you focus, we’ve compiled a list of seven common topics covered in political campaigns and the types of footage you should be sure to shoot and upload. (Not a Pond5 contributor yet? Get started today!)
1. Economy
Spotlight economics by incorporating footage of small and big enterprises. Try shots of cafes, bakeries, or bookstores to depict small businesses, and executives or boardrooms to depict big business. You can create footage of transactions at a bank, people paying bills, swiping cards at an ATM, or simply shopping. Unemployment is another hotbed issue, so shots of people in lines, soup kitchens, foreclosed homes, or stacked bills are all ideas. Perhaps a man in a suit walking with a box of belongings? Even more general images featuring people looking stressed or upset can be great to depict financial troubles.
Young Woman in a Coffee Shop by Burlingham
Customer Shopping in Music Store by Chester_Copperpot
Soup Kitchen Volunteers by Hotelfoxtrot
Click here for more examples of useful economy-focused footage »
2. International Relations
Another pressing concern being addressed is international relations — be it foreign policy, national security, or immigration. Footage of police raids, SWAT teams, airport security (frisking, bag checks), or “see something, say something” signs are effective in depicting this. For issues on immigration policy, shots of courtrooms, groups of jurors swearing in, or shots of homeland and border security are highly sought after.
Travelers Screened at Airport Security by VIAfilms
Immigration Support Protest by ironstrike
Click here for a collection of more international-relations themed footage »
3. Healthcare
Endless debates in the election cycle revolve around healthcare. Try hiring actors to be doctors, dentists, or medical professionals for your shoots. See if you can get footage of doctor’s offices, surgery rooms, or senior centers. Shots of medical equipment (stethoscopes, thermometers, EKG machines), home checkups, pregnant women, or people sick in bed all fit well with this topic.
Doctor Advises Couple by rocketclips
Dentist and Patient by kotlyarn
Doctor Listening to Patient by rocketclips
Click here for a collection featuring more healthcare-focused footage »
4. Environment
Many politicians center their campaigns around policies regarding the environment. For issues like fuel-reliance, include imagery such as electric cars, windmills, smokestacks, factories, or gas-pump numbers going up. Shots of polar bears or glaciers melting can illustrate climate change effectively (and the challenge of capturing them makes the footage that much more valuable). Lifestyle shots of recycling, bicycling, planting trees, urban farming, or solar panelling can address environmental concerns in additional ways.
Rising Gas Prices on Pump Screen by icatnews
Hands Carrying a Sapling by wundervisuals
Grandmother and Granddaughter Recycling by VIAfilms
Click here for a collection of more environment-based footage »
5. Community
Politicians often stress community. There are countless ways in which people come together, from social causes to lifestyle choices, to religious groups, and there’s a need to represent them all. Try shooting footage the depicts all different types of groups. Include shots of everything from social activists to fitness groups to spiritual gatherings. Footage of students, volunteers, and unions could all be great for your portfolio.
Construction Workers Discuss Power Lines by Ikonfilm
Students Getting on School Bus by VIAfilms
Smiling Couple and Child by WavebreakMedia_Micro
Click here for a collection of more inspirational community-based clips »
6. Education
Tuition, educational programs, and student loans are all major issues that stay top-of-mind. Go for shots of educational milestones like the first day of school, classroom achievements, or graduations. Depict early schooling with shots of school buses or teacher’s desks and depict universities with dorm rooms or students up late in libraries. For concerns like teacher shortages or overcrowding, showing parents or educators feeling the strain is highly effective.
Teacher Interacting with Children by GrassRootsMediaUK
Nervous Student Loan Application by Ironstrike
Click here for a collection of more education-focused video »
7. Campaigning
Last but not least, there are the campaigns themselves. You can include shots of people canvassing, voting booths, filling out ballots, holding signs, or political rallies (see this article on capturing protest footage). Perhaps stage a press conference by shooting one actor at a podium mic and others as photographers and reporters. You can incorporate footage of real politicians, as long as it’s uploaded as editorial footage.
Political Candidate Giving a Speech by blendimages
Man Completing Ballot at Voting Booth by blendimages
Gun Control Protester by DCnewsfootage
Click here for a collection of more campaign-based footage »
With these tips at your disposal, you’ll be optimizing your portfolio for political season in no time. Just remember that if you want to license your footage for anything other than editorial use, you’ll need to supply all applicable model and property releases for your submissions.
Explore all the clips in this post and more political footage in the full collection below »
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