For a slide-led conference session, decide how the presentation will enter the recording before deciding how many cameras to hire. Filming the room screen can show what the audience experienced, but a direct presentation source may be more useful when viewers need to read charts or follow detailed diagrams.
The choice should follow the material and intended replay, rather than a rule that one method is always superior. Ask the production team to demonstrate the proposed treatment using the actual deck, not a sample slide with unusually large text.
Identify what viewers must read
Mark slides that carry essential information. A photographic backdrop may work as part of a wide stage view. A comparison table, annotated drawing or software screenshot needs a different assessment. The organiser should ask the speaker which elements must remain legible and which are only visual accompaniment.
Avoid asking the video team to solve an overloaded presentation entirely through camera work. If the critical conclusion lives in tiny text, consider a revised slide or an approved enlargement for the replay. That change needs the content owner’s approval, particularly where cropping removes qualifications.
Decide which version is authoritative
The deck supplied before the event may differ from the one presented. Establish how the final presented version is identified and retained. If the editor later inserts a cleaner slide export, confirm it matches the words and sequence actually delivered.
Animation, cursor movement and demonstrations deserve separate treatment. A static slide image may not preserve the explanation when the presenter reveals elements gradually or points to a particular region. List those moments and agree whether the capture will retain the live action or whether an approved reconstruction is needed.
Compare three viewing tests
Ask to see the same important slide in a full slide view, a speaker-and-slide composition and a room camera view. Judge the smallest intended viewing context as well as a large monitor. Note where captions and speaker names will sit; useful information should not be covered by another required element.
The buying checklist is specific:
- Is a separate presentation recording included?
- Are embedded video and its sound captured?
- Who supplies the final slide files to post-production?
- Can a speaker change the deck after the technical test?
- Who checks inserted slides against the delivered presentation?
A hypothetical engineering keynote
A speaker uses a drawing with successive coloured annotations. The audience can follow the progression in the room, but a camera view cannot make the labels clear. A direct source preserves the sequence, while a second view retains the speaker’s gestures. For replay, the editor alternates deliberately rather than leaving both images permanently too small.
Specify the acceptance result
Ask for a short recording test containing the most demanding slide transition. Approval should mean that the relevant information can be understood, not merely that the image appears. Where additional description is needed, brief the speaker or commission an appropriate accessible version. W3C’s description guidance is useful context for visual information that speech alone does not convey.
Discuss the proposed coverage
Contact Live Images with the event purpose, proposed deliverables and timing to ask whether the work is a suitable fit. Confirm the production scope and availability for the proposed brief.
Editorial and source note
This unpublished buyer resource offers original editorial production guidance, not a service guarantee. Any example identified as hypothetical is invented, not a Live Images project. Prepared with AI assistance for Live Images.
Further reading checked 30 October 2026: - W3C WAI description of visual information