Capturing the Music Festival Experience Through Images and Video.

Almost all festival-goers like to take pictures and video to capture their experience of the music festival they attend. There are numerous considerations when deciding how to do this and often involves a compromise due to various factors. What do festival-goers need to consider in deciding how to take to capture their experiences.

The approach every festival-goer makes to their festival attendance is different and this can dictate what device they use for pictures and video. Some like to attend a festival in a raw state by taking the bare minimum with them to avoid lugging anything of value around a festival site. Perhaps they just have a cheap tent and funds for food and drink leaving phones and other belongings at home. Conversely, there are those festival-goers who bring every conceivable creature comfort with them including multiple electronic devices and numerous changes of clean clothes. Irrespective of these two extremes most festival-goers will have mobile devices with them during their attendance so they can contact friends, get information updates about the event and share experiences on social media. 

Mobile Devices. 
Modern mobile phones have very sophisticated camera and video functionality and combined with their portability and ease of use they are the preferred tool for capturing pictures and video on the fly. Irrespective of the manufacturers claims most top-rated mobile phones available now rarely achieve higher than true 12 MP images and some claim to be capable of shooting 4K quality video. For most users this level of quality is sufficient and is perfect for taking memorable pictures and video for friends and family and sharing on social media platforms instantly. 

Point and Shoot Cameras. 
Although these cheaper digital cameras have been largely replaced by mobile phones, they can still provide a source of great high quality material superior to phone capabilities. They are inexpensive and are generally light and small making them easily portable combined with a long battery life. They are limited however by a lack of connectivity making them restrictive for anyone wanting to post material in real time. 

High End Cameras.
Even the cheapest dedicated DSLR camera will have quality and technical superiority to the most sophisticated mobile phone. Most can now shoot genuine 40 MP images and equally high-quality video too. They are not the most portable devices to lug around a festival site and can be an additional worry for anyone concerned about loss or damage. The current crop of DSLR cameras do have good connectivity enabling images and video to be shared online instantly. 

Licensing and Restrictions.
Any festival-goer taking pictures and video should make themselves aware of any restrictions that festival organisers put on distributing such material. The occasional image and short video shared to friends and family on social media are usually acceptable but live streaming an entire performance set will definitely be prohibited. Every festival is different and will largely depend on the copyright demands of artists for example.

Most festival-goers will probably continue to use their mobile devices to capture images and video of their festival experience, however the quality will never be as good as using dedicated DSLR camera.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics including logging policies and procedures for image and video content use. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Vitalina via Pexels.

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