Challenge:
Invictus Australia was celebrating their first year at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park and wanted to capture in video and stills the event and later add Invictus sports footage  to create a video package that covers its brief history, activities and culture. Key to the evening’s event was a lively discussion between former Governor General, retired General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and tennis champion and 2023 Australia of the Year, Dylan Alcott, which was mediated by Channel Nine presenter and Invictus Ambassador, Erin Molan. The client also wanted to record the small but significant interactions between the guests, most of whom are veterans with disabilities relating to their service.

Solution:
Afterglow set up a static camera on a wide angle for the discussion with an operator on a second camera (both in 4K which is standard now) capturing close-ups of the presenters as well as cutaways of the attending audience.  To get clean audio we took a feed from the automated in-house PA system as well as giving speakers lapel mics and mounting another mic on the lectern. Getting stills was covered by a dedicated photographer but Afterglow snapped additional stills before and after the formal presentations along with moving footage of colleagues and long-time friends meeting and greeting.

Result:
For a video that captures a two-hour event, this covers a lot of emotional ground, including the often hilarious chat between Erin, Dylan and Sir Peter Cosgrove, and the camaraderie between veterans, their families and current serving personnel.