Field Notes / 2026-09-28
Event Video Deliverables: Recap Reels and Cutdowns
OnePointFive builds event video deliverables around how a client will actually use the footage. A recap reel and a cutdown are not the same asset. Confusing them at the planning stage causes rework later.
What a recap reel is for
A recap reel is a single narrative piece. It usually runs two to four minutes. It follows the arc of the event: setup, key moments, crowd reaction, close. Clients post it once, often within a week of the event, as a summary for people who were not there.
A recap reel needs a clear structure before editing starts. That means knowing which speeches, performances, or activations matter most. Without that input, an editor guesses, and guessing adds review rounds.
What a cutdown is for
A cutdown is shorter and platform-specific. Fifteen seconds for Instagram Stories. Thirty seconds for a paid social push. Six seconds for a pre-roll ad. Each length serves a different placement, and each placement has different pacing rules.
A single event can produce one recap reel and eight or ten cutdowns. Cutdowns are built for how people scroll on social feeds. They expire faster in relevance, so turnaround matters more for cutdowns than for the recap.
How multi-camera setups affect deliverables
Coverage decisions made on-site determine what is possible in post. A one-camera shoot limits angle variety in cutdowns. A three- or four-camera setup, with one operator dedicated to crowd and reaction shots, gives editors more material to build short-form cuts without repeating the same visual.
Crew size scales with the event. A smaller gathering may need only one videographer. A brand activation with a stage component can add a wide static camera, one or two roaming operators, or a dedicated photo shooter. The right mix depends on how many angles the recap and cutdowns need.
The goal is the same at any size: cover the recap's narrative needs and capture the reaction shots that cutdowns depend on. A larger crew is not automatically better. It only helps when the deliverable list calls for more angles than one person can reasonably cover.
What drives cost across deliverable types
Shoot-day crew is only one line item. Post-production work scales with the deliverable list, and that scaling is what moves cost. Three factors matter most:
- Number of final deliverables. A recap plus twelve cutdowns costs more than a recap alone, because each cutdown needs its own edit pass, caption timing, and aspect ratio export.
- Turnaround window. A 48-hour turnaround for a same-week social push requires editors to prioritize that project over others.
- Raw footage volume. More cameras and longer event duration mean more footage to log and select from, regardless of final run length.
OnePointFive asks for the deliverable list during pre-production to set camera count and crowd-shot coverage on-site. Skipping that step means the shoot may miss angles a later cutdown needs, which forces a reshoot request or a lower-quality crop.
Captions, sound, and review
Short-form cuts are often watched with the sound off, so captions and on-screen text are part of the edit, not an afterthought. A recap reel usually relies more on music and ambient sound to carry the story. Planning for both early keeps the review process simple, because the client knows what each version is meant to do before the first draft arrives.
Aspect ratio and platform fit
A recap reel is usually horizontal, built for a website or YouTube. Cutdowns are usually vertical or square, built for Stories, Reels, or TikTok. Shooting with only one aspect ratio in mind limits what editors can pull for the other format.
OnePointFive frames shots to allow both horizontal and vertical crops from the same source when the event calls for it. That decision gets made during pre-production, not during editing.
Clients include Moët Hennessy USA and TAO Group.
Next step
Map the deliverable list before booking crew. Review coverage examples at Live Event Coverage, see how this applies to New York shoots on the event video production page, or start scoping a project through Contact.