Capturing Enterprise Knowledge: Event Production for KMS Lighthouse
When enterprise knowledge platform KMS Lighthouse hosted a half-day event at the Microsoft Offices in Melbourne, they needed three things: high-quality still photography, fast-turnaround video highlights, and six sit-down customer testimonial interviews.
Because this was an interstate shoot, I needed a kit compact enough to fly, but capable enough to deliver corporate-grade audio, lighting, and visuals.
But the real challenge wasn't the gear. It was the environment.
The client needed me to proactively approach attendees between formal presentations and convince them to appear on camera. And the room provided for these interviews was exceptionally tight, leaving very little space for a traditional setup.
Here is how I made it work without disrupting the flow of the event.
Frictionless Audio
When you're pulling people out of a hallway for a quick interview, the last thing you want to do is spend three minutes threading a lapel mic through their shirt. It creates a physical barrier and makes the subject feel self-conscious before they've even sat down.
To solve this, I used the Sony XLR-K3M unit, which allowed me to mount a professional balanced shotgun microphone on a compact, extendable boom. Attendees could be approached, brought into the room, and filmed immediately without ever being 'mic'd up'.
Solving the Small Room
The exceptionally tight interview room threatened to compromise the visual quality of the testimonials. To make the space work, I deployed the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 lens.
Shooting at the wider end of the focal range allowed the subject to be framed comfortably within the confined space, while the f2.8 aperture provided enough depth of field separation to keep the background soft and professional.
Smooth, Discreet Event Coverage
Outside the interview room, the event itself was captured entirely on the Sony A7IV. The camera's in-body stabilisation was essential here — it allowed smooth, handheld shooting throughout the event without the need for a gimbal or additional support, keeping my footprint small and mobile.
To ensure the event was documented without disrupting the presentations, I used the 70-200mm f2.8 lens extensively. Its long reach allowed me to stay discreetly at the side or back of the room, capturing authentic interactions and speaker moments without distracting the attendees.
Alongside the traditional coverage, I shot 'Instant Reels' sequenced in-camera using an iPhone and the pause-button edit method, providing the client with immediate, post-ready social content.
The Outcome
The shoot successfully delivered across all three requirements from a single, highly mobile operator.
The interviews yielded exceptional results. Most notably, the footage captured on the day was used to publish theSuccess Story | Bupa & KMS Lighthouse.
The video features Christian Maccarone, General Manager of Digital Product at Bupa, detailing how KMS Lighthouse became a foundational part of Bupa's digital ecosystem. In the testimonial, Christian shares a spectacular metric: a 79.8% search success rate for customer-facing agents, significantly improving resolution times and overall service quality.
