Filming Salisbury’s Remembrance Sunday

One of the core reasons I started Brunton Media was to showcase and highlight more of what Salisbury has to offer—not just to those who live here but also to visitors. Out of all the events I choose to film, one of the most important in Salisbury’s event calendar is Remembrance Sunday.

Over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to cover Salisbury's ceremony. Last year's video ended up performing much better on YouTube than I expected, reaching 6,600 views. Before breaking down the production process, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on why the video "did well."

To succeed on YouTube, a video needs two key elements:

Audience retention, especially from the initial "seed audience" (the first group of viewers the platform sends the video to).

Good packaging to create curiosity and clearly communicate its purpose.

What Is Video Packaging?

Mr Beast often refers to video packaging as the combination of the title, thumbnail, and first 5 seconds. These elements should work together to confirm the video's theme and set viewer expectations. For example, does the title make a promise? If so, the thumbnail and opening seconds should reinforce that promise.

The Role of Audience Retention

The second critical factor is audience retention. The more of your video the seed audience watches, the larger the second audience will be (via recommendations). This snowball effect can lead to exponential growth. When something goes "viral," this is often why: the packaging fulfils its promises, and the content holds viewers' attention long enough for the platform to make money from ads shown during the video.

With this in mind, how did my packing and editing help keep viewers watching last year's Remembrance Sunday.

Here is the event video itself :

Breaking Down My Remembrance Sunday Video

Here’s how I applied these principles to last year’s Remembrance Sunday video:

Opening Shots: The first two shots—a Remembrance poppy and military service members—immediately confirm the video’s theme and draw viewers in.

Clear Packaging

Title: "Remembrance Sunday 2024 in Salisbury" clearly communicates the video's purpose.

Thumbnail: Reinforces the title with relevant imagery.

Editing for Retention

I changed the shot every few seconds, while maintaining a clear narrative. The goal was to document and showcase how Salisbury came together to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Pushing Myself to Improve

I always strive to improve my content. For this year’s ceremony, I decided to film with a telephoto lens (a 150–600mm, primarily used for wildlife). This allowed me to capture more intimate and detailed shots.

I also used time-lapse techniques to convey the scale of the event and show how many people came out to support the day of remembrance.

The video begins with scenes of the gathering at the Guildhall and the parade's meeting point (behind Iceland), followed by footage of the parade heading to Guildhall Square for the ceremony. The video concludes with the parade's departure.

If you'd prefer to watch the "making of" video, here it is: