Most people think about video only for big events: a conference with a stage, sponsors and a few thousand people. But many of the most interesting events in San Francisco are small. Fifty people in a room, a panel, a workshop, a dinner. Nobody outside that room ever sees any of it, unless someone films it. Darkside AI is a good example of why that matters.
Who Darkside AI is
Darkside AI is an initiative started by Social Links, an OSINT company, about the misuse of AI: fraud, deepfakes and disinformation. Around the big tech weeks it runs curated events for investors, executives and founders, from panel evenings during HumanX week in San Francisco to the hands-on AI Defense Lab during Human+Tech Week and a rooftop evening on Wall Street during NY Tech Week. Alena Petrova, founder of the Unicorn Factory accelerator and a co-host of the events, reached out to us, and we ended up filming three of their events: two in San Francisco and one in New York.
The goal: the next event
The brief wasn't just to document the evening. Darkside AI's events are small on purpose, often around 50 seats, and they fill up through invitations and word of mouth. The video had one main job: show people who weren't there what they missed, so they want to come next time. The second job was to give speakers and partners something to share.
What we delivered
- A recap film for each event, cut to feel like the room: the talks, the people, the atmosphere
- Short highlights made for social: vertical, captioned, each built around one moment or one line from a speaker
The highlights were planned for each platform from the start, not cropped from the recap afterward.
Why small events are worth filming
- A small room looks good on camera. Everyone is close to the speakers, the conversations are real, and there are no empty rows to hide.
- The content outlives the evening. A few hours in a room become weeks of posts.
- It sells the next one. People sign up for what they can see, and a recap is the easiest way to show the format to someone who has never been.
- Speakers and partners share it. Every speaker in a clip brings their own audience.
- It costs less than people expect. For most small events, one shooter and a two-hour minimum is enough.
How we film a small event
- Arrive before the guests to film the space, the setup and the details
- Stay out of the way. A 50-person room is no place for a big rig.
- Record the talks with clean audio, plus the audience's reactions
- Get a few short one-liners from guests
- Note the strongest moments on the day, so the highlights are quick to cut
Every Darkside AI format feels different, from a panel evening to a workshop to a rooftop party, and the recap should feel like the one it's from. For a much bigger and louder room, see how we filmed GDC 2025. For planning your own, read our event videography guide or tell us about your event.
Francisk Hanchar
Founder, FogLine Visuals
Francisk Hanchar is the founder of FogLine Visuals, a video production company in San Francisco. He produces video podcasts, launch videos and event coverage for startups, and hosts The Bay Signal.
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