Our preferred delivery format is streaming, as that offers the best quality as well as the convenience of being able to watch on your computer, phone or tablet in addition to TVs.  If you would like a disc format, we can offer both DVD and Blu-ray.  Please bear in mind that DVD technology dates back to 1995, long before large-screen HD televisions were available, let alone 4K.  As such the picture quality is very poor by today's standards.  Blu-ray is a much better choice as the picture quality is significantly better. Please see our Format Comparison page for further details (coming soon).

We do not currently offer 4K Blu-ray due to the additional costs involved.

Streaming is available in 4K as standard.

Download availability depends on two things:

1. Has everyone contributed to the costs?  For example, through a video or performance fee collected by the Event Organiser.  When only a small number of people have paid for the video we cannot offer downloads due to the ease of distributing to others.
2. Has the Event Organiser given permission for the video to be downloaded? Sometimes the Event Organiser may prefer that a video cannot be downloaded, for example for child protection or copyright reasons.

When a video is available to download, you can select from the 'Original' 4K version or an HD version.  The Original version will be the highest quality version available, but will also be a very large file size.  The HD version will have been compressed by MediaZilla to optimise for streaming, so will be of a lower quality.  If you would prefer a higher quality HD version, or a smaller-sized 4K version then please Contact us and we will be able to help.

Our video files are very large and that means that a USB stick has to be formatted in a specific way to accept the large file size (either ex-FAT or NTFS). While there should be no problem playing back on a computer, TVs are a lot more fussy and generally only accept one of those formats.  Because there is a high chance that the USB format we select will not be compatible with your specific TV, we won't offer our videos for sale on USB media.

Where a video is available for download, this can be copied onto USB.  Please see our USB Guide (coming soon) for full information on how to make this work with your TV.  Or Contact us for assistance.

To watch streaming on your TV you will need an internet connection and the free MediaZilla app.  On Android and Amazon Fire-based TVs this app can be installed directly from the TV's app store.  On other TVs you will need to connect an external device, and download the app on that device.  This can either be an Amazon Fire TV Stick or an Apple TV (early models of Apple TV without app store access are not compatible).

If you don't already have a compatible device, we would recommend the Amazon Fire TV stick as the most cost-effective method of accessing the streaming, particularly when Amazon is running one of its regular Fire TV promotions that take place at various times of the year.  If you have a 4K TV then ensure you choose a 4K Fire TV Stick to take full advantage of the enhanced picture quality.

Alternative methods of watching on your TV would be to cast a phone or other device to the TV, or connect a laptop using an HDMI connection.

MediaZilla provide their own guide to watching on TV which can be accessed here.

Firstly you will need compatible equipment.  On a computer, you will need a 4K-capable graphics card and a 4K monitor.  For watching on TV you will need a 4K TV - this either needs to be Android or Fire TV-based, or otherwise you can connect a 4k Amazon Fire TV Stick  or an Apple TV box. You will also need an internet connection sufficiently fast enough to handle the extra bit rate.

When using the MediaZilla apps, you will initially be offered the choice of playing back in HD or 4K.  You must select 'Play 4K' to enable the 4K stream.

On a computer you must use either Chrome, Edge or Safari as your browser.  4K playback will not happen automatically, even when the quality setting is 'Auto'.  In order to select the 4K stream you must click the quality setting (at the bottom-right of the video window during playback) and change it to 2160p.

If you have ordered during the pre-order window then you need to allow time for the video to be edited - an approximate date when the video will be ready will be displayed on the ordering page.

Once the video is ready, you will receive two emails - one to say that the video is ready to stream, and another inviting you to add the video to your own personal MediaZilla account.  If this is the first show you have received via MediaZilla then you will need to click on the 'View Now' button in the second email in order to create your account.

Due to the way the invitation email is sent, it sometimes goes into your spam or junk folder.  So if you've received the first email but not the second then check your spam or junk.  And if you're still not seeing it, please Contact us and we will make sure you receive it.

The link you receive in the email is just to add the video to your own personal account.  Once it has been clicked, it can no longer be clicked again.  To access the video in future you should login to your MediaZilla account on your chosen device.  The video itself has no expiry date and can be watched as often as you like.

Note that the invitation emails do expire if they have not been clicked within 30 days of being sent.  If this is the case, please Contact us and we can send you a new link.

All links sent from MediaZilla can only be used once, and only by the person they are originally sent to.  This link is just to add the video to your account - once added to your account the video is available to watch as often as you like, by logging into your MediaZilla account in a web browser or the MediaZilla app.

In some cases, in agreement with the Event Organiser, we may permit 'onward delivery'.  That is, sending the video to friends and family.  If this is the case you will have received specific instructions on how to do this.  Forwarding the original link will not work, so please follow the instructions you will have received if this option is available to you.

DVD technology was invented in 1995.  TVs at the time were low resolution and had small screens.  DVDs worked perfectly for TVs of that era, and still do.  Fast-forward to today and the typical TV is HD or 4K with a considerably larger screen.  When a low-resolution picture is expanded to modern-day screen sizes this only emphasises the low quality of the picture stored on the DVD.

In addition to this, DVDs cannot store a great deal of information.  In order to fit a 2-hour show onto a single-layer DVD it has to be compressed, and the compression further reduces the picture quality.  Dual-layer discs need less compression, but dual-layer discs burned in a DVD drive are incompatible with many DVD players so we do not offer these.  Note that commercially-available movies are factory-pressed onto dual-layer discs which will work on all DVD players.  This option would require several thousand orders to be cost-effective, so is not something we would normally be able to offer.

We could, and we have done in the past, split it over multiple discs.  We have stopped doing this for the following reasons:

1. It takes far longer to produce and costs significantly more.
2. It's really annoying having to change discs half way through!
3. It is still low resolution, so will still look very poor quality compared to Blu-ray and streaming.

If you still want a disc based format, Blu-ray is a much better choice.  It is High Definition, it is uncompressed, and looks great on a modern large-screen TV.

Yes you can!  We are now offering a service where you can request a Blu-ray version of a DVD we have previously supplied to you.  This will be delivered as a disc only (no case) so you can swap it for the disc in your existing case.  You don't need to send the old disc back!  These are available for all events filmed by us since 2018, at a cost of just £6 per Blu-ray including delivery!

An ordering facility will be added soon, but in the meantime you can Contact us to request any DVD-to-Blu-ray upgrades.

We use only the highest quality professional-grade recordable DVD and Blu-ray media.  When stored and handled correctly, this should last for at least 10 years and probably a lot longer.

We offer a 12-month guarantee, and if your media fails within this timeframe then we will replace it free of charge.

If your disc has failed outside of the guarantee period, we can replace it at a cost of £6 including delivery. You are also welcome to upgrade to Blu-ray which will also cost £6.

Please note that if you have a 'double-disc' DVD, you must advise us which disc needs replacing.  To replace both discs will cost £12. Blu-rays are always single-disc so you can replace a double-disc DVD with a Blu-ray for £6.

Please Contact us to arrange a replacement.

We are a small videography business committed to providing a very personal and high-quality service.  We capture your event using 'Netflix-Approved' cinema cameras, and combine this with meticulous editing and delivery of the finished video in 4K Ultra High Definition using the industry-leading private streaming service.

We only take on a small number of filming jobs in order that we can give your event the full attention that it deserves.

We are based in Ringwood in the New Forest. As standard we'll cover central southern England from Poole to Southampton, but we're happy to travel further if you can contribute to our travel costs.

We film using 'Netflix-Approved' full-frame cinema cameras in 5.9K resolution.  The final edited video will be 4K Ultra High Definition.  We have many years experience of filming with theatre lighting and know how to get the best exposure under difficult lighting conditions.

Wherever possible we will hook up to the theatre's sound desk to get the best possible audio, and we'll mix in external microphones so the audience reaction and ambience is included in the video.

If you would like to see sample footage, then please Contact Us and we can send you some footage which we can deliver using MediaZilla.  Also check out our Image Gallery page.  All still images are frames extracted from delivered videos filmed and produced by Lakeview Video Productions.

We offer DVDs to those who want them, though Blu-ray is a much better choice providing significantly better picture quality compared to DVD.  Both are available as add-ons to the streaming service, though we would like to encourage people to move away from disc-based formats.  Streaming offers better picture quality even compared to Blu-ray, and is much more environmentally-friendly. It's also a lot cheaper! Please note that the costs involved in producing DVDs and Blu-rays are rising rapidly, due to them becoming less and less popular.

Where discs are requested, we will design the artwork for the discs and cases making use of your own artwork and branding, and print onto the highest-quality glossy discs and paper.

The cost to the Event Organiser is usually zero.  In most cases, we make our money by selling videos directly to the participants.  Every event is different and we offer several options for covering the costs of filming and editing.  It is up to the Event Organiser to decide which option works best for them.   For full details, please see our Pricing page (coming soon) or Contact us with your event details to find out what options are available.

As standard, we will:

• Travel to the venue for rehearsals and performances
• Film multiple performances
• Edit the show using a minimum of 2, and up to 8 camera angles
• Create opening titles and closing credits
• Provide a private streaming facility in 4K and HD
• Provide secure online ordering for participants
• Design menu artwork for streaming
• Design artwork for DVD and Blu-ray discs, cases and menus
• Provide complimentary streaming and downloads for the Event Organisers
• Provide complimentary DVDs or Blu-rays for the Event Organisers (subject to minimum sales levels, please see our Pricing Page)
• Provide a free drop-off service to the Event Organiser for DVDs and Blu-rays. Maximum one drop-off per event - late orders will be posted individually and will incur p&p charges for the customer.

Our turnaround time is approximately 7-10 calendar days per hour of final footage.  So a 2-hour show will normally be ready in around 2-3 weeks.  If there are multiple variants of the show - for example, two different teams of children - then please be aware that each variant has to be accounted for separately.  Two variants will take twice as long as one, unless some of the footage can be shared between variants.  The streaming version of the show will be sent out as soon as it is ready, and then DVDs and Blu-rays will typically follow around a week later.

Yes! We offer a secure online ordering facility.  Every event we film will receive a unique ordering link which cannot be found using search engines and is not linked from anywhere else on our site.  Only those who are given the link will be able to place an order for your event.

MediaZilla offer a streaming service unlike anybody else.  It is completely private which means that nobody can stumble across your video by accident.  Only those who have been sent a digital delivery can play it back, by creating their own free account.  It is yours to keep forever, with no ongoing subscription costs and absolutely no adverts.

For customers who receive multiple videos, for example a dance school that puts on a show every year, you can gradually build up your own personal library of videos, all accessed from a single app.

MediaZilla videos look and feel like a DVD with menus and scene selections, but the picture quality is significantly better.  Videos can be played back on computers, and on TVs, phones and tablets by using the MediaZilla apps or a web browser.

Most of our bookings take place in school holidays.  If your event is in school holidays then please book as early as possible, as we have very limited availability!  Please use the Contact form to make a booking or request further information.

A theatre is one of the most challenging environments to film in, due to the continually-changing lighting conditions, and this is what we specialise in. However, we can film anywhere you like.

Please get in touch using the Contact form and we can send you some sample footage which we can deliver using MediaZilla.  Also check out our Image Gallery page.  All still images are frames extracted from delivered videos filmed and produced by Lakeview Video Productions.

We would like to be at the theatre for your dress rehearsal.  This gives us an opportunity to set up our equipment in advance to ensure that it works as well as possible with the sound and lighting used in your show.

We would like to film multiple shows.  Most shows are performed several times, and we would like to film at least 2 or 3 if possible.  This gives us the opportunity to try out different camera angles, all of which can be seamlessly integrated into the final video.  It also means that if someone forgets their lines in one of the performances, we can use the one where they got it right!

Wherever possible, please reserve seats for us so that we can film from the optimum position - this will normally be the centre of the back of the stalls, though the best position does vary by venue.  This makes a huge difference to how the final video will look. If you can get us involved before tickets go on sale, we can ensure that your video will look as good as it possibly can. When we are tucked away in a corner, we have no chance of doing your show justice!