DataBet at ICE Barcelona 2026: What we filmed and why it worked
How We Stream filmed DataBet's stand at ICE Barcelona 2026 - what the Arcane activation required from a production standpoint, how the characters were integrated into the edit as a narrative device, and what same-day delivery looked like across a multi-day show floor.
By Vitalii Vakulchuk, DoP - We Stream
ICE Barcelona 2026 was the first edition of ICE held outside London, after a quarter-century at ExCeL. ICE Barcelona 2026 drew 62,988 industry professionals from 162 nations - a 5% increase on the 2025 edition, which had itself broken every previous attendance record when the show first moved from London. The show floor DataBet was competing on was the largest the event had ever produced. That shift - a show that most of the iGaming industry knew in one form arriving in a new city, at a new venue, with a different spatial and atmospheric character - made for an interesting filming environment. The familiar rhythms of the event were there. The context was new. For context on the event itself and the wider show floor we were working within, see our ICE Barcelona 2026 coverage.
We filmed DataBet's stand across the full event. It was not the first time we had worked with them - our iGaming event videography work with DataBet covers ICE London 2024, SBC Summit Lisbon 2024 and 2025, and other events. Each shoot has had a different brief. ICE Barcelona was the most conceptually specific of the lot.
The activation: what DataBet brought to Barcelona
DataBet activated their ICE Barcelona stand around Arcane - the animated series produced by Riot Games, set in the League of Legends universe. Live Arcane animators were present at the stand, creating character art in real time. The two lead characters from the series, Jinx and Vi, were woven into the brand's presentation at the stand.
That activation created a specific filming opportunity and a specific editorial challenge simultaneously. The opportunity: genuine visual interest that most trade show stands do not have. Live art creation, character performances, a visual world that is recognisable to a large audience outside the iGaming sector - all of it filmable and compelling in a way that a branded backdrop and some standing conversations is not.
That activation created a specific filming opportunity and a specific editorial challenge simultaneously. The opportunity: genuine visual interest that most trade show stands do not have. Live art creation, character performances, a visual world that is recognisable to a large audience outside the iGaming sector - all of it filmable and compelling in a way that a branded backdrop and some standing conversations is not.
The challenge: Arcane is a licensed IP. The characters have an existing visual identity, an existing emotional register, an existing audience relationship. Footage that uses them generically - as decoration for the stand rather than as participants in a story - wastes what the activation offered. Footage that integrates them as a narrative device - where Jinx and Vi are the thread through which DataBet's actual product strengths are surfaced - produces something that is both more watchable and more commercially useful. The brief called for the second approach. That choice was made before filming started, not in the edit.
The editorial decision: characters as narrative device, not backdrop
DataBet's core product strengths at ICE Barcelona were specific: widest market coverage, an advanced sportsbook solution, deep esports expertise, and personalised content tools. Those four things needed to appear in the video - not as a list, not as text overlays in the abstract, but as qualities the viewer understands the brand to possess by the time the video ends.
The Arcane characters gave us a way to surface them. Jinx and Vi are not neutral visual assets. They carry connotations - competitive, technically sophisticated, associated with an audience that understands esports at a level above casual interest. DataBet's esports expertise is communicated differently when it is contextualised within an activation that demonstrates a genuine relationship with that world, rather than asserted in an interview clip against a standard branded background.
The Arcane characters gave us a way to surface them. Jinx and Vi are not neutral visual assets. They carry connotations - competitive, technically sophisticated, associated with an audience that understands esports at a level above casual interest. DataBet's esports expertise is communicated differently when it is contextualised within an activation that demonstrates a genuine relationship with that world, rather than asserted in an interview clip against a standard branded background.
In the edit, the character performances were not used as establishing shots or transition material. They were structural elements - moments that the video moved through on its way to specific product claims. The live art creation became evidence of craft and detail. The presence of Jinx and Vi at the stand became evidence of DataBet's positioning within the esports vertical. The visitor interactions around the characters became evidence of stand engagement and draw. Each element was doing argumentative work, not decorative work.
That is the distinction that matters in trade show video. A stand activation can be used to make a highlight reel that looks energetic and communicates nothing beyond the fact that the stand was busy. Or it can be structured to deliver a specific set of claims about the brand, using the activation as the vehicle rather than the subject. The first is easier to produce. The second is what the brand needs after the event closes and the video is being used in sales and marketing contexts.
What the filming covered
The coverage across the event included the full range of stand activity: product showcases, live demos, team interactions, and visitor testimonials alongside the Arcane activation and character content.
The product showcase footage required close work - DataBet's platform interface is the product, which means the screen is part of what needs to be visible without the technical problems that screen filming typically creates at a show floor. Bright ambient lighting at a large exhibition hall, multiple competing light sources, the brightness differential between a lit screen and the ambient environment - all of it affects how the product footage looks. We used positioning and camera settings to capture the interface cleanly without the overexposed wash that standard event coverage produces when it tries to include screens.
The live demos were filmed with the visitor in frame as well as the presenter - because a demo that shows only the product misses the moment that makes it compelling, which is the point when someone who has not seen it before understands what it does. That reaction, when it is genuine, communicates the product's value more directly than any product description. It requires the camera to be positioned for both faces simultaneously, which is a specific spatial decision made before the demo starts, not during it.
The product showcase footage required close work - DataBet's platform interface is the product, which means the screen is part of what needs to be visible without the technical problems that screen filming typically creates at a show floor. Bright ambient lighting at a large exhibition hall, multiple competing light sources, the brightness differential between a lit screen and the ambient environment - all of it affects how the product footage looks. We used positioning and camera settings to capture the interface cleanly without the overexposed wash that standard event coverage produces when it tries to include screens.
The live demos were filmed with the visitor in frame as well as the presenter - because a demo that shows only the product misses the moment that makes it compelling, which is the point when someone who has not seen it before understands what it does. That reaction, when it is genuine, communicates the product's value more directly than any product description. It requires the camera to be positioned for both faces simultaneously, which is a specific spatial decision made before the demo starts, not during it.
Visitor testimonials were captured across the event in short, usable form - not formal sit-down interviews with a lighting setup, but close conversations filmed quickly enough to catch the genuine response rather than a considered PR answer. The difference in register between a scripted testimonial and an unscripted one filmed in the moment is visible on screen. Trade show testimonials work better when the setting - the noise, the energy, the visible context of the event floor - is part of the frame rather than minimised.
Same-day photos: what the delivery schedule looked like
Same-day edited photos were delivered throughout the event for live posting. That requires the same parallel workflow as every same-day delivery: selecting and processing in windows between filming, not at the end of the day.
For DataBet at ICE Barcelona, the photo delivery served two distinct purposes. The first was real-time social posting - images going out while the event was running, while the DataBet team and their contacts were still on the floor and likely to engage with content featuring their stand. The second was press use - images available to trade publications covering ICE Barcelona's first year in the new city, which created a media opportunity beyond DataBet's own channels.
For DataBet at ICE Barcelona, the photo delivery served two distinct purposes. The first was real-time social posting - images going out while the event was running, while the DataBet team and their contacts were still on the floor and likely to engage with content featuring their stand. The second was press use - images available to trade publications covering ICE Barcelona's first year in the new city, which created a media opportunity beyond DataBet's own channels.
The selection criteria for the two purposes are different. A social post image works best when it captures energy and presence - the stand at a moment of activity, a visitor engaged with the Arcane characters, the team in a moment that reads as confident and well-prepared. A press image needs a clean frame, a legible subject, and brand elements visible without being the sole focus. Shooting with both outputs in mind means making the selection decision during the shoot - identifying which images serve which purpose - rather than sorting through everything at the end and hoping the portfolio covers both.
The final video: what the edit was
built to do
The final highlight video was delivered within one week of the event closing. The edit was built around the narrative device established in the brief: Jinx and Vi as the structural thread through which DataBet's four core strengths were surfaced, with the stand's energy and visitor engagement as the surrounding context.
The pacing was fast - consistent with the energy of an active trade show stand and with DataBet's brand character across their previous video content. The individual clip lengths were short enough to maintain momentum without sacrificing the moments that required time to land: the live art creation, the screen demos, the visitor reactions.
The pacing was fast - consistent with the energy of an active trade show stand and with DataBet's brand character across their previous video content. The individual clip lengths were short enough to maintain momentum without sacrificing the moments that required time to land: the live art creation, the screen demos, the visitor reactions.
The integration of the Arcane characters into the edit was handled as editing-room decision rather than a visual effects one. The characters appeared in the footage because they were at the stand - drawn by the live animators, referenced in the activation, physically present in the space. The edit used that existing material rather than adding anything to it. The narrative device was editorial - the sequence in which the character content appeared, and what product claim followed each appearance - not a post-production overlay. That is an important distinction for how the video reads: it feels like a document of something that happened, not a constructed brand narrative imposed on generic trade show footage.
Strategic messaging over generic trade show coverage was the brief, and it is the most useful phrase to describe what the edit tried to do. Most trade show highlight videos document activity. This one made an argument. The argument was: DataBet knows this vertical, has the product to serve it, and demonstrated both at Barcelona. The Arcane activation was the proof. The edit was built to make that proof legible.
Strategic messaging over generic trade show coverage was the brief, and it is the most useful phrase to describe what the edit tried to do. Most trade show highlight videos document activity. This one made an argument. The argument was: DataBet knows this vertical, has the product to serve it, and demonstrated both at Barcelona. The Arcane activation was the proof. The edit was built to make that proof legible.
What this shoot has in common with the others
DataBet is a client we have filmed across multiple events over two years. The operational consistency across those shoots - same-day photo delivery, fast-turnaround video, specific editorial focus rather than general coverage - has compounded into a working relationship where the brief requires less explanation each time, because the baseline understanding of what the footage needs to do is already established.
ICE Barcelona differed from the previous shoots in one significant way: the Arcane brief was more conceptually specific than anything we had done with them before. The activation required an editorial decision - how to integrate licensed IP as a narrative device rather than decoration - that most trade show briefs do not present. Making that decision well required knowing, before filming, what the four product claims were and how the character content could be used to surface them.
That is the pattern that holds across this client and most of the others in this sector: the shoots that produce the most useful content are the ones where the brief is specific enough to shape the filming, not just the edit. A brief that says 'cover the stand and make it look good' produces footage that looks good. A brief that says 'use the Arcane activation to surface these four specific product strengths, in this sequence, for this audience' produces footage that does a job.
That is the pattern that holds across this client and most of the others in this sector: the shoots that produce the most useful content are the ones where the brief is specific enough to shape the filming, not just the edit. A brief that says 'cover the stand and make it look good' produces footage that looks good. A brief that says 'use the Arcane activation to surface these four specific product strengths, in this sequence, for this audience' produces footage that does a job.
We have covered iGaming trade shows across ICE, SBC Summit, and SiGMA. If you are planning stand coverage for an upcoming event and want to talk through how the brief should be structured, get in touch before the activation is finalised.
FAQ
What was DataBet's activation at ICE Barcelona 2026?
DataBet activated their stand around Arcane - the animated series produced by Riot Games, set in the League of Legends universe. Live animators created character art in real time at the stand, with Jinx and Vi woven into the brand's presentation. The activation created genuine visual interest that most trade show stands do not have, and a specific editorial challenge: how to use the licensed IP as a narrative device rather than decoration.
How do you integrate licensed IP characters into a trade show highlight video?
Treat them as structural elements, not backdrop. In the DataBet Arcane edit, Jinx and Vi appeared at specific points in the video's argument - each character moment was followed by a specific product claim. The live art creation became evidence of craft and detail. The characters' association with esports culture contextualised DataBet's esports expertise more directly than an interview clip against a branded background would. The sequence was decided before filming, not in the edit.
What is the difference between trade show footage that documents an activation and footage that makes an argument?
Documentation shows what happened - the stand was busy, the activation ran, visitors engaged. An argument uses what happened to deliver a specific set of claims. For DataBet at ICE Barcelona, the four product strengths - widest market coverage, advanced sportsbook solution, deep esports expertise, personalised content tools - needed to be what the viewer understood the brand to possess by the end. The Arcane activation was the vehicle for surfacing those claims, not the subject the video was about.
How do you film a screen-based product demo at a trade show without overexposure problems?
Through positioning and camera settings that account for the brightness differential between a lit screen and the ambient exhibition floor. Large halls have multiple competing light sources and strong ambient levels that create an overexposed wash when a standard event camera points at a product interface. We Stream positioned cameras to balance the screen output against ambient exposure and capture the platform interface cleanly. For the DataBet demos at ICE Barcelona, the screen content needed to be legible - not just present in frame.
Why should a trade show video include visitor reactions, not just the product being demonstrated?
Because the moment a visitor understands what a product does is more communicative than the product itself. A demo that shows only the interface misses the point of inflection that makes it compelling. At ICE Barcelona, DataBet's live demos were filmed with the visitor in frame alongside the presenter - because a genuine reaction to something working for the first time communicates the product's value more directly than any product description. That requires the camera to be positioned for both faces before the demo starts, not during it.
What does same-day photo delivery serve at a multi-day iGaming exhibition?
Two distinct purposes that require different selection criteria. Social posting images capture energy and presence - the stand at a moment of activity, visitors engaged with the activation, the team reading as confident. Press images require a clean frame, a legible subject, and visible brand elements without being logo-heavy. At ICE Barcelona, DataBet's same-day photos served both: real-time social posting while the event was running, and press images available to trade publications covering ICE's first year in a new city.
What was different about ICE Barcelona 2026 compared to previous ICE editions?
It was the first edition held outside London after a quarter-century at ExCeL. The event moved to Barcelona, bringing a new venue and a different spatial and atmospheric character while retaining the familiar rhythms of the show. For production purposes, that meant a new environment to read and work within - different ambient lighting, a different show floor layout, and a press opportunity specific to the first-year-in-new-city angle that trade publications were covering independently of individual stand content.
How do you film visitor testimonials at a trade show to make them feel genuine?
Capture them as short close conversations in the moment - not formal sit-down interviews with a lighting setup. The visible context of the event floor should be in the frame rather than minimised. The difference between an unscripted testimonial filmed in the noise and energy of the show and a scripted one filmed against a neutral background is visible on screen. At ICE Barcelona, DataBet testimonials were captured quickly enough to catch the genuine response rather than a considered PR answer, with the stand activity providing the setting.
How much does iGaming trade show video production cost for a multi-day event like ICE Barcelona?
Multi-day exhibition coverage with same-day photo delivery, a final highlight video, and specific editorial focus - rather than general coverage - starts from £4,500 for a three-day event. Same-day photo delivery carries an £800 premium. The DataBet brief at ICE Barcelona required additional editorial planning given the Arcane IP brief, which is reflected in pre-production time rather than shoot day cost. For a full breakdown, see our London video production costs 2026 guide.
Why does filming the same client across multiple events produce better content over time?
Because the brief requires less explanation each time. The baseline understanding of what the footage needs to do - same-day delivery, specific editorial focus, argument rather than documentation - is already established. At DataBet, We Stream has covered ICE London 2024, SBC Summit Lisbon 2024 and 2025, and ICE Barcelona 2026. Each shoot built on the previous one. The ICE Barcelona brief was the most conceptually specific - the Arcane narrative device - and was achievable partly because that level of editorial ambition was possible within a working relationship where the fundamentals did not need to be rebuilt.
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