Hi,
I'm looking for some best practises from those who have already recorded both audio and video single-handedly at small club / bar shows.
One of my favourite bands has two shows coming up in my area (one in-town, one out-of-town). Three years ago, I already taped and filmed them at some medium-sized venue (capacity ~250-300) and they were so pleased with the results that they released the matrix recording as an official download album. So, for these two upcoming shows, I was given the green light again by both the band and the local promoters.
The thing is that these forthcoming shows will take place at some very small, living room sized clubs (capacity ~50-60).
I was told that at least the second (= local) gig might be crowded. There's no ticket pre-sale but you'll have to request some advance reservation with the promoter. As already mentioned the auditorium is rather on the small side. Moreover, the stage is also quite small for the 5 band members: 2xguitar, bass, drums, keyboard/synthesizers/percussion.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4509968/lu_stage.pngRoom height is about 9 ft. As far as I remember, there's no viable option to clamp my gear to a truss/pipe. Actually, there's some mount for a projector on the ceiling but that's dangerously close to the (rather loud) air conditioning system. Stage-left, there's some space to mount a small tripod for filming. However, the corresponding angle is pointed. So some band member(s) might obscure the camera's view on the others. The two PA stacks are pointing inward and there's a risk of distortion if you're too close to them. The band plays a mix of post-rock, post-punk, psychedelic rock and krautrock, so at least at some points of their set it might get very loud.
I have two sets of cardioid mics available (phantom-powered Line Audio CM3s + low sense modded AT853s) and might get access to the soundboard as well. I'm going to use my Sony HDR-CX550VE for filming. I have a K&M 20800 mic stand and two video tripods to choose from: my Sony VCT-60AV and the much taller and sturdier Feisol CT-3471 Rapid. Also some Manfrotto super clamps.
So where/how would you you set up your audio and video gear in this specific situation: loud gig, crowded club show, space is an issue, minimum obtrusive (if possible)?
Thanks in advance for your comments.