Topic: ISO: Crash Course in Open Concert Video Taping

[baustin]

Searched: Crash Course, Aspect, 16:9, didn't find what I was looking for. Actually didn't find anything!

So, I've got a borrowed video camera, Sony DCR-TRV280. Nothing fancy as far as I know. I also have an Opteka OPT-05W High Definition Wide Angle lens.

Trying to figure out what I should do. I'll be running video, more than likely very close to the stage for local guitarist Graham Whorley opening for Perpetual Groove guitarist Brock Butler.Both guys are playing solo. I've built myself a nice little mount for the camera which I'll be clamping to a dedicated mic stand. Lighting should be good (ie - kinda bright). Both guitarist will more than likely remain stationary during their performances.

Questions:
4:3 (or is it 3:4) or 16:9 widescreen?
Wide angle lens or no wide angle lens?

Hell, I can't remember what other questions I had. Any advice from those with more experience?

-ba

[wilsonedits]

best thing to do is to take your cam outside and try it with and without the wide angle lense and try the different aspect ratio settings.... as well as get used to the exposure/iris controls and different shutter speeds if your able to adjust shutter on that cam ..... if your going to be the one transfering I would tape a few minutes with each various setting and transfer it and see what you like best......  better off to experiment at home than the first couple of songs of a show...

if possible you will want to run 16:9 since 4:3 is pretty much on its way out and you won't want to be stretching a 4:3 on your widescreen tvs

[baustin]

duh, i didn't even think to hook it up directly to the tv!

did that and i think i'm gonna roll with the wide angle lens in 16:9. i'll tweak it when i get there, but will probably keep this setup. i should be there for any type of soundcheck they do.

i comfortable enough with the venue that i'll probably leave my gear at the sound booth. we'll see.

but please keep the advice coming folks!

-ba

[baustin]

16:9 with wide angle lens came out nice. homemade mount did its job. hope this doesn't become another taping habit! 

[guitard]

If you can somehow manage to get a second cam (you gotta know someone who'll let you borrow a cam), get that and set it up as a static shot from a totally different angle.

Filming a solo performer (especially one who remains stationary for the show) and keeping the shot "interesting" is very difficult.  A second cam that you can mix into the video will make a big difference.

For your main shot, assuming the guitarist plays right handed style, I would recommend getting off to the left side a bit so you can get some shots looking down the fretboard (they look great).

Good luck.

[stevetoney]

16:9 with wide angle lens came out nice. homemade mount did its job. hope this doesn't become another taping habit! 

Ahem...I'm packing my video camera tonight to stealth video a rather popular band tomorrow night.  It definitely _IS_ addictive.  After getting into it only a year ago, I've already upgraded my camera and my tripod.  Some would say that there's too much going on to enjoy a show, but I just jam along with the show and don't get all that anal about the video...it is what it is, but it still always turns out great!

[sabre]

Here are a couple more tips that will help you get a good video..

1. Use manual focus. If you are set up directly front of the band, zoom in as far as you can go (the backdrop or the drummer would be fine) and set your focus manually. Then when you zoom out, everything will still be in focus. Also if somebody walks in front of your camera, your camera won't inadvendently focus on their heads instead of the band. Strobe lights can also affect your focus, so if it's set manually your autofocus won't freak out when the strobes start flashing.
If you are very close to the band or filming from on-stage then you can leave auto-focus on.

2. Use manual exposure and familiarise yourself with the AE settings. Filming in low light can cause grain in your video but there are a couple of settings that can alleviate this problem. The 'spotlight' AE setting is one of them. I prefer using the "sunset over water' AE setting, but note that you *must* use manual focus with this AE setting as it will go out of focus when you zoom in...
Once you have chosen your AE setting, you should also set the exposure level manually. If there is an opening band, wait until there's a particularly bright part of the show and lock your exposure. Then take it down a couple of stops, to compensate for the headlining band's lightshow being brighter. If your camera has a zebra pattern (I don't think yours has) then you can use this to prevent overexposure.
You can use the lead singer's head to set the expsoure level - as this is often the brightest part of the stage.

3. Turn off the digital zoom. Under no circumstances should it be used. If you're so far away that you need the digital zoom to be able to see the band, then you should physically move closer. If you're already close and you want to see the sweat on the singer's face or the fret board on the guitar then still don't bother with digital zoom.

Filming tips.
This part is subjective and it's up to you how you want to film a band...

4.  Don't focus soley on the singer. It gets boring watching 1 member of the band for 80% of the show.

5. Try to have at least two band members in frame as your default view.

6. Don't zoom in and out constantly.

7. Don't pan too much. Unless you're using a tripod with a nice fluid head, then pans are going to be shaky.

8. Try to set up your camera at a 45 degree angle from the stage. This will allow you to capture more of the band and you won't have to do as much zooming and panning.

9. Only film the video screens if absolutely necessary. Most of them look terrible and you'll need to change your focus/exposure settings in order to shoot them right.

10. If the band has put in a lot of effort in their light show, then try to shoot it. This is where a second cam would come in handy. In fact, if you are open video taping then getting a second cam can make your video much better. The down side is that having multiple cams will increase the workload post show.

Well that's about all I can think of. Hope it helps. The best bit of advice is to go and watch as many audience shot shows as you can. If you want to see some excellent multi-cam open taping shows, then head over to www.thetradersden.org

[gratefulphish]

Most of the above advice is excellent.  Definitely use manual focus, most cameras also have an auto focus button that you can hit if you need it.  You may want to consider moving your location from one side to the other, or center, between songs, to break up the monotony of a single angle.  Zoom in and out, s-l-o-w-l-y.  Practice it, now practice it again.  Zooms into fingering can be very neat, especially if the guitar players are relatively stationary.  Harder to do with someone moving a lot.  Figure out your exposure level in advance as suggested, but if you find yourself getting lines or getting washed out, change the exposure setting.  If you have any opportunity to go shoot any local band beforehand, do so, you will learn a lot.  Good luck.

[firmdragon]

slow zooming is definitely a good way to go.

if you're like me and like  to film up front and center stage lip style, try and align yourself with a vocal monitor. otherwise often times (for me) you're not close enough to the PA and the guitars normally drown out the vocals.  recently i've been setting my external mic on the vocal monitor and have gotten decent results (hey it's better than going vocal-less).

[wilsonedits]

very good advice... I second manual focus... you can really tell a difference when someone knows how to properly focus... auto is never quite perfect...and if its a second cam and you have a light show going... auto focus will have you out of focus all nite

[guitard]

Some great advice in your post.  I'd like to also mention ~

2. Use manual exposure... ...You can use the lead singer's head to set the exposure level - as this is often the brightest part of the stage.

If your cam easily allows it, adjust the exposure on the fly so you always have a well exposed picture.  On one of my Sony cams, there is a "roller" style button located on the back on the cam that is easily within reach of my right thumb.  I push down on the roller to activate it and it turns on the exposure adjustment.  When the stage lights go down for a ballad or when they are super bright... just a few clicks on that roller wheel and the exposure is all set.

9. Only film the video screens if absolutely necessary. Most of them look terrible and you'll need to change your focus/exposure settings in order to shoot them right.

Some venues have fantastic screens and are well worth filming - especially if you are far from the stage and don't have a cam with a lot of optical zoom.  If you have a mini-tripod or a clamp-on clip for your cam, you can zero in on the screen, get your exposure set, and then actually sit back and enjoy the show ~ and still have a nice vid to take home.  In other words, you get to have your cake and eat it to.  Another nice thing about screen shots - if you're in a venue with tight security, not having to handle the cam during the show significantly cuts down on the chances of getting busted.

[willndmb]

nice tips

[Depechemode1993]

just reading through this video and I did most of the tips that were said in this. I really appreciate the tips!!!! I went to test out my HD camera at this concert at my university a couple weeks ago and put a clip of it on youtube. I used manual focus and just like you said I zoomed in all the way and got that in focus and then I was ready to go! I kept everything else on the camera pretty much the same. I guess any tip/suggestions/critisims of my filming would be great! I know a little uneasy at times but I just was testing it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJvWrxxgV5A

Getting ready for the NIN tour and hoping for an open video policy!

[rsimms3]

Although it doesn't seem to apply here, but for future reference - the farther you are away and use the zoom, the steadier the camera needs to be.  If you are maxing out your optical zoom then the slightest jitter gets amplified.  You might think you are steady and it looks good through the viewfinder or screen, but when you get home it can nearly make you sick watching the footage. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDQy27XcU_4

Sanyo HD1000, 720p 60fps, zoom 9-9.5 out of 10, steadied on knee, damn near last row on opposite side of Joe Louis Arena, manually focused and locked in, I think I forgot to the turn image stailization off - if I leave it on it causes all sorts of crazy issues

[Depechemode1993]

Although it doesn't seem to apply here, but for future reference - the farther you are away and use the zoom, the steadier the camera needs to be.  If you are maxing out your optical zoom then the slightest jitter gets amplified.  You might think you are steady and it looks good through the viewfinder or screen, but when you get home it can nearly make you sick watching the footage. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDQy27XcU_4

Sanyo HD1000, 720p 60fps, zoom 9-9.5 out of 10, steadied on knee, damn near last row on opposite side of Joe Louis Arena, manually focused and locked in, I think I forgot to the turn image stailization off - if I leave it on it causes all sorts of crazy issues

yah... that looks sick.

[BlackLab]

can never see how to use manual focus while stealthing. Agree its better to do but cant see myself trying to do it for real

[guitard]

can never see how to use manual focus while stealthing. Agree its better to do but cant see myself trying to do it for real

It's like most things in life.........practice makes perfect.

[beatkilla]

It's simple.Zoom all the way in and either focus manually on some text on the bass drum or something with alot of lines and your set.The focus will be maintained throughout the entire zoom range.You don't have to focus anymore and your auto focus won't be fooled when the strobe comes on or the lights go out etc.You can easily do it the same way by zooming all the way in in autofocus mode and when the focus looks really sharp just switch over to manual focus.The setting will be maintained.

[Liquid Drum]

It's simple.Zoom all the way in and either focus manually on some text on the bass drum or something with alot of lines and your set.The focus will be maintained throughout the entire zoom range.You don't have to focus anymore and your auto focus won't be fooled when the strobe comes on or the lights go out etc.You can easily do it the same way by zooming all the way in in autofocus mode and when the focus looks really sharp just switch over to manual focus.The setting will be maintained.

Yep. I do the EXACT same thing (focus on bassdrum head text, or backdrop if there is one). It never, ever fails. I don't really understand how/why it works but I just followed the advice and it truly does work. I've filmed in small clubs and then huge arenas and it works the same in both situations.

Just make sure when you do it, zoom ALL THE WAY in (to the max) and then set the focus.