Topic: Resistance to filming with a camcorder

[ace5gt]

I bought a camcorder and I'm trying to get into filming shows.  I've tried to approach this by first tying to get legitimate permission from bands (or management) on social media and contacting venues to see if I can get permission.  Needless to say, it's not going well.  I'm like 0 for 25 on this.  Essentially every artist ignores my request, and every venue defaults to "no" without any consideration if the band may be taper-friendly.   It seems all these years later, the taboo of video cameras is alive and well in the concert industry.

So I'm pretty much at the point now where throwing caution to wind, sneaking in the gear, and attempting to stealth the show is my only option.  Although I'm not sure how stealthy one can actually be with a camcorder.  It seem to a large degree, I'd be hoping for venue staff to be cool enough to just look the other way and not bother me about it.

Any ideas?

[breakonthru]

Get a zs100 and act like it’s nbd and that it’s just a personal camera like the 400 phones people are holding up

[mrfender]

Agree.  Most venues allow small cameras with a non-detachable lens. 

[guitard]

Get a zs100

For reference, here's a clip I recently shot with a ZS100.

https://youtu.be/ebMiZO8xiiw

[tjj5036]

What model are you trying to bring in? Unfortunately even with half the crowd filming the entire set with an iPhone you'll get shut down with a camcorder 99.9% of the time due to long standing stigma against them. I'd get a point and shoot like the Panasonic Lumix ZS100 or one of the Sony ones and use that instead. You'll get great video quality and you won't have to worry about sneaking it in. That being said, I have noticed among the youths that bringing in vintage (MiniDV/Hi8) camcorders is in style and venue security typically allows those in. If you want to go old school you probably wouldn't have an issue.

[guitard]

I have noticed among the youths that bringing in vintage (MiniDV/Hi8) camcorders is in style and venue security typically allows those in. If you want to go old school you probably wouldn't have an issue.

Young people bringing in vintage camcorders is in style?  And security doesn't care? Wait ... whaaaaaaaaaaaaat??

I'm shocked that the average security person has any clue whatsoever about which camcorders are vintage and which are new; and they allow those with old videocams in and don't allow those with new videocams to enter.  How does that even happen?  I mean ... you got two people standing there and security says, "OK - this videocam looks old enough.  You're good.  Go on it."  And to the next guy, "Nope.  This one is a few years newer.  Sorry - you gotta take it back to your car."

It just sounds like a major headache for security to have to decide whose videocams pass the "old enough" test and turn away those that don't.

Not to mention ... if you film on tape, now you have to capture (in real-time) and encode that video.  That's a ton of work compared to shooting a video with a phone - that you can literally share to social media seconds after shooting it.

It all sounds crazy to me ... but then ... so does the resurgence of official releases in 2024 coming out on cassette tape!

[beatkilla]

Sheesh if you can bring in some older cams mine as well go back to my Sony VX2100

The king of low light …. Even in standard definition smokes all these little 4k cams.

[ace5gt]

My camcorder is a Sony AX43/a.

What I may up doing is eventually buying a point + shoot as a backup.  Then, if I get turned away at the door with the camcorder, I'll go back to the car and swap it for the P+S.

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

Leave filming to the professionals.  No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour.  Bands don't want that content.
They wants mixed sets or recaps.  Just my 2 cents

[guitard]

Leave filming to the professionals.

That doesn't apply to audio taping.  Why should it apply to videotaping?  I mean ... it's a hobby .

No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour.

Well, sure.  But why do you assume this is about stage shots?

Bands don't want that content.  They want mixed sets or recaps.

I agree.  Having said that, how many people at the TS do stuff on behalf of the bands they record/film?  Perhaps I'm an outlier, but maybe 1% of what I record/shoot is done with the band in mind.  The other 99% is for me and my friends.

[tapeheadtoo]

Leave filming to the professionals.  No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour. 

Fixed stage shot (and a pretty distant one at that) for 2+ hours:

https://youtu.be/Lc4og6PSMms

95K views

[grawk]

Leave filming to the professionals.  No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour.  Bands don't want that content.
They wants mixed sets or recaps.  Just my 2 cents

leave all taping to the professionals, no one wants to hear your recording of the pa speakers.

Or, you know, do what you enjoy, and let critics say whatever they want

[robeti]

Leave filming to the professionals.  No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour.  Bands don't want that content.
They wants mixed sets or recaps.  Just my 2 cents

I don't agree.
Taping for me started with video. I only started doing audio because back in the mini dv camcorder days camcorders had shitty sound. So an extra audio source was needed. Video was and always will be my first reason I taped.
I love stage shots. It's how I saw the show. Pro shot recordings are super boring. All the special effects and flying camera shots ad nothing to the experience of the actual show. Stage shots are the best. Just my 2 cents...

[robeti]

Leave filming to the professionals.  No one and I mean no one wants to watch a stage shot for an hour. 

Fixed stage shot (and a pretty distant one at that) for 2+ hours:

https://youtu.be/Lc4og6PSMms

95K views

Great tape! What videocamera did you use? Your Roger Waters tapes are among the best videos I ever saw...!

[robeti]

My camcorder is a Sony AX43/a.

What I may up doing is eventually buying a point + shoot as a backup.  Then, if I get turned away at the door with the camcorder, I'll go back to the car and swap it for the P+S.

The ZS100 does the job! I got stopped filming in Glasgow once using my camcorder. I've asked if I could use the point and shoot and they said: "for sure. Photocameras are allowed, camcorders are not allowed". Funny thing: my camcorder shoots in HD and the point and shoot was 4k. Crazy...