getting good footage in performance setting

[Ruby Gold]

Hi. 80% of what I shoot with my DVX100b is one person interviews with basic 3-4 point lighting. I always set everything manually--focus, white balance, iris, shutter at 1/60, etc. For the little bit of b roll stuff I've shot outside in various locations, I've set the camera on autofocus to capture unpredictable movement, and used the white balance preset for daylight or the AWB.
I have two possible gigs coming up--one shooting some martial arts demos inside a dojo, and the other shooting a dance performance.
Because I have no experience in these settings, I'm wondering if folks who do could advise me on the following:
1. What's the best way to handle focus in these situations to get good, in focus motion footge for movement of these types? What about shutter speed?
2. White balance and iris will be easier to do manually in the dojo, but for the dance performance, the lighting is moody, full of different colors, spotlights, low light, etc. So, any suggestions on how to handle white balance and, iris, focus, shutter, etc to get good footage that is in focus and 'looks like' things looked in the performance?
All help appreciated!

[Robbie Comeau]

i dont no
ALOT about this stuff, but a high shutter speed would get it better if your doing some slo mo, and it would just look more smooth

sorry, im not much of a help

[Thomas J. O'Hara]

Hey there, If possible try to get the least amount of Red colors, they kill.

I'd try messing with the chroma/color temp settings

[fevercity]

It's that delicate dance between a higher shutter for the motion versus more depth-of-field for your focus concerns.

Though both set-ups are 'performance' by definition, it's probably best to approach them differently.

1. Is the dojo mainly white-walled with overhead lighting (maybe fluorescents)?

2. Where are you w/ tripod for the dance? i.e. Far back and zooming in or working the foot of the stage closer?

As you mentioned, white-balance at the dojo is a no-brainer. For the dance, you'll just need to get one of the clean theatrical lights on something white and be done with it. Maybe they're par cans, just have someone aim one for you or pull out one of the gels if they have to. Take it and save in both A & B just to be safe.

The lighting designer or technical director has already done any coloring for you with their gels, so you'll probably want to stay conservative and clean in the chroma department.

{For the DANCE} Maybe:

MASTER PEDESTAL: I wouldn't go below -5 because of the low-light - you can always crush black later
MATRIX: NORMAL (they're doing the color enhancement for you and you don't want 'too much' chroma)
DETAIL LEVEL: --------------\
DETAIL CORING:---------------> Your preference
V DETAIL LEVEL:------------/
V DETAIL FREQ: THIN
GAMMA: B.PRESS or CINELIKE V or whatever you like.....
KNEE: HIGH

CHROMA LEVEL: 0
CHROMA PHASE: 0 (like I mentioned, they're doing coloring for you w/ theatricals)
COLOR TEMP: 0

SKIN TONE DTL: OFF
PROGRESSIVE: 24 whatever you're shooting

Well, that's a start anyway. I'm sure someone else will chime in with their own ideas too.