recording a band playing a concert - with only one camera.

B

Budgieboots

Well-known member
Hi guys, I've got a dilemma.

How do I record a band playing a concert with only one camera and make it interesting?

Are zooms and pans frowned upon by the video community?
 
If all you need is bits and parts of it be handheld and do whatever you can...In LOVE & WAR & FILMING all is fair ;)
Or, if you need the continous perfomance, be on a tripod, much higher than stage (at least eye level of the performer) and do a nice straight master shot. From time to time do zoom in, pan nicely, from performers to instrumets etc. Slowly zoom out to your master position again... Remember you got nothing to cover yourself, other than repeating your close ups etc...
I think ALL IS GOOD, not what you do, but how you do it counts...
 
Well since the play they are at playing at is kind of cool, (Freiburg, Germany) - its got alot of gothic architecture, I was figuring I could use moody shots of gargoyles and things to act as cuts between the band members.

Kind of similar to Pink Floyd - Live at Pompeii I suppose.
 
Sure you could use those...
I guess it also depends how safe you wanna shoot? My suggestion was to make sure you got everything, smoothly, so the tripod and asecure place... Making your "concert"(if it wasnt live you could make the band play several times) video creative requires taking risks, going after handheld from various angles etc, in other words multiple camera set-up...You might wanna try again to get some extra cameraman, which is the way to go for concert recordings, I 'd suggest minimum 3 camera...
 
I just shot a concert one camera on Friday night.
It was a 1hour set, fo which I need enoguh for a 30minute program.
So I spent about 45mins shooting the band from the master shot - even with a couple of ugly shot changes. (I actually did it from a couple of different spots - moving between acts - to keep it interesting). Once I knew I had enough footage to cover the shoot, I stopped shooting the main performance and moved my camera position. I went and shot a whole bunch of "b-roll" shots that I can intercut into the main angle. I got a bunch of shots of the crowd, listening and dancing along. I got shots of each band member when they where a little less active or from angles that arn't sync crucial. A shot of the Bass guitar, the keyboardists hands, the drummer's fit on the bass. I moved a bunch of times and continued getting these shots for the last 15mins of the performance. I also made sure to get a few shots of the band from behind - again, key is that I can cut them in so that you can't tells it's a different peice.

The result is when I go into the edit bay I have 45mins of A-roll, and 15mins of B-roll to intercut to make a 30minute program. :)

- Mikko
 
Hi Budgieboots,

Have you shot the concert yet? A friend shared something with me.

1 videographer with only 1 camera (working alone) was asked to shoot a boat race competition for an important politician to see. How did he obtain multiple camera angles with just one camera?

Several days before the competition, all contestants have many rehearsals on the lake. So this videographer hopped into each of the team's boats to shoot some footage, all from varying angles & compositions. When the final day came, he just took what he did not take during the rehearsals. So when he combined it into a final DVD, this politician was very impressed at how the event was shot from so many different & creative angles with close-ups & wide shots, etc.

Same thing with your concert. Before the actual day of the concert, take a few days to shoot multiple shots of the band practicing, of the lead singer's face close up, of the drummer, his drums, the guitarists, wide shots, medium shots & extreme close-ups, etc of the band only. But make sure that the clothes they wear during the rehearsals match what they wear on the actual concert day. Else it will be obvious to the audience watching your final movie that it was shot at a different time.
 
Hi Budgieboots,

Have you shot the concert yet? A friend shared something with me.

1 videographer with only 1 camera (working alone) was asked to shoot a boat race competition for an important politician to see. How did he obtain multiple camera angles with just one camera?

Several days before the competition, all contestants have many rehearsals on the lake. So this videographer hopped into each of the team's boats to shoot some footage, all from varying angles & compositions. When the final day came, he just took what he did not take during the rehearsals. So when he combined it into a final DVD, this politician was very impressed at how the event was shot from so many different & creative angles with close-ups & wide shots, etc.

Same thing with your concert. Before the actual day of the concert, take a few days to shoot multiple shots of the band practicing, of the lead singer's face close up, of the drummer, his drums, the guitarists, wide shots, medium shots & extreme close-ups, etc of the band only. But make sure that the clothes they wear during the rehearsals match what they wear on the actual concert day. Else it will be obvious to the audience watching your final movie that it was shot at a different time. During the actual concert day, capture footage that you could not capture during the rehearsal like the audiences' enthusiasm, the guests of honour, etc. Also make sure the lighting during the rehearsals are the same as the lighting during the actual day.
 
Thanks Budgieboots,

Just passing on some seriously brilliant info that my friend mentioned to me. When would your shoot be? Good luck.

Andrew
 
andybiz_2005 said:
Hi Budgieboots,

Have you shot the concert yet? A friend shared something with me.

1 videographer with only 1 camera (working alone) was asked to shoot a boat race competition for an important politician to see. How did he obtain multiple camera angles with just one camera?

Several days before the competition, all contestants have many rehearsals on the lake. So this videographer hopped into each of the team's boats to shoot some footage, all from varying angles & compositions. When the final day came, he just took what he did not take during the rehearsals. So when he combined it into a final DVD, this politician was very impressed at how the event was shot from so many different & creative angles with close-ups & wide shots, etc.

Same thing with your concert. Before the actual day of the concert, take a few days to shoot multiple shots of the band practicing, of the lead singer's face close up, of the drummer, his drums, the guitarists, wide shots, medium shots & extreme close-ups, etc of the band only. But make sure that the clothes they wear during the rehearsals match what they wear on the actual concert day. Else it will be obvious to the audience watching your final movie that it was shot at a different time. During the actual concert day, capture footage that you could not capture during the rehearsal like the audiences' enthusiasm, the guests of honour, etc. Also make sure the lighting during the rehearsals are the same as the lighting during the actual day.
Click to expand...


i did the exact same thing at my friends music concert. I borught my dvx and switched seats half way through the concert. so at the end of the video as shes taking her applause, its actually three different songs she had played edited to look as if it was continuous, did i pull it off somewhat?

link: --- > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r6oj0solNw

please dont hate me for using youtube, it just seemed like a quick and easy solution at the time for fast viewing ( so excuse the compression )
 
I recently shot a gig 4 x 40 minute sets, used one camera.

First off I spoke to the lighting guy and told him what I needed. He was very helpful.

I set my cam high and left. Used a 35 mm adapter with 50 mm lense. Slow pans, zooms to hands, instruments etc pull focus from one band member to another.

Cam out very nice.

Can see cut version here WARNING LARGE FILE 240mb

http://www.scarlet-films.com/TR2.wmv
 
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