Feedback on plan for club band video

Vidular

Vidular

Member
My friend convinced me to shoot his band's upcoming performance in a restaurant/bar setting. Prior to this he borrowed my little Panasonic PV-GS59, set it on a tripod and an example of the recording environment is at http://www.vidular.net/NorthernCross/02_Circumstances.wmv Now I get a chance to improve upon that in the same location. I have searched and read many of the posts related to this topic here on DVXuser and based on those posts I am planning the following. Hopefully this is the proper place to post this thread.

Purpose:
1. Video to make the band look and sound good on a website video (WMV, MOV, YouTube and DVD sample of their work).

Video:
1. DVX-100B. Plan to shoot SD 24p. Will set the DVX on tripod on table similar to video in link above, back about 5 more feet to avoid that pole in front of the drummer! Based on the room arrangement there is no where else to place the DVX on a tripod.
2. HV20 for B roll hand held, cutouts, close up; HD 24p. Throughout the sets I can move around out of the DVX frame. I want to get several angles, close ups, crowd shots and can even get behind the drummer off to the the side.

One option would be to use the DVX100B in SD 60i and the little PV-GS50 or HV20 in SD 60i as the second camera and skip the 24p and HD altogether.

Audio:
1. Sennnheiser 100 G2 wireless lapel for the vocalist. Feed into DVX100B XLR channel 1. Vocals were my main audio concern given the original video.
2. Shure SM57 Dynamic about 20" in front of speaker set (speakers are not stereo but low pass / high pass as explained to me). Feed into DVX100B XLR on Channel 2.
3. Zoom H4 (lucked out getting this for the show!). Use the built in stereo microphones, position in front of stage, mount on a ceiling beam if possible.

Lighting:
1. Nothing additional although they have worked on improving the stage lighting so that at any one time at least two lights are on. I expect to have to work with the environment lighting as it is. I plan to white balance for indoor lighting on all cameras.

Crew:
1. Only me. I might be able to get a family member to shoot some additional cutouts with the PV-GS59. I will have about an hour to set up the equipment.

Any advice or suggestions on this plan would be much appreciated!
 
There is a lot of detail in this small area with the lights and different objects that I think you should take advantage of. How far away can you actually get from the stage? What kind of lenses are you going to be using, or just stock? The audio in the test video is awful, do they have a house sound system that you can plug into and record from, or are you going to have to record from the stage/talent directly?
 
I can back up another 5 to 10 feet from the location in that video - beyond that are people at tables and bar in the back; it is a small area. Have stock lenses for this; have basic filter set - maybe polarizer filter would be good to use. Yes the audio is awful in that recording, no house sound board but the band does have a mixer I will try to plug into for at least one set but that will be new for me so I want to also capture it from the speakers and vocal talent directly.

How might I take advantage of some of that detail in the setting? Your comment peaked my interest. There is a mirror across the back, I was thinking of covering it up but maybe you can suggest something to get some interesting shots.
 
Forgive me if you already said this, but how much time are you being given to shoot? Can you have them perform multiple times, or just once or twice?
 
Ok I re-read your post and it sounds like this is a live performance. If it were me, I'd have the DVX locked down on a tri-pod with the band centered. If you're going to have an audience there, this will give you problems, given that you have to be so close. You're probably going to have to sacrifice knees-down of the performers to allow the heads and shoulders of the audience into the frame.

Have the other camera either hand-held or on a shoulder mount. Get close-ups of each performer. Get two performers in the shot and rack from one to the other. Get behind the band and get some silhouette shots. This camera should be constantly active and always attempting to frame something, even while in motion from one mark to the next. If possible, have someone assist the camera operator so he or she doesn't walk into someone or something. This camera should be completely wireless, so no monitor, no AC power, none of that. It needs complete freedom. With all the details in the room, you should have no problem with racking from some object to a performer and vice versa. Get some panning shots from lights to performers, etc. You mentioned you want to get audience reactions - if possible, you should get audience footage on a different song, so that you have as much footage of the band as possible to sync with your master.

Speaking of which, depending on the music, you may want to have the DVX zooming on the different performers so you can cut to something besides the wide master. I'm thinking of what it would look like cutting from a really active shot to that wide master, and unless you have a lot of activity on-stage going on with the talent and lighting, it's going to be a really boring shot. With the crowd in the way, it's going to be difficult to get profile shots, and profile two-shots look incredibly awkward. See if you can get an operator on the DVX. If not, just have it locked and move around with the HV20.

Are you definitely going to have three cameras, or only the two? If you're going to have a third lower-quality camera, you can use it for effects shots, like having some kind of B&W, high-contrast footage to throw in every so often or something.
 
Thanks wald0, your suggestions are good and I will try them. I will have 3 cameras and can get a friend to do some of those effect shots and cut aways like you suggested. Thanks again!
 
I suggest getting a multi track recorder, and run your instruments and vocals onto separate tracks. This will cut down on audience noise, and allow you to adjust the instrument levels properly. In live settings, you have the drums and guitars competing with each other, and the vocals normally get buried.

Also, on your locked down camera, I suggest setting the tripod on a table so that you can shoot over the crowd. This will cut down on the idiots that walk past it, and stare at the camera with a bewildered look on their face. Of course, you will also want somebody to stand guard in case a drunk staggers into the table, they can grab it before it hits the floor.
 
Thanks Capt'n I will have an H4 (only multi track recorder I can get at this time) and feed it from the band's mixer (Yamaha mg24/14fx). Will do the tripod on the table like you suggested. Getting someone to stand guard is real good advice, I know someone I can bribe with a few beers to do that - oh, on second thought maybe not!
 
Feed them the beer after! As far as the 4 track, how many tracks does it actually record at once, and how many people are in the band? I know some multi tracks will have like 8 tracks, but will only record to maybe 6 of them. If nothing else, make sure you get the vocals, maybe the guitars too. I use a 8 track, just for those times when I have a larger band with back up singers. It will record to 6 tracks at once. I miss my Korg D12... 8 tracks at once.
 
There are 4 tracks. DVX will be fed two tracks: a shotgun 4073a in front of the stage for the room sound and the drums and a lavaliere on the vocals (g2-100). The Zoom H4 will record two tracks and I will feed it with the Record Out from the main band Yamaha mixer to get a clean speaker feed and the other will be from the Guitar Behringer mixer Monitor port. Thanks for all your advice and ideas. It will take a while to put it all together but I will post something here for feedback when it is all done.
 
Results

Results

Thanks everyone for your advice. I learned a lot shooting the band and definitely would do some things differently next time. Here are two examples songs - each song is about 50-60MB. The band was shot in front with the DVX using letterbox and the closeups with an HV20. My editing needs work, I know. The lighting was horrible for video. I did get sound from the mixers and several mics and am generally pleased with the audio. For Mystic Rhythms I took the close ups behind the singer next to the drummer. Comments and suggestions are welcomed. The WMV files seem to load much faster and are recommend if you can play them.

Mystic Rhythms: Windows WMV Quicktime MOV
Roll the Bones: Windows WMV Quicktime MOV

Some of the other videos are on the band's YouTube site.
 
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