First Bat Mitzvah Film

JWitsen

JWitsen

Active member
Hey. I'm 16 years old and on October 24th I will be shooting my first event, a bat mitzvah. I'm getting paid and I'm good friends with the family. I do not want to disappoint.

The service will be in a synagogue, quite obviously, and i have to shoot from a certain location. I figure ill set up my Sony VX2100 and shoot continuously, from a tripod, with my audio boosted (since I will be farther away).

However the party is in a club, called Beat Street, located in Philadelphia. I'm a little nervous about getting proper looking footage. Are there any tips to shooting an important event in dim lighting? Should i bring a light, or will that be bothersome to the guests and shine unevenly?

I have a limited budget, but I have most of what I'll need, I think. I have three 10-12 hour batteries, about 40 tapes, a wall charger, a 2way fluid head tripod, a .7x wide angle lens, a fisheye which i highly doubt I will use, and money to spend. I also have a camera backpack.


So my main question is, are there any important pointers I should know of beforehand? I plan on going to the club to check it out, as well as the synagogue.

Is it worth investing in a good microphone? Can one be found for around $100-150, without sacrificing quality?

Should I pay an assistant a portion of my pay to help me, carry stuff, grab me drinks, etc?



Thanks so much for any relevant response, I appreciate it and will be sure to check back here!

Jake.
 
First of all, mazel tov to the young lady becoming a bat mitzvah. May her parents only shep naches.

It may be possible to hook into the audio system at the ceremony.

When you visit Beat Street, ask what lights they'll be using. If possible, turn them on, and run some test footage.

Leave 30 of your tapes at home.

A dependable assistant can be invaluable.
 
Jake,
You will probably not get usuable audio from a shotgun mic on your camera (from such a distance). As suggested, try to hook into the system, or pick up a cheap lav system (two if you can). Although I'm a Jew, I was never Bar Mitzvahed, so I don't know who does the talking, and at what distance from each other... as far as in the club, I would use an on-camera LED. With all the chaos in these types of places I doubt it will be a distraction. The cheapest decent one I've seen is here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/632557-REG/Bescor_LED35N_35W_LED_Light_.html

Good luck.
 
I went into the synagogue, they won't allow me to hook into their system.
As far as who does the talking- It is the Rabbi, the mitzvah child, and anybody else called up to the bima (the big "stage" up front) to read portions of the Torah or call out mitzvahs for people. (those who read prayers)

That light looks very nice although i can't find much information on it. Do you know anything about it?
 
I take it this is a non-Orthodox synagogue and that even though the ceremony will be on Shabbat, they will use a microphone with speakers so that everyone can hear. You may need to set up a boom mic to pick up audio from a speaker. Or, you could place a zoom audio recorder or wireless lav on the lectern (being careful to place it where it won't get jostled). I doubt if the rabbi will allow you to place a wire on him.

You may wish to ask if they normally record these events. I grew up attending a Conservative shul and they recorded every simcha. I have a recording of when I became a bar mitzvah but the quality is lousy.
 
"That light looks very nice although i can't find much information on it. Do you know anything about it?"... Jake, it's a non-dimmable LED array (30 individual led bulbs). Being it's non-dimmable, you will have to put a piece of diffusion (frost) in front if you want to spread/even out the beam (it will probably be narrow or spotty). It's also daylight balanced, so you can just throw a 3200K gel in front, too... I haven't used this light, but I've shot with the litepanels micro, which is similar. Works fine.
Good luck.
ps also I noticed there's a $34 (odd number!) rebate on that unit, so that's cool.
 
jordandov said:
You may wish to ask if they normally record these events. I grew up attending a Conservative shul and they recorded every simcha. I have a recording of when I became a bar mitzvah but the quality is lousy.
Click to expand...
I attend a conservative synagogue, as well. We have a room inside the sanctuary that is designated for photographers and videographers. It is the same at the Reform Synagogue I will be shooting at, Beth Or.

scorsesefan said:
Jake, it's a non-dimmable LED array (30 individual led bulbs). Being it's non-dimmable, you will have to put a piece of diffusion (frost) in front if you want to spread/even out the beam (it will probably be narrow or spotty). It's also daylight balanced, so you can just throw a 3200K gel in front, too... I haven't used this light, but I've shot with the litepanels micro, which is similar. Works fine.
Good luck.
ps also I noticed there's a $34 (odd number!) rebate on that unit, so that's cool.
Click to expand...


Yes i got that much from the title, I meant a variety of other things. Is it 35w of LED power, or # watt LED, EQUIVALENT to 35w incandescent?
I found on with a quick google search it takes 4 AA batteries, but can't find the run time using those.

Basically any general information I should know about.

And is the $34 rebate on BH? I may be blind, but I just don't see it.
 
it shows:
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thankyou though.
 
JWitsen said:
I attend a conservative synagogue, as well. We have a room inside the sanctuary that is designated for photographers and videographers. It is the same at the Reform Synagogue I will be shooting at, Beth Or.
Click to expand...

I have had not to take still photographs during ceremonies, even though there is a video camera running in the 'closed' room.

It may depend on the Rabbi and congregational traditions.
 
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