First Job tips?

Aschu

Aschu

Well-known member
Hey there.

So i have just been offered a filming opportunity to actually make some money. This would be a first. I am filming a dance recital and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for me. I have filmed events like this before but i have never worked with a customer before, most has just been for school. I am using a Sony DSR-300 if that opens up any suggestions. Should i us ezmode or set my own manual settings? And i will be filming for about 2 hours and i figure the editing and making a dvd will take about 2-3. I am not exactly sure what a decent price for that would be and i don't want to be taken advantage of.
 
Dance recitals aren't too bad. I've been filming dance stuff for a little while now. Dance recitals CAN get tricky though, so be prepared.

First off, NEVER use the auto controls for dance recitals. You're going to want to set your manual focus to make sure the stage is in focus. From there, ask the house to bring up the lights to its brightest and white balance from there.

Another thing you're going to HAVE to do is, ride your iris from set to set, sometimes even during. The tech in the booth is going to be creating a light show that's great for the audience, but horrible for you.

Try to setup near the back of the theater, closer to the sound booth. That gives you the option of plugging directly into their sound board (if you want) and the ability to speak to him/her about tape changes. Shoot LP if the number of dances exceeds 20-25 or let the tech know in advance that you'll be needing a tape change.

Get a program and record any changes, for your benefit and to help during editing.

For the day, I'd charge anywhere between $200-250 and depending on how elaborate you decide to go with editing, its really up to you. Maybe a total of $350-500?

Good luck,

Kegan
 
Get the 180 minute DV-Cam tape. That way you don't have to make a tape change. Have a plan for power. Have a couple of stingers and some gaff tape to secure the stingers for safety.. Arrive early and if you can contact the av guys ahead of time about getting a audio feed. Bring you own xlr cable. Make sure you know weather they are feeding line or mic level and have headphones with you. Also as a safety run the camera mic as a back up just in case.

The DSR-300 has a nice feature called spot light I think and it is designed for this type of work and helps if you are not comfortabe running in manual iris. I have used it for years on different events and love the option. I usually run in auto and have the spot light function turned on it works great.

Pricing is really up to you. Charge what you think is fair for your skill level. When I started out I would have done a job like this for 4 or 500 bucks.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the advice guys, that was really helpful. I am waiting right now for a call from the Director of the program. I appreciate the quick response though. It's nice to have somewhere to turn when in question
 
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