GH2 How would you do this??

I

iflight

Active member
How would you best advise me to approach capturing a 40 minute lecture, in a gymnasium?? I am new to video, but experienced in SLR still shooting. I have the following tools:

Brand new GH2 (well, not yet, but i HOPE it arrives in time)
32 GB class 10 card
20mm 1.7 lens
14-140 HD lens
Fluid head Tripod
Flycam Nano stabilizer
Sanheizer wireless LAV mic
Zoom H4n (with attenuated cable for camera input)

and as a B cam, I have a:
Canno Vixia HD Camcorder

I'd really appreciate any advice on how to setup/prepare for the shoot, as well as practical tips on how to shoot it (including, which cam to go on the tripd, and which to fly around for some audience/cut-too shots.)

Thanks a lot for your tips!
 
Which model canon camcorder is it?
To play it safe, I would set up the camcorder on a tripod, and use that for your insurance shot. If anything goes wrong, then you at least have a decent shot of the lecture, and make sure you use you synheiser with that cam. At least I would. Then use your Gh2 for alternate angles to intercut. If you dont want to intercut the two cams, then just do the same with the gh2 and decide in post which one looks and sounds better.

Although, I would try to tweak the settings to get the two to where they can be intercut, and use multiple angles for your final video. It just makes so much more interesting to watch when you have at least two angles.
 
I concur, use the camcorder for the wide shot and the GH2 for cutaways.

If you have never done this before, set the wide shot cam, then have someone watch as you walk toward it's field of view from the side as close to the presenter as you feel you may be. Have them let you know when you are finally visible on the screen. Do this from both the left and the right, this will give you boundaries you later will know not to cross. Picture it as a triangle, with the camcorder at the point and then fanning out to the stage area where the presenter will be. If you venture into this triangulated area, the footage from the camcorder for that time, is junk.

We still use a flash to sync all cameras in the beginning. This allows us to get our footage into the NLE and begin editing right away. If you start both cams running and then flash a remote flash aimed at them, when you load the footage, just find the frame with the flash in each and set those frames to the same point in your timeline. Lots of people scoff at using a flash, but hey, it works. :-)
 
great suggestions. thanks!

ChipThome, would your "flash" suggestion imply then that the GH2 is shooting the entire time? i guess if i want to use cutaway footage, it pretty much has to be running the entire time..

Any other thoughts out there?

Thanks again.
 
If your using the Gh2 for cut aways or B roll, then no, It doesn't have to run consistantly, Either way your gonna have to match the video and audio in post from your b cam.( plural eyes software, does this easy,) So use your best audio setup, with the cam that will run continuosly (WIDE ANGLE CAMCORDER SHOT). As far as the Gh2 audio goes, it will be used as a guide to match with your source audio and footage. So it is needed, but will be cleared when everything is synched in post.
 
Maran is correct Plural Eyes is fantastic !!! It will do all he suggests, and if you are going to go down this road much at all, it is a great investment.

If you are a bit unsure about continuing down this path, and the price for Plural Eyes is more than you wish to invest now, then using the flash and leaving both cams run consistently will give you the same sync.

My personal preference is to leave the cams run and go into post with overkill, but everything from every cam. I also have Plural Eyes though too.

Now the upside of doing it my way, if one cam has an "ooppppssss" at some point, you always have something. The downside of doing it my way, you have a ton of footage to deal with in post.

You mention a Sennheiser, which as Maran suggests, should go to the wide cam. The Zoom I would set up as your ambient audio, so you duplicate audio, again in case of an "ooopppssss". Plus in post you can mix these, to give your video nice clear audio from the presenter and the ambient from the room to give it some realism and fullness. To sync up the Zoom to the other two, this is where Plural Eyes is a real time saver.

Being a newb, you are going to be a bit nervous when you walk in, that's natural. One way to combat that and to help avoid newb mistakes, is make yourself a checklist to go down after you are set up and before the presentation. Put down everything you think you need to do to be prepared, INCLUDING the obvious of "turn on the mic" and "push record".

What this does is eliminate any silly mistakes we all have made, and also it has a calming effect as you go down your list and see that you really are well prepared already.
 
+1 on Pluraleyes...it's my favorite piece of software ever! :D

Do some test shots, to make sure the 14-140 will have the focal length you need. Of course, I guess on the GH2 you can use the electronic crop to zoom in with no problems. On the GH1, the 14-140 is too short for church weddings. I use the Lumix 45-200 lens, which is an excellent lens for the low price. (However, the 14-140 and 45-200 are both slow and require bright lighting in churches.)

Do you need the attenuated cable for camera input on your H4N? Can't you just plug a lav into it, and put it in the speaker's pocket? There's really no point in plugging the H4N into the camera...it will just degrade the quality. I'd just plug the H4N into the sound system...or do like I do for readings at church weddings...just put a piece of gaffers tape on the back...and stick it to the podium when the mean old church lady isn't looking. I sold all my Zoom H2's and replaced them with three Yamaha CX recorders...which I just think are the coolest things ever. I put one in the groom's pocket with a lapel mic for the vows, I put one on the podium for the readings, I put one out for the string quartet/musicians, I put one in front of the DJ's speaker for the toasts, I tape one to the back of my head to record what I'm thinking, and at the end of the day it takes PluralEyes a couple of minutes to sync all three recorders and two cameras...from a 60 minute Catholic wedding. Love it.

Good luck on your shoot...just keep shooting...and find a system that works for you. There's as many ways to shoot a live event as there are event videographers!
 
I'm interested in how you guys who use software that is not compatible with PluralEyes ...... eg: Edius, handle syncing all these audio tracks together.
 
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