lecture shoot

[vid170]

hi there, i m shooting a lecture on sunday for the first time.
its a one camera shoot in a small auditorium, my plan was to shoot the lecurer in m.s and on a break try and get some crowed shots .
any edvice?

 

[Joe_Kras]

1). Have you checked out the lighting ahead of time?

Lecturers often dim the lights when doing Powerpoint presentations, which leaves the lecturer themself essentially in the dark.

If you haven't verified it in advance, I'd bring some lights to light them up.

2) How are you getting an audio feed? You don't want to use a mic mounted on camera.

If you're getting a board feed, then you need to check it out ahead of time, and make sure that you have the right connectors and length of cable to make it work.

I have used a wireless mic taped to the podium mic (if they're at the podium) or a second lav on them (if they're walking) to feed me.

 

[vid170]

all of that is taken care of, i will be using a neck-mic and no power point.
all i want to know is camera angeles and framing

 

[Joe_Kras]

all of that is taken care of

Great!

With one cam I'd probably just shoot a 3/4 angle and mostly medium close up, so I could see the arms as well as face. It's hard to get too creative with one cam.

I try to get crowd shots before the start (so I don't forget, and people are sitting in their seats and not milling around).

Good luck!

 

[dustino]

Depending on the final use of the footage you might want some full close ups - especially if the speaker is getting to especially dramatic or poignant parts of the talk. That said - keep all zooms and re-compositions to a minimum. It's boring as hell to just set up a shot and let the tape roll, but often you'll be glad you did when editing. Getting too spastic with zooms and re-framing can kill you in post. Good luck.

Also, this is composition 101, but if you're getting 3/4 shots of the speaker be sure to frame them with more negative space in the direction they are facing than behind them.