Multi Cam Setup for Church Meeting in School

H

Heartfelt

Well-known member
I am helping a local church who meets in a school. They shoot video for streaming and for their website. There is no lighting. They have three cameras at extreme angles and seem to not be using any particular theory or common practice. The problem is that I am untrained in that area as well so I can't tell them why something is wrong other that the unusual look. To make matters more difficult, the pastor is a very dark skinned man and without adequate lighting, his features are lost.

With all this in mind, I have two questions:

1. What would you use for lighting in a school gym, in order to capture the sermon and music well?
2. What angles and framing are proper for a 3 cam shoot?


Related question: They are using single RCA cables/connections running video to a Tricaster. What would be better connections in the absence of firewire?
 
My thought on the lighting would be to use par 64 cans mounted on stands in the back of the room. (high, of course) I'd put a telescoping stand with lights in each rear corner to avoid traffic.

A truss across the front is not feasible.
 
1. Lighting - The Pastor needs some basic fill lighting. Look into something similar to the KinoFlo Vista series. 3200K (temperature) should do it.
If you can get your hands on some basic 650-1K Fresnel lights (make sure they match), and some Arri Chimera Softboxes, position 3 of those along the stage to light him. If you can't get the soft boxes, you can also get away with putting some C-Stands with a grip head and arm in front of the light, holding a pop out silk to diffuse the light. Ideally you could look in to a trussing cage with a 13' Height, but setting it up and tearing it down, as well as including the lights, might take a while.

2. Camera angles - With a 3 camera setup, your typical shots will be a wide (Edge to Edge), A Mid (Knees to Head/Variable, alternating shots), and a Talking Head (Framing Shoulders and Head). The Wide shot can pretty much be framed, and locked off. The Mid shot needs a bit of tracking, and it would be a good idea to have a Zoom Controller on the Tripod for the camera as well. Libec makes a good and inexpensive one (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/361366-REG/Libec_ZC_3DV.html). The Talking Head shot needs to have a great operator on it, as it will be very dynamic. Chances are your cameras only have a 14-16x zoom lens. If that's the case, look to Century Optics lens adapters to get the magnification that you need. For the wide, you want a 11-12x, Mid (17x), Tight/Talking Head (20x).

Wide Shot - Center/Middle of the Floor, slightly elevated.
Mid Shot - Stage Right, Half way back.
Tight - Stage Left, Half Way back.

Another setup it having the Wide behind the stage, shooting a reverse angle on the pastor, and the congregation.

I'd suggest getting some comm as well, so your TD can tell your shooters what to do.

Also, what Tricaster are you using, and how far are the cameras from the switcher?
 
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There is no stage. We are on the gym floor. I can't put anything on the floor in front of the aisles nor do I think a flown truss is going to work. ideas?

Tricaster studio. On camera is about 10' away and the ther 2 are about 40-50'.

What angle from the center camera is typical for #2 and #3 placement and do you pull those cameras in closer?
 
Lighting - Maybe a pair of High Rollers punching 1K with Soft boxes on the side corners of the Sermon space. but he'd have to stay back towards the middle for good lighting.

Camera - Ok, I just wanted to make sure you weren't running further than 100'.

Angles - Sadly, I cannot say what angle. I never planned it out to that level, I just walked in and eye balled it. Sorry!
 
These guys run with the cameras at about 90deg from each other. Seems wrong to me... doesn't feel right but i can't cite a standard to correct them by.
 
That thread concurs with what I have seen today in my searching... two cams near FOH. That is a start of something being common pratice that I can cite.
 
If I can be of any further assistance, let me know. I spent the last 5 years designing and selling Portable and Installed Multi-Camera Production Facilities for Houses of Worship and TV Shows. If they need up upgrade gear, or look into rounding out with some used kit, I've got some sources.
 
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Thank you.

Helpful thoughts.

It looks like my best bet for lighting is still cans on a tree perhaps on each side of the congregation and I still hope to find a resource or guide suggesting proper multi cam techniques. Can anyone else help?
 
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