Progressive or Interlaced for live music?

A

andrew00

Well-known member
Hey, this band have asked me to film their gig on Thursday, and I was all set to whack things to F6, maybe add a few in camera tweaks - detail, master ped etc.

I've never shot live music before, i.e. in the dark environment, so don't know how the DVX will do in this mode, esp in a sense of focusing.

Hence I'd please like to ask your opinions - which mode is best to shot in a live environment?

Thanks!
 
I think 24p is totally fine for live music, and it can make for some nice added production value. As far as focusing goes, yes, it's definitely tougher in the dark, but if you turn on EVF Detail and are good at manual focusing, you should be fine unless it's crazy dark.

A lot of it depends on just how dark the setting will be. Will the performers be lit evenly, or via spotlights, or some kind of changing light rig? I've had problems in the past where I've shot wide open to get as much light as possible in the dark areas only to find I'm blowing highlights if one of the performers is wearing bright clothing, or simply steps into a hot spotlight at a certain angle. If it's possible, try to rehearse a little beforehand (simply turn on your zebras and see what kind of problems there might be). Also keep in mind, you lose more light the more you zoom in, so you can get away with more in a wide angle than you can a telephoto shot. But hopefully your telephoto shots will be of illuminated musicians, while your wide angles will capture the whole stage and therefore more shadow detail.

I would recommend, if it's very low light, leaving your pedestal fairly high (around 0 or maybe even a little higher for extreme situations). You can always add contrast back in later, but once you clip the blacks when you're shooting, they're gone. It's nice to be able to tweak this more carefully in post.

One last thing, 60i is a full stop faster than 24p on the DVX, so it's something to keep in mind as an option. Personally I think the aesthetic advantages of 24p vs. 60i or 30p make it worthwhile, but it's up to you and the band to decide.

You can always buy an extra stop in 24p by going down to a 1/24 shutter, but again it's up to you to decide if the side effects (more exaggerated motion blur) are worth it. I think it's definitely useable depending on the context and how much motion there is.
 
I shot some video of a live coffee house, 3 different bands, without really knowing what i was doing, I shot in 24p (F5) I had one external azden shotgun mic plugged into the xlr input. Make sure you have a stationary mic if you want uniform sound. You can see my video's on my blip the bands were ok, but the lighting was on a strobing effect and the DVX did not like that. I did have it on manual focus and servo zoom. anyway here's an example http://blip.tv/file/460862
 
I 've shot many hrs of live stage performances. Most venues have poor lighting. I ask the house to bring up the front lighting for video. If the band needs good footage, you will need to sacrifice concert lighting for a brighter look. If Haze is available saturate the room for a more dramatic back light effect. Try to get a audio feed from the board for channel one and internal mic channel 2. Watch your sound levels. I try to keep it at 50-75%.
 
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