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Author Topic: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording  (Read 7292 times)

brian maddox

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2018, 03:32:09 PM »

Okay, i know just enough about this subject to be dangerous.  Hopefully a little bit helpful in there as well.  Here's some random thoughts.

1.  Recording in camera is super convenient and will probably work just fine for your application.  Most of the cameras you will consider for this will have this capability.  Invest in fast, large SD cards and you'll be fine. 

2.  So long as all your video files have some kind of audio on them [distorted on camera mic included] FCPX will automatically sync them for you along with your remixed audio file, which is super handy.  You can also run all your camera files 'live' as if it were a live show and 'cut' between cameras as if it were a live show and FCP will build your initial timeliine off your real-time cuts.  This is a SUPER fast way to get a rough cut of a concert.  You can then tweak those cuts until your eyes melt if you really want to.  [note: doing this 'live' cut editing does require a good bit of processor power so YMMV]

3.  The BMD cameras are crazy good for the money. The image quality is exceptional [again, for the money].  I'm not sure you can get 4 Micro Cinemas with lenses in your budget, but using one with a decent lens for your main money camera might be worth considering.

4.  GoPros have a tendency to overheat if running higher resolutions for longer periods of time.  I'd do a little online research before you buy those for this application.  The newer ones might be better, but my Hero4+ is useless for anything 1080p or higher longer than 5 minutes or so.

5.  An audience shot for cutaways is a SUPER handy thing to have.  Before and after show B-roll is also a great thing to have during editing.

6.  Changing just 1 camera to an operated one will significantly improve the watchabilility of your final product, especially if you want to produce clips longer than 90 seconds or so.  The operator doesn't have to be on comms or whatever.  They just need to be instructed to get an interesting shot, sit on it for 90 seconds or so, then get something else interesting.  This can turn one camera angle into dozens of usable shots for later editing.

7.  Ambient mics at stage AND FOH can be very useful.  Just time align them...  :)

8.  You may want to consider TWO cameras at or near FOH with different shot composition rather than 2 side stage cameras [ maybe one operated see note 6 above].  Or something 45 degrees off center if you can get there and have the camera live through the experience.

9.  A few 'shaky cam' cutaways taken on a cell phone can add to the excitement of your final product, especially if they are 'mid-crowd'.  Again, FCPX will sync whatever short clips you may take based on the audio so don't worry if they are just short little bursts.

It's official.  I know too much about video...  :)

That's all i got for now.  I'm sure i'll think of some more things later.
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brian maddox
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TJ (Tom) Cornish

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2018, 04:10:45 PM »

All I will add is be sure you know what you're doing if you are planning to use any cameras that require manual focusing, which is pretty much any DSLR (yes, some of them can sort of autofocus, but not really) and anything from Black Magic.

If you have qualified operators, the above may be great.  If you're looking for set and forget, you need camcorders.
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brian maddox

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2018, 04:16:59 PM »

All I will add is be sure you know what you're doing if you are planning to use any cameras that require manual focusing, which is pretty much any DSLR (yes, some of them can sort of autofocus, but not really) and anything from Black Magic.

If you have qualified operators, the above may be great.  If you're looking for set and forget, you need camcorders.

TJ is Definitely not wrong.  Camcorders also typically have easy zoom lenses and decent auto iris as well.  Much easier to get good usable results right out fo the box.

One of the GOOD things about the GoPro type cameras [aside from being pretty cheap] is that they have a VERY deep depth of field which gives you a lot of wiggle room in the focus department.   Doesn't make for as compelling images, but it is far more set and forget.

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brian maddox
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Will Knight

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2018, 06:21:45 PM »

Okay, i know just enough about this subject to be dangerous.
It's official.  I know too much about video...  :)

Brian nailed it. And I offer another vote for using camcorders in the case. You can easily get 2+ hours of battery life (frees you from the AC cord), up to 128G of SD space for recording storage, small GoPro like footprint and wide software availability to download, edit, synch and time align the videos.  3 would be great, 4 ideal but even 2 is perfectly functional depending on environs and setup.  I've been doing something similar using 4 Canon Cams, Pinnacle & Cubase for the better part of +10 years. 

Good Luck...

Bill   
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William Schnake

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2018, 08:47:05 PM »

All, thanks for your help.  I talked with a friend of mine who has done some of the same type of work and his suggestion was 4 GoPros with a remote to start them and a camcorder, he gave me a specific Cannon model number, to use from FoH.

I appreciate all of the input.

Thanks
Bill
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Tim Weaver

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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2018, 12:24:38 PM »

Gooros are great for this, but remember that they will be a wide-angle shot no matter what you do.

If you buy 4 gopros and just use that, you will never have a “close up” shot of anything.

Record to the internal sd card of each camera. Whack it together later, just like you would do to a multi-take multi-track recording.



The Sling Studio is worth looking in to for things like this. The quality is great. We use it all the time to stream and record. We have 2 black magic cameras at FOH with a tight shot and a wide shot. We have a gopro stage left, and an ipod touch on a cheap steady-cam handle thing for mobile shots. The end product looks way more pro than it probably should!
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Re: Cameras for Mid-level concert recording
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2018, 12:24:38 PM »


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