Sony Diaries Day 105: Project Introduction for The Metalworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guelph, April 15th.

Two camera coverage of a stage performance.

Still playing around, testing, and fine-tuning the art of shooting video of a stage performance. Perfect audio capture is the key to a great video but considerations have to be given to the unpredictability of stage lighting, and audience/ambient noise. One is also at the mercy of the House/Stage staff. The volunteer staff at the Rose Auditorium in Brampton are amazing to work with.

A very rough first edit. 

Two cameras:

Sony CX900, with Beachtek pre amp, audio feed via XLR directly from the house system. XAVC codec, 24fps, 1/50sec, wide-open (from 2.8-4, whole zoom range was used). 0-to-9 db gain.

Sony A7II with a Minolta 70-200f4 (Beercan). Lens is not the sharpest but I forgot to bring my sharp Tamron 70-200f4. XAVC codec, 24fps, 1/48sec f4 (whole zoom range was used), manually focused. A RodePro mic was used on this A7II for synching but the audio was surprisingly good.

A Zoom H4n was used to take in the audience applause.

She was the first performer and I wasn't sure what the positioning on stage would be but I settled in by the third performer.
You'd never guess that I was positioned in the very back of the theatre, at least 30 rows back (but elevated, thank goodness).

Mixing up names

A friend of ours, let's call him Michael Smith, had a difficult time obtaining some sort of police permit because more than 1 person with a similar name had criminal records.

So what do David Roberts, Ivan Ivanov, Jamie Macdonald, Pierre Tremblay, Tony Romano, and David Lee have in common? 

They're very common names in certain areas. "David Lee" gets a triple whammy:  common in English, Korean, and Chinese jurisdictions.

I move that we start mixing up names of different ethnic origins. There's no getting around one's surname but parents should use first (and middle) names that are in contrast to the last names.

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, comes to mind. Let's have Kobe Smith, James Ivanov, Pierre Romano, Constantine Macdonald, Alfonso Lee, etc.

A unique person (each one of us) should also have a unique name not shared with other people.

Sorry but Diogenes (Greek) Baena (Spanish) is taken.

Inside the backpack of the minimalist wedding videographer

I think I figured out  the video set-up I need to do a 2-cam, solo shooter wedding, or any other run-and-gun video situation.

A-cam: Sony RX10 with XAVC codec and 24-200f2.8 lens, sharper than any DSLR because it doesn't line skip but uses the whole frame.

B-cam: Sony CX900 with XAVC codec

both cameras have the same sensor, same colour, same WB, same insides so colour matching will be a nightmare of the past.

Everything fits in 1 medium size backpack along with audio equipment.

Add two small tripods and a monopod in a sling bag and I am good to go.

I will also be using the A7II with 3 primes (35f1.4, 24f1.8, 50f1.7) still using the XAVC codec and excellent IS, for the dark shots like first dances, etc.  Fits in a really small bag.

Bob Krist (more on him in a later post) is an inspiration, not only for his technique but also for his youthful vigor and refusal to let age deny him what is a "youthful pursuit".

Photos to come soon.

Sony Diaries Day 105: Playing with Enoki in B&W