Concert Indoors
 

Hey guys. Thanks so much for your help on my previous post. I recently received news that I'm going to cover a concert in a club in early December. I have some experience with weddings and similar venues, but none with events of this caliber. Now, my main concern is the lighting. I want to get it right. What presets should I use? What settings? Should I use a spotlight? I am not sure If I can, but if I can, should I bring in some external lights, spotlights etc? During the live performance the club is poorly lit. The stage is circular and quite roomy. I'm going to use a Canon XH A1s and two XH A1. My region is PAL. I'm thinking two cameras on tripods and the other one hand-held. Any advice on the audio? What I'm looking for here are ideas. General strategies that would help me throughout. What should I be aware of that would help me in post. For post-production I'm going to use Final Cut Studio. Thanks in advance.

First thing - unless you have plenty of kit, and lots of experience, then even thinking about lighting a club venue to give you decent looking video is going to be expensive and difficult.

If the stage area is roomy, then you have choices to make. How many performers, are they static - as in sitting behind a keyboard or drums so they can't move, or will they be moving around? What kind of concert is it - orchestral, choral, pop? At the very least you need to see faces. Depending on the type of concert you'll either wish to flood the area with light, or have mean and moody.

We do this kind of thing all the time - so if you can provide some info, maybe we can help.

A stage plan
details of what you wish it to look like
what actually is happening
is there any pre-installed lighting
can it be re-focussed and recoloured
if you are bringing in lighting, then photographic lighting kit will be of limited use
If you hire equipment in, is there actually power for it - and this probably means dimmers and control too.

Are we talking simple and bland, or complicated and exciting?

See the problems?

What is for certain is that if you want it to look good, you need to hope there is already lighting there that you can perhaps add to, as lighting from scratch can be damn complicated and very expensive!

Floor vibration could be a problem. Thats something to consider.

+2. Hi Manos, can you visit the venue, play with some lights and check out some custom presets? And where will your production end up?

Cheers.

Paul, it's a pop concert, a one man show if you will. The band most likely will be static, but the main draw is of course the singer. There is already a basic lighting on the stage, so I'm gonna have to add (or subtract) to that. I've contacted the venue managers and they assured me that there is a ample room and power for any kits I choose to bring in. So. those dimmers will come in handy on concert day. I personally believe, given the nature of the pop singer, that it should be colorful and energetic. That's why I want to have a hand-held camera to move around and give that kinetic energy, later on with the editing. Welcome to Facebook This is a link to a video on the previous concert at the same venue, just so you can get an idea of the lights and room.

Allan, yes I already talked with the managers of the club to go there and do exactly that. So, hopefully I'll get an idea of what's what.

Audio may be as or more important the video given that it is a concert. Keep in mind that when all is said and done lighting that is good for video is often too much for a "club" atmosphere when the show starts and promises made early can be forgotten.

Is there a sound board from which you can pull a feed?

The video clip reveals half-decent club lighting which looks good in the video. There's white light coming from somewhere, but it's not clear if this is from a mover, or some other light source. It's balanced quite well, but the singer walks out of it quite often.

The things to remember here are that much of that lighting could be pre-programmed and available at the press of a button - already in the lighting controller, or the controller could be empty, needing programming. This is not the job for a video guy who has enough on his plate. Taking in extra lighting then gives you a problem - you need somebody to rig it and operate it. Maybe, if you do take more kit in, it could be best to hire it and the operator from the local supplier?

Unless you actually have lighting equipment of this type, it's not going to be easy. Photographic kit is of limited use here unless you just want bright and white - and I guess that's NOT what you want?

I'm not sure how to help, to be honest - at a distance. If it was here, before I spent any money I;d have to go and see for myself, or at the very least, see a proper lighting plan and equipment list for what is already there.

Top Tip. Never believe anyone who says
Over here in the UK, we get this all the time. I'm off on Saturday for a job where 'ample power means 125Amps per phase = easy, 400Amps with a bit of extra time' but last week, ample power turned out to be 3 double 13A sockets, on a 30 Amp ring main, that also was powering the sound system! Both were described as ample!

Hi Manos. Do you have access to a reliable friend and a follow spot?