HD10: Some recommendations for event videography gear
 

Hey all,

I sent an email to Murph about this stuff, and he said it's worth posting on DV Info, so here ya go.

For shooting HD events with the HD10, here are some of my recommendations. One caveat, I haven't done many events (I am mostly a filmmaker), and when I have, I had to go DV. But these recommendations should help.

And if you want to add or correct me, GO FOR IT!

1. Lavs...I've been using the Sony ECM-44B (I think, it's in my car right now, so I can't verify it). Find a good Sony lav for $150 and it should be the ECM-something or other. :-) And a good Shure shotgun mic is nice.

2. I'd recommend a nice Arri light kit, with four nice lights.

3. USE A CAMERA LIGHT! The HD10 NEEDS as much light as possible! So use a mountable camera light. When shooting, make sure it's not too dark, because the HD mode will likely suck. If you're gonna sell them on HD, tell them it's gonna have to be well lit. I would just have the places the wedding and party are in keep the lights up. And for the party, have that camera light there (maybe set up to small lights, if it's okay, on either side of the groom and bride to light them good. But make sure it's cool with the church, etc.). Hook a wireless lav to the person performing the wedding and the groom. But you can ask on the microphone board here.

4. And, as many recommend, buy a tripod you can grow with. So your HD10 may look ridiculously small on that large tripod, but your JVC ENG-style/24p HDV camera won't.

heath

Thanks Heath!

I'd like to add some things:

- Charge your batteries the night before a shoot.

- Clean the heads on your camera before any shoot.

- Wear decent headphones to monitor your audio.

- White balence!

- Lens cleaner when needed.

- Extra cords, connectors and accessories.

- Cheap make-up kit. (Believe it or not, just stopping the glare on a bald man's head is useful. Also, some people have very reflective skin and it helps to pad them them down when you're going to all the trouble to light. Do make-up before you light too. For black people you might want to try and ADD some sort of reflection or try and make them have depth. It's very difficult to light black people, so experiment and you'll probably get something good enough.)

That's it for now from me!

Murph

I would say be careful of cleaning your heads TOO much. I've read about disasters and cleaning heads should only be done whenever it appears the heads are being clogged. I think the HD10 tells you when that happens.

heath

Couple of more things I'd add to the list:

Pen and paper. Whether it's notes from the client, notes to yourself, or scribbling down your name and number because you've run out of business cards, a small notebook and a pen can be a lifesaver.

A Leatherman (or Gerber, or a cheap knockoff from Lowes or Home Depot).

Heath, you're right...I probably should have said "Keep a head cleaner handle for emergencies".

I'm gearing up for a possible Wedding in a month now. I was wondering if we HDVers should get a little more detailed and/or documentry like in our online activities? Meaning..."Anatomy of a Scene" like?

I'd like to see more examples of people's work from HDV. Let's try and figure out where we can post more clips.

Is everyone on broadband here? Does anyone have access to an FTP site capable of (up to) gigs of space? If we all signup for Gmail when it comes out I believe that's 1 gig of storage online with Google. Is there anywhere online we can store videos for free and they can be accessed by anyone? I want to upload some videos, but I just don't have space on my web server! (like 5 megs only)

Murph

LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS!!! This camera needs lots of lights. It's low light performance is disappointing, but a well lit scenes is beautiful.

If I was an event photographer, I would definitely use a camera mounted light AND a handheld sun gun. Anton Bauer makes some nice ones.

Lots of bounce cards / reflectors. Those collapsible circle ones would be pretty handy, as well as white foamcore.

This camera doesn't do well in handheld shots either, so a tripod, monopod or one of those shoulder mounted or 'steadycam' rigs would be in order.

I would also guess both a shotgun and a lav. I've been using a Sony ECM 44 with good results.

Neutral Density filters if shooting outdoors.

A card to do a manual white balance on.

and more LIGHTS!