How do I shoot this thing?
 

A friend of mine, who is a dance instructor, is up for some award and she needs to give them a tape of footage from one of her classes. I offered to shoot it, despite me having no experiance with this type of project. I was thinking I should make sure to get a wide shot, shots of the teacher, and shots of the students. Is this good?

I'll be using a XL1s, and using the on board mic for audio (I really have no other choice). I have access to a few cheap single chip cameras, should I try incorperate one or two of these? Lighting isn't really an issue.

Thanks for any help!

In dance, the most important thing is to show feet. Be sure to shoot full body shots, head to toe. Compose the frame to allow enough room at the bottom so that feet, and the floor below, can be clearly seen within the TV-safe area.

The first thing is to ask her what she wants to show. Dance is the total body movement and patterns on the stage. If however she wants to show her methods of instruction there may be particular things she wants to bring out that require detail. Dancers are used to doing things over and over again so if its in the studio it is actually possible to do it with one camera repeated many times just like a film. My main hobby is video of dance ( about 20 years now) and do shows as well as demonstations like you have been asked to do. The instruction videos I do with one camera repeated. First the full studio shot then the detail closeups that she wants( edit in closeup to match music). As Chris said give plenty of room above and below the body. IF she wants detail close up she will ask for it, most of the time wide is what they want.
If she wants you to just video a class then I would use two cameras, one wide to get the whole studio in shot and the other to focus on her and her instructions( normally she will demonstrate then ask student).

Ron

If she's already getting the award and the video is to be shown at the time she's getting the award, then maybe the award committee is looking for material that shows how she interacts with her students as an instructor. In which case a documentary approach is needed and not something that shows her technical skills as a dancer.

Perhaps sit down and talk with the people who are involved: the ones requesting the tape and the instructor herself. Determine how the video is to be used.

After that you can start thinking about what needs to be shot in relation to the presentation.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions