Concert Question...
 

Hey all. I'm going to be shooting a concert tomorrow. Originally I had planned on having 2 cameras, both XH-A1's, but the other XH-A1 couldn't do it. I couldn't find another HDV person in time, so I'm going to have an XL2 paired with my XH-A1.

I was wondering whether I should use the XL2 for a steady wide shot of the entire stage and use my XH-A1 for mediums/closeups, or the other way around.

Final product is going to be an SD DVD, so in the end it might not completely matter. My inclination is to go with the XH-A1 for mediums/closeups because of the increased detail.

Thanks!

JR

when I have to throw an XL2 into the mix with my A1's that's typically what I do...use the XL2 in the back with a wide shot...turns out nice..especially if you're going back down to SD anyway...

jeremiah

Hi J , Can i ask why are shooting HD? The end result is going to be the same if HD/SD. It will save you a lot of time if you just shoot stright SD. I think the A1 does great job on SD. If you use no presets it is easy to match the two but i like using presets cuz it save me a lot of time in color correction/matching.

Even though the immediate destination of this footage will be an SD DVD, I'd like to be able to have the HDV footage to burn onto BR disc in the future.

This isn't a paying job, so I'm not going to bother doing much color correcting and footage matching. I'm primarily interested in getting good sound more than anything.

My other decision is whether to shoot 24 frames or 60. Hopefully they'll rehearse and I can shoot that, and see what the footage looks like really quickly. (I'll have a firestore there).

I haven't had my XH-A1 long, however, and this would be the first time shooting in 24, which makes me hesitate somewhat to use it.

If you want the film look 24F is good. I think you major challenge is going to be light and audio. The camera likes a lot of lights. I think you should hookup one of the camera to board and get external mic for the other camera. If you are planing to use the onboard mic on the A1, make sure the ATTn is on.

Jeremiah- check out the first two video clips at this website.

http://www.myspace.com/riversmonroe

I shot these on an XH-A1 at 24F. Lighting wasn't that great but it may give you a feel for the look. Also, I would try to get whoever is working the soundboard to cut you a CD of the audio mix direct from the board. I slipped the sound guy a few bucks to do this for me for the tracks above and the result is much better than anything I've ever been able to mic.

Art