theater setting/ opera
 

hi gang,

just signed up for a 17 shows in a theater setting. opera shows.
have done dance troups in theater settings, but no opera.

anybody has some expirience. do's and don'ts?

thanks

Hi Karl,

I shoot our operas for archival purposes. One thing you should do is talk to the stage manager in advance and get some timings of the shows. In opera it isn't unusual to have scenes which won't fit on a single tape, so you need to plan your tape changes.

A lot has been written on filming stage shows, here are some threads to look at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=18431
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=5156
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=8525

hello boyd,

thanks for those links. good reading.
the interessting thing is, that no matter how new or how professional you are, all have the same problems, and that make me feel good, because it is not just me.

since most of my events are in a theater setting i tape everything directly on a vcr, (13" tv) and use very seldom a tape in my camera. i been planning to purchase a harddrive to capture a better quality, but have not decided which one. drives me crazy when i get the message 5 min left on the tape, and i don't know how much longer the show lasts.

just got the ok from the stage manager to practice shoot at the dress/ tech rehearsals.

thanks

karl

In a previous career I was a permanent staff technician (scenic & stage carpenter) at the Santa Fe Opera. That was before my introduction to video.
Review the entire shoot with particular attention to stage activity and the important moments of the story. Get a comm link to the stage manager. Try to get an assistant stage manager to guide you through the show. Use four cameras and live switching if you can. You must know the best camera angles.
Most important, understand the story. Emphasis will shift from stage, to orchestra, to vocals. Opera is the best the performing arts has to offer because it uses all elements of performing art.
Good luck.