SEEKING ADVICE V1U Settings for Performance/Light-Changing Environment...
 

I'd appreciate any advice on V1U settings for a shoot of a large dance performance, where the light color, intensity, modulation (etc.) will be constantly changing. Final output will be SD, for individual (SD) DVD sale-- I'm inclined to shoot HDV 60i for maximal compatibility and to manage judder. Primary camera will be stationary from back, framing the full-stage - I plan on doing pan/scan in editing, relying upon additional HD resolution.

Where would you set white-balance?
Because of motion, keep sharpness to 3 or 4?
Any considerations?

THANKS!

Set white balance as you normally would. Balance on white on the stage. if you can't, then balance to as neutral as possible; you'll likely end up warm anyway.
I'd increase sharpness in the event you're doing pan/scan in your NLE, which means you're cropping, resulting in a softer image overall. I can't give you a number without experimenting, but for one particular venue we shoot in, we keep sharpness at 6, if that helps. I'd do a test shoot if you can, and then pan/scan your test.
Your plan of shooting 60i is a good one, IMO.

Hey Greg, I just shot a hip-hop dance competition where there were many color changes. It was my first gig with the V1U and I shot out of the box, the only thing I changed was exposure and gain settings. I'm in the process of converting a clip for internet viewing, I'll post it as soon as I can.

Hey Greg, here is the clip I promised:

http://rapidshare.com/files/32833368...Dance_Clip.mp4

* it was encoded with Apple's H.264 codec so the quality might not be as good as the original, hope this helps!

Could not get clip tp play at all

Hey Hugh, the clip was encoded using apple's h.264 codec, you need to have a codec to play it or just use apple's quicktime.