Should You Shoot A Film With 2 Cameras
As a freelance videographer, I have produced, filmed and edited a wide diverseness of multi-camera filming projects. These take included operas, theatrical plays and (my recent project) a series of 2-hour musicals filmed with 6 UHD cameras. Having built up a broad breadth of cognition of multi-photographic camera filming'south intricacies, I here share some useful tips and advice for you to consider should yous be embarking on a multi-camera filming project for the first time. These tips are based on my experience working equally a solo cameraman in producing and filming such multi-camera productions.
Multi-camera production
When commissioned for a multi-camera production, it is important to understand exactly what you are responsible for delivering. Plainly, there are many elements to manage when filming live performances with multiple cameras by yourself. On previous multi-camera gigs, I have ensured that specific production staff manage and deliver the last quality soundtrack, which has enabled me to concentrate solely on the visuals. When this has not been possible for some gigs, I have as well recorded the 'equally live' audio. Any type of product you are working on, ensure that defined parameters are agreed upon with the director ahead of the booking confirmation, and whatever back up you require volition exist provided to deliver the final projection.
Location recce
Visit the filming location as before long as you can to ascertain what spots could work best to locate your positions for all your cameras, photographic camera tripods and where yous could potentially safely and securely mount any camera support brackets. Each venue and 'on the nighttime' environment will present many different challenges. By scoping out the location early and because what options yous have, yous tin can make the best-informed decisions and subsequent recommendations to concur with your product team. Meeting with venue staff and the production technical crew allows y'all to share ideas and resolve potential problems early in the production process. For case, yous may need to request some adjustments to the audition seating or boosted structural supports for your preferred camera positions.
Planning
With an understanding of the production brief, budget and location, you can and then program what camera ready-upward to install and what additional kit y'all may need to obtain to ensure the nigh successful upshot. By planning well ahead, you will have fourth dimension to consider many possible eventualities and options. It is important to communicate with your production team about your preferred positioning for the cameras to ensure that works with their ain requirements for the production, the cast and the location when considering the environment and any potential audiences. You may demand to offer workflow and technical guidance to your production team and any on-location crew if they are new to the experience of filming alive productions.
Visual consistency
Ideally, all the different photographic camera recordings have a similar or matching aesthetic. Yous may adopt to use all the same brand and model of cameras with visually consistent lenses if possible. I notice information technology very helpful to ensure each photographic camera I utilize for a multi-photographic camera production can give the same visual look. This may mean filming with all the cameras gear up at the same codec and resolution. Filming with a 'LOG' loftier dynamic range picture profile volition give you much more than flexibility in mail service-production when it comes to colour grading the pictures. When filming with a LOG profile, setting the aforementioned measured Kelvin temperature on each camera and ensuring the cameras exposure settings all match will give the aforementioned consistent results.
Multi-camera exposure
With many of the theatrical productions that I have filmed, I take needed to set the exposure settings to allow for a very wide range of light conditions (for instance, from very night to brightest). I manner of managing this is to ascertain the hottest, whitest or brightest point of the product. To do this, you need to factor in the set-design, cast clothing, props and lighting. Once you lot have identified this moment, you tin can inquire your production to re-create it and so that y'all can and then calculate the exposure settings based on that bespeak. The groovy advantage of filming in LOG or a like is that information technology ensures the maximum colour information is recorded. This will requite yous a much greater range of adjustment in post-production and besides ensures that you don't end up with burnt-out whites, for example. In setting your cameras exposure settings, you will also need to consider how sensitive your cameras are besides low light levels. I accept previously filmed in transmission exposure, which ensures my frame rate and aperture remain fixed, and I then set the Auto ISO range for each photographic camera to and so adjust what best suits the dissimilar light levels.
Setting-upwards time
The more cameras you are filming with, the more than time yous should permit for setting up everything into position ahead of the production. I personally prefer to bring my kit together the dark before any gig. I clean all my lenses, check my camera sensors, wipe and format all my camera data cards and ensure all the camera settings are all the same. Also, bringing together all my camera supports and tripods that might exist required as well every bit any other support equipment. Other things to consider will be camera power and possible bombardment requirements support. Ensuring everything is running off mains power will requite you one less matter to worry nearly.
Managing media requirements
Calculate how much media you lot volition need for your recording and how you will manage that. If you are recording onto camera data cards, make sure they are sufficiently large to record the whole performance. If you are besides editing the product, y'all will need to ensure you have enough hard drive infinite to re-create off any filmed media and whatsoever subsequent transcodes while ensuring it is fully protected on a separate dorsum-upwards bulldoze.
Photographic camera data cards
Multi-camera filming gives less time to manage the functioning and monitor each camera. It's sometimes helpful and realistic to go along all the locked-off setup cameras rolling even between brusk breaks in a functioning. To allow for this constant filming (especially when filming in 4K), I now use much larger SD data cards for each photographic camera. Likewise, by filming with two SD data card slots in each camera, I tin can ensure that each photographic camera records for as long as required. In this case, it is appropriate to employ the most reliable, highest quality and fastest data cards. Personally, I've ever used SanDisk SD cards during my multi-camera filming, and they have never let me down.
Film a rehearsal
If you take the choice of setting upwards all the cameras and filming a apparel rehearsal, take advantage of this benefit as it will help test your workflow and ensure everything is working according to plan before the actual primary operation. Filming the rehearsal also enables yous to review your filmed footage, camera settings and camera angles to define if whatever improvements can be made earlier filming the designated performance. One time you take watched the filmed rehearsal operation, y'all might want to alter a camera position or employ a different lens to capture a improve bending of performance, for example.
Lighting and set changes
Afterwards watching the filmed rehearsal performance, you may wish to make some recommendations to the production and technical team to assistance improve the filming of the final live production. For example, in previous productions, I accept suggested lighting changes to avoid very darkly lit sets and adjustments to cast positions to avoid the blocking of cameras. Viewing the rehearsal footage has besides enabled me to come across the range of cast movement and suitably accommodate my photographic camera positions and lenses used.
Filming notes
Afterward filming a rehearsal, it may help you lot to watch the performance through and compile a list of short filming notes. These may help yous ensure any filming with a longer lens capturing closer shots can as well follow the action should yous be less familiar with the whole production'southward progress. Your shots guidance list can exist placed close to any moving camera position as an aide memoir during the main filming session.
Recording sound
It'south essential to ensure that whatsoever sound recording is recorded at the same frame rate as your video recording. For instance, if yous record the video at 25 frames per 2nd (FPS), then ensure that the audio recording is existence recorded at the same or a compatible setting. For very long recordings, some 'drift' might occur on unlike recording devices. Ensuring whatsoever sound recording records the opening and end clapper boards will help you easily check the audio recording matches the video recording.
Syncing sound
To ensure the sound and vision can all exist synced upwards accurately in post-product, I usually use a clapper lath to ensure a visual and sound reference for each camera. At the terminate of the performance, I as well practice an cease clap so that you can speedily check if there has been whatsoever 'drift' and ensure everything is completely in sync in the edit. Depending on the camera angles, you lot may need to do boosted claps if one handclapping volition non suffice for being captured in vision across all cameras. If you can sync the timecode of all of your cameras, this will too aid you sync all the different angles in post-production. Remember, if you have a long break in the performance, y'all may demand to take an cease clap before yous stop the cameras and then another clap after you restart them all.
Camera codecs
Consider which photographic camera codec and which quality setting to record with. Ask yourself what is required of the media subsequently filming. Volition you be managing the postal service-production yourself, or volition someone else'southward workflow and mail service-production system demand to be considered? An overview of the product and post-product procedure will assist yous ensure that you deliver the highest quality, virtually suitable and near uniform media for any given projection.
Backing up photographic camera media
Filming with multiple-cameras likewise ways you lot will demand to manage much more data carefully. It's ever a great thought to support any recording immediately onto hard drives using a laptop. Organising your camera media into split camera folders tin can also assist prevent any confusion when a great deal may be happening around you at the same time. Creating one or more clones of that hard drive data is the safest style to secure your data. Always brand sure you have a checked re-create and clone earlier y'all articulate downwardly your camera data cards.
Multi-camera postal service-production
Filming with two or three boosted cameras means managing 2 or 3 times as much information, so having enough media storage becomes an of import outcome. If your camera media needs transcoding, or any other workflow earlier editing, this will besides add meaning actress postal service-production fourth dimension. You then have the fun of editing all your amazing footage with multi-camera editing and then delivering a whole cute production that you've produced, filmed and edited all on your ain!
Multi-photographic camera filming
Multi-photographic camera filming is a swell way to add together value to any high-quality product. Modern smaller lighter cameras are an first-class solution for multi-camera filming of theatrical and operatic performances, live gigs, music promos and ane-off events.
I promise these above points aid give some insight and help those considering multi-camera productions for the commencement time.
You might like to read some of my other blog posts:
Theatre video production
Filming a panel discussion
Working equally a freelance information wrangler
Fixing a RAID 5 drive assortment
Source: https://julianlangham.co.uk/multi-camera-filming-tips/
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