Multi Camera Shoot. How Long on each Shot?

[JeffReckart]

I liked the advice here enough that would like to see it as a sticky!

[jmichaelthurman]

Good stuff. My wife added it to her agenda for a Multimedia class she's teaching this fall. Loved the Don Hewitt interview.

Best,
Michael

[grinner]

Live switching is just like editing... you just apply the timing in real time. Each shot's running time varies, depending on the content and the pacing you want. Don't cloud your head by counting... watch the show as ya cut it.

[Paris MkVI]

Ultimately your primary purpose for the video drives these decisions.

I see it as two tracks you can select form - presentation or production.

The presentation track basically says that what is happening in the sanctuary has the priority. That is, you are making shot choices for what people in the congregation will see on the screen. The most common use of this approach is IMAG situations.

The production track basically says that viewers outside the room have the priority. Now you are making shot choices based on the fact that these people are not in the room. So you must give them establish shots and other imagery that allows them to successfully imagine the space, and use shot selection to enhance what they receive.

We utilize a mix of both - about 95% presentation and 5% production. Our focus is giving the sanctuary good IMAG coverage, so folks sitting in the "way-back" can still receive the full emotive communication and facial expression from the pastor. This means a lot of our coverage is a medium shot, effectively making a virtual 18' tall version of him on the screens. But we're on the web (wbcc.net) and using DVD distribution as well. So we "season" the presentation with just a sprinkling of wides and establishing shots, allowing these viewers to connect to the environment.

The limitations of our switcher and nature of our graphics design at this point means we go between full-screen camera and full-screen graphics 99% of the time. Often when I come back from FS graphics I'lll use a subject-wide (head-to-toe of the pastor), then cut back to the medium at a natural break in his speaking rhythm, or some other point that motivates the switch.

But after those transitions, we stay on the medium shots for a very long time - because presentation in the room and IMAG is the priority.

Short version (obviously not MY specialty!) - your priority will in part define your production approach, including shot length.

[greenidge]

Great information, thanks! We don't do any IMAG as we don't need to because of the size of the sanctuary but all the other comments on shooting for those not in the building apply to us, as we are only shooting for the web.

[Jay M]

There has already been some great advice here. I have only been doing video for about 5 years, and only in our church. My experience is limited, but here is what I have learned.

For preaching:
We use a 3 camera setup with PTZ cameras. There are two people, one operates the switcher, and the other operates the cameras. The guy on the switcher is the director. He requests the shots, the camera operator gets, them, then the switch operator takes them.

At first I though that in order to make a less boring video I should be constantly switching cameras. What I finally realized is that as I was sitting there my eyes always gravitated to the monitor that had a closeup, regardless of what was on the program monitor. That made me realize that closeups are almost always best and that is where we need to be 90% of the time with our pastor. For the other 10% we sprinkle in crowd shots and wide shots to give a bit of context.

Music:
We don't usually broadcast music, so I have little experience there. But I do have a strong opinion My opinion is that you always need to show the most important thing happening.

Watch live concert DVDs from Rush. They seem to be one of the few bands who get it. for example, when Neil Peart is doing a cool fill, the camera always catches it, when Alex Lifeson does a solo or cool lick on the guitar, the camera catches it, when Getty does some cool bass lick or does some fancy keyboard part on the pedals that camera catches it.

On the other hand most concert videos appear to be directed by people who have no concept of what music is. For instance, when the guitarist is doing some cool solo or lick, the camera is not on him, but instead it might be on the lead singer giving a nod of approval to the soloing guitarist who you can't see!

So in both cases you need to know your pastor, and know the music to get good shots. It would be a huge help if you could communicate the camera operators. If you can't afford a clearcom, maybe you just do a 4 way call on cell phones and bluetooth headsets. Free airtime on weekends

~Jay

[greenidge]

Thanks Jay I see what you are saying. Knowing what's about to happen and setting up the shot for it is key. We broadcast both the Music and Message segments of the service online so that all applies. Nothing worse than hearing a sax solo and seeing the piano player!

[cjsebes]

All great points and suggestions so far.

In a perfect video world, there is a director calling the shots, telling the camera operators what to shoot and telling the technical director (the person working the switcher) what shots are live and what is up next. All this would be done in a separate control room while speaking to everyone over RTS headsets.

Of course it's not like that for many churches and mine is included. In the open-air balcony of our 225-year-old church, we use two Videonics MX-1 switchers, four remote-controlled PTZ cameras (three in the balcony and one up front), one PC for lyrics, and one DVD player for special presentations, all of which is controlled by a single person.

Personally, I always keep a tight shot on the pastor and follow him. Then a medium shot on the pastor for two reasons: 1) different shot, and 2) in case something happens that I need to go wider. Since we have the luxury of more than two cameras, I'll have camera 3 on a wide shot to get the whole room in. That's my safety. Camera 4 faces the congregation, so I use that when the pastor invites the children up and he's facing the front of the church or if someone in the congregation is speaking.

If someone is going to be speaking at the lectern and the pulpit, I'll put a camera on each with a third camera set for wide, and get it ready to switch on a dime. You just have to anticipate the shots but keep a wide as a safety in case someone falls asleep at their post.

Most of our video goes out over the web, so I try not to do too much movement in order to maximize our limited bandwidth. We output 382kbps for audio and video as a 320x240 up-scaled video. To me, soft, upscaled video looks better than blocky, compressed, full-screen video. Hopefully we will get an upgrade at some point.

My advice is to watch a couple of services on the big networks if you can and notice what they do. You may not have the best gear, but you can mimic what they do and get ideas for how long they stay on a shot.

And don't forget to enjoy it!

Peace!
Chris