Next, Jim heads over to the multi-purpose room. Shooting video indoors requires a similar careful approach. Inside a building, there is a stronger possibility that the wireless mike may not work properly, due to greater interference and dropouts caused by the radio transmission bouncing off walls and arriving at the receiver at slightly different times.

Jim rigs the mike transmitter at the podium and discovers a large dead spot near his preferred shooting area. But by moving several feet to one side, sound comes through loud and clear. He sticks a small piece of duct tape on the floor to mark his exact location.

The next item on Jim's agenda is power. He checks for the nearest power outlets, and notes that it only has two plugs. If he wants to set up a monitor other equipment, he may need to bring a power strip as well as an extension cord. Jim asks a maintenance person where the circuit breakers or fuse box can be found, to be prepared for potential power problems.

After telling him where the circuit box is located, the maintenance person tells Jim that the sound board will be very close to his camera, so Jim makes a note of the type of connector and cable he will need to pull sound right off the board. It always pays to check this out very closely. Accidentally pumping speaker voltage into the camera's mike-level input will be sure disaster.

Jim notes that the stage is bathed in a strange pink glow; the flourescent lights illuminating the stage have a very strange tint to them. Our man Jim likes to come prepared: a trip to his car produces a small portable TV that he plans to use as a shooting monitor. Running a cable from his camera to the TV confirms his suspicions. The white balance cannot cope with this weird light. He tries the outdoor and indoor presets and decides in this case he will have to manually white balance the camera. Zooming in on a piece of white paper will produce a true white and Jim is relieved to see natural colors reappear on his monitor.

Jim's location research is complete. He has created a checklist, investigated the sound and light characteristics of both the indoor and outside spaces and has talked with people in charge of the event. When he gets home, he will put it all down in order in his notebook and calendar. No surprises and a fun day are what a methodical investigation of location is all …