Permanent Setup for Theater

[PartyMummy]

Hello! I’ve been trying to find a suitable solution for my desired setup, but am having trouble, so I thought I’d turn to some experts.

I work with a local theater, and we’re trying to put together a permanent filming set-up. We want to the product to look something like this – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f8tKbp6qBM – but with higher quality audio.

Here’s what we’re looking for:
-On stage mic. We’re thinking something along the lines of this: http://www.bartlettaudio.com/collections/stage-floor-mics
-A permanently-mounted tethered camera. We have shows 6 nights a week, several times a night, so we need something with minimal user interaction.
-User-friendly way to initiate recordings. We’d like to have the audio and video running to the computer, and be able to simply press “record” to capture both feeds.

Is such a setup possible? This seems like it would have been done before, but I’m having trouble finding any information about a similar setup. Any camera recommendations? Since we essentially want it always-on, we’ve been considering an hd security cam or webcam.

[klookfilm]

Hi partymummy,

 

I have done several events like this; one is 3 times a year so I have learned a lot about these types of setups.

 

As far as camera I would advise away from security and web cameras while cheaper they are so for a reason.

1. poor low light performance resulting in grainy noisy images

2. cheaper materials used in them resulting in poorer image quality

3. Just wont look professional

 

My recommendation would be a gopro, even the old ones will serve you better than any security/web cam. A word of caution though go pros are not good for audio. As long as you are recording audio separate you will be fine. For the money gopros are hard to beat. I would suggest to get some accessories if this will be a permanent setup.

http://www.amazon.com/GoPro-Frame-Mount-CamKix-Compatible/dp/B00MVGRAOU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427776093&sr=8-3&keywords=gopro+housing
These casings are specific to the model of go pro you get so check first. This will allow your go pro to breathe (they do get hot) and will allow you to plug it in via usb for recording as long as your sd card will hold. The remote or smartphone app is nice for starting go pro recording, as long as your plugged in wifi wont drain your battery so why not.

 

Some of the drawbacks of a gopro are the simplicity of it, you arent going to be zooming and doing all the normal camera stuff. My gopro is my secondary camera it sits on a tripod and records a wide angle that's it. Like I said audio is a no go with go pro.

 

 

I can't say about those mic's as I have no experience with them, best bet is to look for reviews especially video reviews on youtube demonstrating its use. I would recommend using a couple audio sources, if you are willing to edit. Because if you want great audio you have to have more than one source. I have 4-5 audio sources for my shoots you wouldn't believe how some mic's pickup the craziest things. at a funeral I did recently one of my mic's was completely useless because it was picking up a radio station the entire time. Sneezing, coughing, squeaking chairs, it all gets captured when you don't want it, so I switch to another source of audio and bam no more problems.

 

I use a couple of these things: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-VN-722PC-Recorders-Built—Memory/dp/B00HFW1E1A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427776877&sr=8-7&keywords=audio+recorder
and
http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B001QWBM62/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427776932&sr=8-1&keywords=zoom+h4n
depending on mic's and such.

 

I would suggest maybe doing a permanent boom mic with one of those recorders I linked.

 

I hope this helped,

Justin Reto

klookfilm

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