2013.04.27 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues

[ScreamingSlave]

Looks like Boston is a no go sadly live nation charges for filming at HOB if you plan to film anyway be careful.

[Ash512]

TOIOU/RITC VIDEO ROLL CALL

!!SHOW SPOILERS AHEAD!!

As you may or may not know, people from Reflecting In The Chrome and ThisOneIsOnUs got together to record and edit the Chicago show for an upcoming release. We shot the whole show with 5 high-end XDCAMs and two DSLRs and we are currently in the process of collecting any extra footage. As always with those projects, the more we have, the better. So we're going to call out for anyone who wants to record upcoming shows, here are a few tips to help make your footage match with ours if you'd like to contribute.

First of all, whereas we had passes and official permission to record the Chicago show, we cannot provide such help for upcoming shows. Some venues, like HoB in Boston, charge royalties for bands who want to record their shows. So it's even beyond the bands control. Although, for those who'll try to sneak in their gear anyway, read on :

We're going to try to refrain from using iPhone/Flip, etc footage and concentrate on higher end gear. You can still let us know if you shoot with those, but we can't promise we'll use it. However, if you've got a DSLR that shoots in 1080p (5D, 7D, 60D, etc), or a prosumer HD camcorder (Panasonic HVX-200/Sony EX1, EX3, FS100, NXCAM/etc), we're definitely takers!

Technical specs :
-Set EVERYTHING manually. No autofocus, no autoexposure, no auto white balance.
-DON'T EVER CUT : we need continuous shots of the entire show, including breaks between songs. If you cut, we'll have to manually resynch your video and that can be a pain in the ass, especially if you cut between each and every song. If for some reason you had to cut, let us know when you submit your footage.
-Record in 1920x1080, 24 frames per second, with the highest possible bitrate on your cameras.
-Use whichever Picture Profile's got the most dynamic range or manually set everything to neutral except contrast which you'll want to drop even more. If you shoot with a DSLR, I can't insist enough that you get Technicolor's CineStyle profile. The image will look flat and lifeless but, trust us : that's what we need for color correction.
-Set & lock your white balance manually to 3200K. Don't try to make custom white balances with a sheet of white paper : these will always result in great difference between cameras for various reasons.
-Try to keep your ISO sensitivity as low as possible. It'd be best never to go over ISO 600. It probably won't be possible given the low light environment but keep that in mind anyway.
-Open your aperture as much as possible. Most Sony's will open up to f2.8 which is great for the lighting conditions.
-If you still don't have quite enough light, instead of boosting the ISO, you can slightly slow down the shutter speed (1/40 should be fine, but don't go below 1/30 or you'll get trails whenever there is movement).
-If your camera has such tools, I suggest you display your Histogram and your Peaking at all times. Histogram is a little graphic that shows which parts of the screen is over or underexposed. Slightly underexposed is okay, slightly overexposed is not okay in the digital world, so try to watch out for overexposure. Peaking will highlight all pixels that are sharp, which is going to make it much easier to focus especially on small LCD displays.
-If you are filming with a zoom from a single position for the entire show, zoom in as far as you can go, focus on the farthest thing you see. Everything in between will stay sharp and you won't have to worry again about focus.

-Try not to move around the venue too much. It's always better if you stay in one place and film from that spot the entire time. That way when we're editing, we're sure your angle will be usable at all times and won't have to worry that you're shaking or moving around. If you're zooming in or out and panning across the stage, make sure you stop long enough in between movements... In otherwords, don't just keep scanning and moving around : that's unusable. You want to make at least 30 seconds to a minute-long stops between each move for us to cut easily.
-If you've never heard of the Rule of thirds, read this carefully before going in. Try not to frame anything dead center unless you're filming a very wide shot. Always put your subject on one third of the image.


What we most need :
-Dynamic, handheld shots from the pit.
-Closeups. As per Rob's indication though : don't bother trying to get closeups when the band is hidden behind the screens. They are meant to be hidden, the show is all about video projections at those points. Ice age and Fur-lined, by exemple, will give you better opportunities to film the performers and zoom in real close.
-We'll still take everything else you shoot, though.

Postproduction :
-I will need you upload your original, uncompressed data (if you shoot with camcorders, I need the entire card structure and not just the video files) to your own DropBox account (or whichever hosting site you like, WeTransfer, etc) and then share it with me. If you record on cameras with higher bitrates like P2s, we might need you to send a HDD for which we might be able to cover shipping.
-My DropBox account for you to share your files with me : pp.chevigny-le.blanc@umontreal.ca
-When you submit your footage, make sure your mention your online screen name, your full name and address, cellphone number so we can keep in touch.


I think that's it. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at either ones of those addresses :
ppchevigny@filmssix.com
pp.chevigny-le.blanc@umontreal.ca

Most importantly : enjoy yourselves!
-Pier-Philippe

[thegoodsoldier87]

Thanks for the information Ash512! Also for people who are shooting with a DSLR, remember that most have a limit to recording time, most Canon DSLRs will limit you to 12mins per shot when shooting at 1080. Also make sure your SD card is class 6 or higher.