When Parachute management called us for another video shoot, we were excited to be working with them again! Disclaimer: After we shot 3 music videos for them, I decided to buy their album. You should check it out too. They wanted to film a concert and capture a special duet with the band and co-headliner Kate Voegele.
So we called upon our best videographers in the Detroit and Dave Rondot stepped it up BIG TIME! Take a look at what Dave was able to do with very limited resources. BIG BIG BIG Thanks to Dave for doing an amazing job.
What is your favorite shot?
My favorite shot was the close-up on the bass guitar. I like this shot because it was a steady handheld shot with a follow focus that goes unnoticed. I also liked the close-up shot of the drummer that starts with the drummer in focus and ends with the drums in focus for the same reason although not quite as steady. How was the overall experience?It was enjoyable because shooting concerts is not what I normally do. It's always nice to shoot different things in different environments.
How long was the shoot?
Ten hours, 2:00pm to midnight. When you go into a venue that has many concerns beyond you as a video shooter you have to get there early to get on everyone's radar and to make sure your issues are considered. Getting there early first of all got me parking very close to the entrance. This was helpful for both the haul in and haul out. If I had gotten there later I would have had to park a block or more away, had difficulty getting through security, and the crowd that had already assembled at the entrance.
What were some of the challenges?
The biggest challenge was to cover the full song with less than adequate resources. To get full coverage on a live event three cameras are generally considered necessary and of course three cameras would normally require three operators. On this shoot I had three cameras but only two operators. The other cameraman was in the process of changing lenses when the song started. So for the beginning of the song there was one camera locked off on a jib arm, and the camera I was operating had a fixed prime lens and being located in a balcony was also restricted in terms of camera position. But because I arrived early I was able to get some shots during a rehearsal which were used to provide the coverage needed. These were all the close-up shots on the keyboards, guitars, drums and male singer used for the beginning of the song. At some point during shooting I realized I had gotten about all I could with the camera in hand and from that angle so I made the choice to put down that camera and take control of the locked off camera on the jib. So, in the end it looked like a three camera shoot with three operators. The better scenario would have been to have the third camera down on the floor in front of the stage. I feel missing from the coverage was a close-up of Kate Voegele.