MULTI-CAM VIDEO PRODUCTION FOR LIVE MUSIC
It wasn’t long ago that shooting a band with multiple camera angles and multi-tracked audio was a mammoth task that required specific, expensive gear. The software alone would cost several thousands of dollars, making a professional video recording of a band an extremely cost-prohibitive undertaking. Nowadays, where you can get Adobe Creative Cloud suite, a DSLR and an audio interface all for under a thousand dollars. It’s an exciting time to be in a band, and it’s an equally exciting time to be in the business of recording and producing. Let’s take a look at a workflow for getting top-notch results when recording multi-camera video and multitrack audio.
STEP 1: SOUND
Great sound is the key to a great video. If you can get friendly with the sound guy at soundcheck you can get a direct feed from the desk to your audio interface. I recommend the Zoom H4N, it has fantastic manual controls and has options to record through an XLR cable straight from the desk. It records WAV and MP3 so you can decided on your quality of your recording depending on length of recording.
STEP 2: SETTING UP CAMERAS
Most DSLR cameras have video recording capability these days. Beg, borrow and steal (not really) every one that you can get your hands on. With good lighting, iPhones will give you great results for some creative angles as well! Make sure you can’t see any of the cameras in your shots, and be sure you have a decent ‘wide’ shot to fall back on. Often, I’ll have to cut away from a close shot to hide an overdubbed mistake or to draw focus elsewhere. I shoot with a Manfrotto Monopod and a Canon EOS 5D Mark III Camera, it makes life easier than using a full shoulder rig when it comes to shooting in the middle of a crowd or on the side of a small stage.
STEP 3: PRESS RECORD AND CREATE A SYNC POINT
Ok, so we’re not using tape anymore… but you get the idea. Press record on everything, verify that every device is recording audio and video. If the device you are using allows custom file naming, it might be good to name each file to match the angle/camera you are using. We’re going to utilise the drummers snare drum as the sync point.
STEP 4: EDITING
Editing a multi-cam live event is a time consuming process. All the cameras should be able to see or hear the first snare drum. Once all the cameras are synced in your editing program you will easily be able to add the audio from the Zoom H4n. Scrub through the footage swapping the camera to make sure you’re still in sync. Keeping people interested and excited is the duty of this project, so making sure the audience is captivated by why they’re watching is very important.
As you can see a lot goes into shooting a live music video or multi-cam event. It’s something we pride ourselves on being able to deliver time and time again. We’ve worked with many bands, records labels and promoters to create videos for them. Make sure you get in touch with us if you’re interested in Multi-cam event filming by using our Contact page.
