Helloooo in there, shoot this weekend

It looks like all the activity in this forum has died down gradually. Where did everyone go? I'm equally guilty, I have been doing a lot of business type work lately and have been neglecting my new DVC30 :( .

Regardless, hopefully someone shows up to punch me in the face with tips, cuz I need them. I have a shoot on Saturday at 8 in the morning. It's a teacher with kids behind her (in a middle school classroom setting) doing hand motions and singing songs. I will also be filming the kids as they do sit down testimonials. my own pro
This is my first 'pro' (being paid) work ever, I have done an array of my own projects, but nothing where I could be held accountable like this :eek: .

So my question is this..what things should I keep in mind, rules of thumb, lighting, timing, audio etc.

My equipment is as follows:
- 1 Giant fill light on tripod
- DVC30 w/xlr adapter and headphones
- AT835b Shotgun Mic
- Regular tripod (no moving shots)
- Homemade boompole w/shock mount

Your help is greatly appreciated, and when I am finished I will post what I can on here for everyone to see. (I will also be building a website to sell the finished product on, I have however done freelance graphic and web-design so no worries there :rolleyes: )

Have a great day everyone!

Hey everyone, been knee deep in work.

Good luck on your first gig. I guess some things to keep in mind:

Audio, don't keep the shotgun mounted on the camera. if your subjects are stationary, move the mic as close as you can to them while keeping it out of frame of coarse. Good audio makes video look better.

As for lighting, make sure you don't put them in front of a window. If your light is powerful enough, you can also use something to bounce the light to get better coverage. Practice white balancing and do it often. Other than that, just keep calm and maybe write down a checklist to go over before you shoot each time to make sure everything is set correctly before you shoot and not after you get home and watch the video only to realise that you forgot to setup something.

Hey everyone, been knee deep in work.
Practice white balancing and do it often.

White balance, I find it works so well with this camera and makes a huge difference in the video quality. Don't leave home without it. Learn how to play with it, until it comes second nature. I usually carry around a white bristol board with me to get the settings from but would love to discover something smaller or more portable to use.

One of these days I'm going to have to get out there and start playing with the other settings on this camera for my none revenue projects.

Truely impressed with this camera!

I find that remaining clam and cool really helps. Just relax and make sure to get the shots you need.

So many times being stressed out on a shoot makes you forget basic things. Just remember, your the professional, odds are your clients have no clue how to do the things your doing.