The Beginner's Corner - School Plays

 My son is going to be starring in his school play next week. I've never recorded a play before. What advice do you have for recording events like this?

 

 

You’re not alone, hapless parent. School plays and concerts are always a huge event for children and parents alike. Here are some tips to make sure your school-play video gets a standing ovation.

 

It may seem silly but depending on what your child is performing, you may not be allowed to record it. Double-check with the play's director to make sure recording devices will be allowed in the theater prior to the event.

 

Plays are long, very long. Even the strongest man wouldn't want to hold a camcorder up for several hours in a dark theater. Handheld video already tends to be shaky, and that shakiness only gets worse the longer you are forced to hold the camera up. With a tripod, you can set your camcorder up at the beginning of the play and then enjoy the play along with everyone else. Your video viewers will appreciate watching a steady video of the play rather than one that drifts up and down as your arm muscles wear out.

 

Audio recorded with the built-in camcorder microphone is going to have a horrible echo and be difficult, if not impossible, to understand. An external microphone that you plug into the mic input on your camcorder can be a great way to make sure you get excellent audio. If the school is running the play through an audio system see if you can plug into the school audio board and use their audio. If you can't plug into the school's audio board, then try setting up a microphone near one of the stage speakers. Remember that your microphone is going to amplify sound including noise created by other patrons so select a location where your microphone isn't going to be disrupted. If you can record two channels of audio on your camcorder, try recording one channel via the microphone on your camcorder and another through your external microphone, this will give you much better audio options when it comes time for editing.

 

No one wants to sit behind the person with the camcorder, and as the person with the camcorder, you don't want to end up behind the lady with the huge hair. Arrive at the theater early and get yourself prime real estate at center stage in the back row. That position will allow you to get a good look at the entire stage while staying out of other theater goers way.

 

If you have access to two camcorders, it can be nice to set up one camcorder in back to record an establishing shot of the stage and then use your other camcorder to focus on particular parts of the stage. The other camcorder can ensure that you don't miss a moment of the show and that you have somewhere to go editing should you have a recording mishap.

 

The auction in plays move pretty quickly. Try to record wide shots as much as possible. Chances are when you zoom in on something the action will immediately change to their other side of the stage or another character forcing you to pan quickly or zoom in and out frequently. Lots of camcorder movement can make your video difficult, if not impossible, to watch. Try to keep camcorder movements to a minimum. Any movements like zooms or pans or tilts that you decide to do should be done slowly and should always include all of the characters in the scene.

 

Many parents have the natural inclination to follow their child around on stage with the camcorder completely neglecting the rest of the cast. No one is going to want to watch two hours of close ups of just your son with no other cast members making an appearance. Try to be as objective as possible when recording the video and include everyone on stage equally, it will make for a much more entertaining video once the curtain falls.

 

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Emily Price works in professional broadcast and is a blogger for CamcorderInfo.com. Got a question for Emily? Send it here.