First time shooting concert footage with V2 500

Jason Banker · October 2, 2005

Hi,

I will be shooting about 30 minutes of V2 500 at a large venue and need some advice about exposure. This is the first time I am shooting concert footage and have a few questions.

Did I chose the proper speed film? (I was afraid of underexposure, now I am thinking I might have to avoid overexposing)

I have a sekonic light meter and usually meter the light with the white dome from the actors postion. Since I will not be able to stand where the musicians are how do I check for proper exposure?

Do I just retract the dome and spin the head toward the stage and use that reading? There is also another head attachment that I have never used that I believe is used for spot metering things like landscapes. Should I try and use that?

Also with the amount of variation from the different light sources and the constantly changing light levels, do I take different readings as setups change or do I just set one stop and stick to it?

If I change locations ie. move directly next to the stage, would my f-stop change from my balconey shots? Should I then take another reading?

Basically this is something completely new for me and I need advice. All of my previous film work has been under controlled situations and this just seems like chaos. I just want to ensure I properly meter for the talent.

Any insight would be great,

Thanks

Jason Banker · October 2, 2005

Sorry about the mulitple posts! There seems to be some bug.

I got 3 errors, and when I logged back into the forum I saw it actually posted 3 times.

Well at least, I am not the only one. Another guy posted his 4 times.

Can anyone erase those extra posts? <_<

Dimitrios Koukas · October 2, 2005

B)-->

QUOTE(Jason B @ Oct 2 2005, 08:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi,

I will be shooting about 30 minutes of V2 500 at a large venue and need some advice about exposure. This is the first time I am shooting concert footage and have a few questions.

Did I chose the proper speed film? (I was afraid of underexposure, now I am thinking I might have to avoid overexposing)

I have a sekonic light meter and usually meter the light with the white dome from the actors postion. Since I will not be able to stand where the musicians are how do I check for proper exposure?

Do I just retract the dome and spin the head toward the stage and use that reading? There is also another head attachment that I have never used that I believe is used for spot metering things like landscapes. Should I try and use that?

Also with the amount of variation from the different light sources and the constantly changing light levels, do I take different readings as setups change or do I just set one stop and stick to it?

If I change locations ie. move directly next to the stage, would my f-stop change from my balconey shots? Should I then take another reading?

Basically this is something completely new for me and I need advice. All of my previous film work has been under controlled situations and this just seems like chaos. I just want to ensure I properly meter for the talent.

Any insight would be great,

Thanks

Jason,

Is there any posibility for you, to do some readings before the show?

When they rehearsing or anything , or when they do the lighting reh?

What camera do u use?

Are u familiar with 500 Asa stock?

Many times if you know the stock and what u see thru the viewfinder, u can adjust accordingly to your experience.

The use of a spotmeter might be a good idea, but I am not sure if u will have this time.

Would you have someone with you to take the readings?

Some 16mm cameras also have a photometer install, that would be helpfull.

Dimitrios Koukas

Jason Banker · October 2, 2005

B)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jason B @ Oct 2 2005, 08:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>
Jason,

Is there any posibility for you, to do some readings before the show?

When they rehearsing or anything , or when they do the lighting reh?

What camera do u use?

Are u familiar with 500 Asa stock?

Many times if you know the stock and what u see thru the viewfinder, u can adjust accordingly to your experience.

The use of a spotmeter might be a good idea, but I am not sure if u will have this time.

Would you have someone with you to take the readings?

Some 16mm cameras also have a photometer install, that would be helpfull.

Dimitrios Koukas

It might be possible to get into the sound check but I doubt the lighting guy is going to be there, but I am not sure?

I have to go in assuming the worst, and need to know what other ways I can meter and get good results with the 500 speed stock. V2 has good exposure lattitude compared to fugi in my opinion, but my experience with the stock is shooting in low light with the lens fully stopped down to F1.3 to get what ever exposure I could.

This situation scares me because of the large concentration of light that is on the stage and my distance from it.

Obviously 500 speed would be overkill if I was actually on the stage with them, but I am going to be mostly shooting from a balconey that is at the back of the venue. My thought is that with that big of a distance there has got to be some light fall off but I am not sure how that gets factored in if I am zoomed in at 80-100mm.

At some point I will be venturing down to the front of the stage to get some detail shots and think at that point the 500 speed will be a bit much, and might overexpose if I am not careful.

My camera doesn't have a built in meter so that won't help, and I am not skilled enough to eyeball it.

Would it be best to try and spot meter the lead singers face (if that is possible from across a concert hall) and just use that reading as my master F-stop?

I will have 1 assistant with me that could help with readings.

Keith Blankenship · October 2, 2005

I can't help you much with the film aspect but can tell you that getting readings during the sound check wouldn't be a problem. Most times, the lighting techs will use the sound check to finish aiming so there should be lights on. If not, the techs or LD likely wouldn't have a problem turning them on for you; they will likely be around somewhere.

The only problem with this may be that they usually have the house lights on - there will be people working that need them. Therefore, it may not do you much good. However, tell the light tech/director what you are doing and they will likely help you out by setting up some scenes with different light levels. A stage that looks correctly lit, even on film, will make them look better too. You could also use your assistant as a stand-in and/or have them get levels from the stage.

Good luck.

---Edit

Another thing to remember is that during the sound check, they typically don't use the follow spots.

Edited October 2, 2005 by Roadie