As my very first gig, with my new XH-A1, I will be videotaping a friend's seminar.

My big question is how I should go about getting the audio. I have not yet purchased any audio equipment, but I'm eyeballing either a AT897 Shotgun Mic ( Audio-Technica | AT897 - Shotgun Microphone Kit | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=400801&is=REG) ) or a Sennheiser G2 series Lav kit ( Sennheiser | Evolution G2 100 Series Basic Kit | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=424668&is=REG) ).

I believe I will be about 20-40 ft away from the talent. Could I setup a mic close to one of the speakers and get exceptional sound? Will I be fine having the AT897 mounted on my camera? or Will it come down to having to place a lav on the talent?

Also, since this is my first time shooting a stage performance - Which angle is more video friendly? Left, Right, Center? Assuming there are no obstacles in the way...

Any other tips/tricks I should know? Other suggested mics to purchase? Keep in mind that I am one-manning this and that the shoot date is coming up in a matter of weeks. I will post more details as soon as I get them.

I've been a reader for quite some time and I must say that these are some mighty nice boards.

Thanks in advance!

My big question is how I should go about getting the audio. I have not yet purchased any audio equipment, but I'm eyeballing either a AT897 Shotgun Mic ( Audio-Technica | AT897 - Shotgun Microphone Kit | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=400801&is=REG) ) or a Sennheiser G2 series Lav kit ( Sennheiser | Evolution G2 100 Series Basic Kit | B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart&A=details&Q=&sku=424668&is=REG) ). You want the mic as close to the subject as possible. For this situation, the lav will work better.
I believe I will be about 20-40 ft away from the talent. Could I setup a mic close to one of the speakers and get exceptional sound? No.
Will I be fine having the AT897 mounted on my camera? Nope.
or Will it come down to having to place a lav on the talent? You betcha.

Which angle is more video friendly? Left, Right, Center? Assuming there are no obstacles in the way... Eyeball 'em all. I'd start with something a little off center. If you get too wide the presenter will never look like he/she's presenting to the camera.
Keep in mind that I am one-manning this and that the shoot date is coming up in a matter of weeks. That will make running a wireless setup a bit more difficult, but not impossible. In this situation if your presenter is going to move around the stage or his presentation area a lot a wired lav mic will not work.

Is there going to be a sound board and is the speaker going to be mic'd by a sound person? If so, pull a feed from the board and go from there.
As for where to shoot from generally slightly off center is the best for a 1 camera shoot. I've been doing seminars of up to 3 or 4 thousand people with up to 5/6 cameras and found that the 1 camera slightly off center is still the number 1 tally.
Many of the seminars I do have a speaker who rabbits around the stage, I go slightly wide and that way I don't have to firehose the camera as much-it makes people sick to the stomach watching it. It's especially bad when you're IMAG ;-(

Anyway, find out if the speaker will be mic'd thru a board, if not, well I'd seriously consider renting or buying some decent audio gear, a shotgun (or any on camera mic) ain't gonna get it done.
Don