Live Multicam Shooting--Help needed ASAP!

[John Ekis]

Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read this!

I will try to make this brief. I have been asked to organize video for a bar who caters to live music and comedy productions. The owner would like to provide DVDs for customers of the bands they see the night they see them or shortly thereafter. I have done a decent amount of research into this already but have not had the experience of using the specific equipment I believe I need. Here is what I THINK I'll need. We will primarily be using 3 cameras with sound coming directly from the soundboard. Let me know if any of you have any experience with this or suggestions--I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer! The owner seems to have a decent budget but low AND high ideas are welcome.

-An Eartec Four-person wired intercom system for communication
-Datavideo SE-800 Digital Video Mixer with 4 DV inputs or possibly the SE-800 Analog version if the DV is out of budget, or even the SE-500 if it's really out of budget. Has anyone used any of these?

Then would I need to run the video mixer to a laptop for capture? Could I use Quicktime Pro to record it directly then output to FCP for any additional quick edits?

He also wants the capability to stream the video over the internet if possible. I know of quicktime broadcaster... but is there something else that may work better?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Hart Boyd]

You might want to look at a TriCaster, TriCaster Pro or TriCaster Studio by NewTek since you are wanting to stream and capture also. The units are basiclly a complete studio in a box.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.newtek.com/tricaster/

[Kevin Fox]

John:

Sounds like a cool gig. I have done some of the same type of work. When shooting bands, be sure you have good intercoms. I am not that familiar with Eartec, (and they may be fine for the price), but be sure you can communicate over a LOUD PA! I am fond of ClearCom. They are a bit pricey, but they are the industry standard for theater and tv. If you and your camera ops cannot hear each other you may be in for a long night.

Datavideo seems like a decent choice. Also check into Edirol by Roland. They have a V-440 that handles both HD and SD (if you need both, or to "future-proof" your investment???)

Lastly, (not to beat a badly wounded horse) but C.Y.A. when it comes to recording and distributing or "streaming" copywritten material. I know this would not seem like your problem as the "tech" on this endevor, but be careful! You don't want your good reputation in the middle of a mess.

My technical experience extends more into live video for projection, so I'll let the experts on streaming and capture take over now. Hope some of this helps!

Best of luck on your project.

Kevin Fox
F.M. Industries

[Andrew Fraser]

The Datavideo 800 is a good choice. SD, BNC/Svideo, 4 Camera, Intercom, 4x Small LCD, 2x Medium LCD all you supply is the device to record to - thats if you buy it in the Portable Studio Roadcase setup.

[Colin McDonald]

I've done a fair bit of 3/4 camera live shows using the Focus Enhancements MXPro DV and here'e a couple of things that occur to me:

DV input is great but have you a solution for the cable lengths? I've seen some extra long DV cable systems advertised but haven't heard how good they are. The difference in quality with analogue inputs is noticeable, especially if there's a mixture.

Sound from the board is great too (if the sound man knows his job) but it can leave holes like occasional audio "blackouts" and little or no audience reaction/ambient sound. You might need a simple audio mixer to add in some ambient and it gives the possibility of your own title music or commentry.

I have a cheap fix for titling where there are no surprise acts: I make up title sequences in advance on a laptop and put them on a DVD, each sequence on a new chapter. Then I just mix them in live during the show. Maybe living dangerously, but it saves a lot of time in post. I just use iMovie and iDVD for this.

Another point just occurred: less important in a bar than in a theatre but make sure the lighting dept remember about the video and get them to avoid unsuitable effects eg sudden blackouts, only red floods etc. I'm not a lighting expert but there's a whole bunch of things that don't work on live video, especially if you're not expecting them. I've now started to put on-camera lights on a couple of cameras just for emergencies. Even a 20W PAGlight can save you if you are dumped in it by lighting - you get good at knowing when to keep your finger on the on switch. Good for radio linked guitars and vocalists who insist on leaving the stage too, because they are often not lit. Does the bar have a follow spot?

[Ervin Farkas]

I do live streaming on a weekly basis - my advice is to stay away from QT. Most people have issues getting the embedded player to run on PCs, and let's be clear on this, 95+% of computers are PCs. I use a live streaming server and the (free) Windows Media Encoder - have good feedback from all over the world.

Datavideo is great, I use the analog version SE-800, component in (Sony Z1 cameras), component out to a Datavideo converter box - takes either one of component, S-Video, or composit signals plus audio and outputs two DV signals (firewire); one of them goes into the streaming PC, the other one into a direct DVD burner - this way at the end of the church service I have the master ready. In your case, with a multiplicator tower, by the time the audience leaves, DVDs could be already sold... just an idea.

One caveat on the sound - while it may sound great on location, you might be in for a headache listening to the recorded signal... the DJ will mix for the restaurant, not for you. What I mean by this is that some instruments may be loud enough to get by with minimal amplification, thus missing (or have low level) on your recording. Ideally you should split the signal coming into their mixer and creat your own mix!

Intercom: depending on the type of music, you might be fine with the Eartec, but forget it if it's anything loud, you will need something better.

[Sunarto Sosrosaputro]

I want to buy video mixer with budget under $1000.
Can anyone recommended the video mixer?
I want video mixer + chroma key.

Thx

[Ron Evans]

I believe that most dance competitions etc, which usually record dances and then sell afterwards now record directly to DVD recorder then copy this disc. You might want to take your DV output straight to a DVD recorder and do the same. You won't have fancy menus but it will be quick. I believe the dance copiers use a hard drive DVD recorder at the order desk to select the particular dances etc to copy. You might want to look into how they do it.

Ron Evans

[Jason Boyette]

For the video mixer $1000

Edirol V-4

Has 4 inputs...a great machine

http://www.edirol.net/products/en/V-4/index.html

[Paul R Johnson]

I second the direct to DVD route - you can always run tape too, if you need a backup/security/re-order facility - You can do the dvd in real time, 2 mins to finalise, and then duplicate on a 7 to 1 or similar pretty quickly. Digitising, then producing the DVD takes far too long for this quick, sell-through style of approach.

[Sunarto Sosrosaputro]

Originally Posted by Jason Boyette

For the video mixer $1000

Edirol V-4

Has 4 inputs...a great machine

http://www.edirol.net/products/en/V-4/index.html

Is there more cheaper than that?