Suggestions Invited. at DVinfo.net

Denis Danatzko · September 10th, 2006, 08:12 AM

Apologies for the length of this.
I shot a one-time event and am now editing, and am inviting suggestions on the flow of the final/edited product.

It was gratis for a non-profit, something I've never done before. I was alone, using 2 cameras (1 HVX locked down for wide shots, and 1 JVC consumer camera for close-ups), and a mixer w/5 audio feeds, all channeled into 1 camera feed on the HVX. (Despite the 5 feeds - 2 shotgun mics, 2 music, and 1 from another mixer that had only 2 performers mic'ed, the sound is merely "acceptable." One person was riding sound, but only on a separate mixer, and only for the 2 mic'ed perfomers). All recorded to miniDV, being edited w/Adobe Production Studio.

The event was a performance of a play, and the performers all have some sort of physical impairment - think stroke, accident, or brain-injury victims, i.e. all have varying levels of impaired mobility, impaired speech, etc. (Some were even in wheechairs). There were 2 main purposes to the performance:
1) to celebrate progress each person has made since the onset of their condition, and
2) to showcase the center and its' services where the people attend in order to make that progress.
In short, it was meant to be fun for the performers AND their families.

The flow of the evening went like this:
1) a welcome by the center's director,
2) an explanation (by a staff member) of what the audience should expect of the performers during the performance. (Steps 1 and 2 combined last about 20 mins).
3) an introduction by one of the center's members ("patients", for lack of a better word),
4) Act 1, Scene 1
5) a Q&A trivia session
6) then steps 4 & 5 repeated for each successive Act/Scene until a long break
7) another speech (during the long break) thanking all staff and volunteers,
8) Repeat of steps 4&5 to end of the performance.

Breaks between scenes were very long, (up tp 12 mins.), in order for the performers to change costume. That's when the Trivia questions/audience participation occurred.

I also had a still photog there, and ended up 100+ stills to use.

Should the final product show the actual flow of the evening, or should it be edited into several chapters, e.g. The Welcome, The Performance, The Trivia, The Center, The Slide Show? Instinct tells me to use those 5 segments as "chapters."

I'll have an opportunity to sell the final DVDs. More than 200 people were in the audience, and I think many would want to see their respective family member's performance, e.g. their spouse/sibiling/parent "on stage", rather than a repeat of the speeches. It would also serve as a piece or memorable "family history" for each performer.

My biggest concern is whether to follow the flow as it occurred, or to edit it into chapters as described above.

In light of it being done without charge, and without specific directions from the "customer", what would YOU do?

Suggestions invited.

Peter Jefferson · September 10th, 2006, 09:11 AM

"My biggest concern is whether to follow the flow as it occurred, or to edit it into chapters as described above. "

keep the flow... do NOT move away from it.

set the chapters to each section as youve described.. this way it will retin its structure as it happened.

Dunno how relevant the trivia would be.. maybe kill that.. depending on its standing within the whole piece (as teh one who hired you)

apart from that, i see no reason to detract from the natural way the events unfolded...

September 10th, 2006, 08:12 AM	#1
Denis Danatzko Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: NYC Metro area Posts: 579	Suggestions Invited. Apologies for the length of this. I shot a one-time event and am now editing, and am inviting suggestions on the flow of the final/edited product. It was gratis for a non-profit, something I've never done before. I was alone, using 2 cameras (1 HVX locked down for wide shots, and 1 JVC consumer camera for close-ups), and a mixer w/5 audio feeds, all channeled into 1 camera feed on the HVX. (Despite the 5 feeds - 2 shotgun mics, 2 music, and 1 from another mixer that had only 2 performers mic'ed, the sound is merely "acceptable." One person was riding sound, but only on a separate mixer, and only for the 2 mic'ed perfomers). All recorded to miniDV, being edited w/Adobe Production Studio. The event was a performance of a play, and the performers all have some sort of physical impairment - think stroke, accident, or brain-injury victims, i.e. all have varying levels of impaired mobility, impaired speech, etc. (Some were even in wheechairs). There were 2 main purposes to the performance: 1) to celebrate progress each person has made since the onset of their condition, and 2) to showcase the center and its' services where the people attend in order to make that progress. In short, it was meant to be fun for the performers AND their families. The flow of the evening went like this: 1) a welcome by the center's director, 2) an explanation (by a staff member) of what the audience should expect of the performers during the performance. (Steps 1 and 2 combined last about 20 mins). 3) an introduction by one of the center's members ("patients", for lack of a better word), 4) Act 1, Scene 1 5) a Q&A trivia session 6) then steps 4 & 5 repeated for each successive Act/Scene until a long break 7) another speech (during the long break) thanking all staff and volunteers, 8) Repeat of steps 4&5 to end of the performance. Breaks between scenes were very long, (up tp 12 mins.), in order for the performers to change costume. That's when the Trivia questions/audience participation occurred. I also had a still photog there, and ended up 100+ stills to use. Should the final product show the actual flow of the evening, or should it be edited into several chapters, e.g. The Welcome, The Performance, The Trivia, The Center, The Slide Show? Instinct tells me to use those 5 segments as "chapters." I'll have an opportunity to sell the final DVDs. More than 200 people were in the audience, and I think many would want to see their respective family member's performance, e.g. their spouse/sibiling/parent "on stage", rather than a repeat of the speeches. It would also serve as a piece or memorable "family history" for each performer. My biggest concern is whether to follow the flow as it occurred, or to edit it into chapters as described above. In light of it being done without charge, and without specific directions from the "customer", what would YOU do? Suggestions invited. __________________ Denis ------------ Our actions are based on our own experience and knowledge. Thus, no one is ever totally right, nor totally wrong. We simply act from what we "know" to be true, based on that experience and knowledge. Beyond that, we pose questions to others.

September 10th, 2006, 09:11 AM	#2
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	"My biggest concern is whether to follow the flow as it occurred, or to edit it into chapters as described above. " keep the flow... do NOT move away from it. set the chapters to each section as youve described.. this way it will retin its structure as it happened. Dunno how relevant the trivia would be.. maybe kill that.. depending on its standing within the whole piece (as teh one who hired you) apart from that, i see no reason to detract from the natural way the events unfolded...