Tips for Shooting College Musical

[gooble]

I've read various threads on plays and musicals but could not find all the answers I was looking for.

I've been asked by a relative who is a cast member/set designer of a college play to primarily take pictures of the set. I cannot shoot at a rehersal as the show is already running. He wants me to take some pics of the set before the show starts and then during the show.

There is no official photographer and I am not being paid however the person requesting this may pay me some and if I get good shots of the cast they may be interested in purchasing some. I'm not too worried about getting paid and just am glad to get some experience. I have some concerns though.

Incidentally I have a 20D, 85 f/1.8, 50 f/1.8 and 70-200 f/4.

Concern one: I don't know what approval this person has gotten for me to shoot during the show. I sat through one show already and they ask that there be no "flash" photography, implying that photography is ok, however I don't know if that included continuous shots with a rather noisy camera. During loud songs I would not be too worried as the sound would be drowned out. The theater is rather small though. Maybe 65-75 from the back row to the front of the stage. I am worried about disturbing the audience and thought it would be best if I just stayed at the back wall (the back row of seats is just a bunch of chairs).

Concern two: if I stayed clear to the back would my 85 and 50 work well. Also would the 70-200f/4 be too slow. It would allow me to get good closeups without moving down the aisle or up front ( I'm not comfortable with moving around much and especially going up front). I have not had the opportunity to look through my lenses at the venue to know what to expect. Back to the f/4 for a moment, in another thread someone mentioned that they shoot at f/5.6 frequently with no problem. Any thoughts?

Concern three: I planned on using a monopod for extra stability and to keep my arm from wearing out. Any thoughts on this? In all the threads I've read nobody's mentioned tripods or monopods.

Well, any help will be appreciated.

[kevie]

a couple of options would be this but its $800
http://www.soundblimp.com/Default.htm

or
camera muzzle which seems to be out of stock

[Dream Merchant]

Hi Gooble,

I'm going to try to answer your questions, but forgive my hazy memory.

Logistics

1) Permission - even though your relative is a cast member, be sure to get clearance from the director of the play, and that the theater director knows that you have clearance, or arrange for the staff/ushers to be informed. Besides being a matter of professional courtesy, this would save you a lot of grief, unless your relative has a lot of clout and if he or she say 'Go', it really means it's a go. Also, getting permission form the Director(s) can sometime mean getting access to areas normally shut off to members of the public/audiance. Be sure to thank those who assisted, and if you feel so inclined, pass them a nice 8x10 glossy of the closing line-up, or a key high-light of the performance as a gesture of appreciation.

2) Location - If time is not of the essence, go ahead of a perfromance and scout the location. Try and get permission to pop by in the afternoon (if it's an evening play) and really scritinise the location. Everything from strategic locations in the ailse, wings, sides of stage, and even lofters can offer advantageous shooting positions. Some of these may offer you the option of a less intrusive position.

3) Plan ahead - Attend a full-dress reharsal or a performance ahead of your shoot schedule. This would give you valuable insight about the play, more specifically, lights and timing. Bring your camera along and try to meter ahead just to get a feel of things. Shoot if possible. I know you mentioned that the show is already on, but surely they must have afternoon or short 'refreshers' along the way? If not, attend two, or even three performances.

In the past when I shot all film for stage, I would go ahead to scout, attend a few reharsals, take incident light readings for the 'must-have' highlights of the performance and do at least one test shoot. I place great importance in point #3.


Equipment

4) Lenses - Chances are, unless you get permission to shoot from the wings or lofters, your 50mm and 85mm would be your most used lenses. Be prepared to go high in the ISO settings, and use noise reduction softwares if necessary. Refer back to #3 and you'll see why attending a reharsal/performance and trying to get some test shots is important.

5) Support - A lightweight, easily set-up tripod with a quick detach (that's not noisy to set-up; some are!) is a lot more versatile than a monopod. A tripod can easily be used as a mono, and with a lightweight set-up, you're good to go. Also, it's easier to leave a tripod standing as opposed to laying down a mono, and possibly forgetting where you left it. The number of keepers with some kind of support increases dramatically as opposed to just hand-held. Consider 'bean-bag' type supports, but you'll only know if they would be useful if you do #3.

6) Shutter noise - As silliy as this may sound, drape a black or dark, THICK towel over your head and camera. This would muffle a bit of the sound to a level where only someone one or two seats away fro you would be able to hear it.

7) Attire - Wear ALL BLACK. This would decrease your level of audiance intrusion when you move around during the actual performance. Also, wear sneakers or any rubber soled shoes. Depending on the level of formality of the whole affair, normally, blending in moight make you feel more comfortable, but if it's a suit and tie affair, then you have to get yourself comfortable working in that attire.

8) Visibility - Since you will most likely be working in the dark most of the time, be very familiar with your equipment, and practise changing settings etc in the dark/low light. Carry a low-powered blue or red coloured LED torch to assist when absolutely necessary.

9) While not directly related to photography, get familiar with the play and style of performance. That would put you in a position to identify, and prepare to shoot the key highlights in the play.

10) Have fun!

Basically, I would say that while all points are important, #1 and #3 are crucial to successful shots.

Hope this helps some. I may have missed out some small, but terribly significant pointers. Please feel free to add-on.

CHEERS!

[gooble]

Thanks for the response. This really helps.

My biggest concern is that of drawing the ire of the director or the audience. The theater is rather small, seats 3-4 hundred, and I cannot get that far away from the audience in any direction. The towell idea is good and I would feel a little silly but I may have to try it. Although they imply photography is ok by stating that "flash" photography is not ok, I get the impression that they assume that an audience member may take a couple shots with their near-silent P&S, not with a rather noisy DSLR.

Another issue is that the person requesting my services has certain ideas about where to take certain shots based on the scene which would involve possibly taking shots from the aisle and moving around. I don't really like that idea at all though.

As for the tripod, I was wondering if it may be too restrictive and I don't have one anyway but I do have a monopod and quick release head. I will think about it and may pick up one as I have been planning to get one anyway ( the Bogen 3021B Pro BTW).

[gooble]

I will also have a 17-40 f/4 available. Will this be useful at f/4?

[InspiredGraphix]

Assuming that non-flash photography is ok by them only stating that flash photography is not allowed is like assuming your mum would let you run with a knife cos she only said don't run with scissors.

I would make sure you find out exactly what, where, and when you are allowed to shoot.

Rob

[InspiredGraphix]

I used a 70-200 f4 in theatre for ages until i upgraded. It all just depends on the light, and how steady your hand is.

Rob

[Dream Merchant]

On second thoughts, a mono might serve you better. It would also be less 'visible'.

Absolutely agree with Shooter Boy. I advised right at the beginning to get clearance - from the top - the Director. That's the first step before thinking about anything else because if the Director says 'NO', well, it's pretty much settled. Don't forget the other 'tops' like the Producer, Theatre Manager etc. Oftentime, quality assurance that you would not be intrusive or keep intrusions to a minimum, and heaps of courtesy will get you a long way. And sometime no matter what you do correctly, and diplomatically, a Director or Manager may still say no.

All the best for your project.

[gooble]

Well, the show has come and went. There was a slight hitch on the first of two nights I planned to take pictures. The director had given permission earlier without realizing what it entailed. So, I was not able to shoot the first night but the next day was able to do it.

I ended up using a tripod set up clear in the back. The front of the stage is only about 35 feet from the back row so I was easily able to cover it with a 17-40 f/4, 85 f/1.8 and 70-200 f/4. I loved the fast 85mm but during well lit scenes I was easily able to use the f/4s even down to ISO 400 sometimes. I had to switch lenses rather frequently to get the types of shots I wanted and it was kind of a pain (when are they gonna make a 18-200mm f/2? :) )

I was hoping my camera noise would not be an issue and I don't think it was. To my right was the sound table and all of that equipment which provided a buffer zone of sorts. To my left was an empty seat and then an older woman. I asked her at intermission if she had noticed anything and she said she didn't even notice me. There people were down and in front of me also. I did inhibit my shooting though. I could've taken a thousand shots and as it was I took only three hundred. During quiet scenes or when there was dialogue I pretty much did not shoot as it would've been audible throughout the whole theater. I missed some shots that I would've liked to take but I feel I prevented irritating the audience and possibly ruining chances of ever doing this again.

I used a ball head and realized right away that it was a little frustrating. Another frustration was the Canon shutter release cable. I tried to use it as much as possible when the shutter dipped to low levels while shooting in Av mode, but that thing is awkward to use. You have to hold it with the cable extending up and away from you when holding it with your palm facing up. I would much prefer that it was oriented like the old cable releases where you held it with the cable extending down and depressing on the bottom end. Plus it is very hard to pick up and orient right by feel when it is dark or you are concentrating on looking through the viewfinder. I could never tell which side had the stupid button.

Anyway, all in all it was a good learning experience. Out of the three hundred shots I took, I thought two hundred were pretty good and maybe twenty of those really stood out.

[René Damkot]

Well?
Post them ;)