Shooting 2 hours of Video?

Hey guys,

I've been offered a job (my first one ever) to shoot a video of a play. They just need me to put the camera on the tripod, set it up and hit play to capture the event. They're only interested in the HD/Quality of the event.

I've a 5D Mark II and was wondering how can I shoot a non-stop 2 or 3 hours of video? I have couple of 32 GB CF cards and going to get myself a battery grip/extra batter tomorrow as well.

Question is; can I possibly shoot a 2 or 3 hour constant video with it? if not, how can I? I need to answer the client asap.

Thanks

Hi,

Unfortunately, I don't think you can get around the maximum record time limits set by Canon. 30 mins IIRC. This is usually not a problem for most however, if you are shooting play, ceremonies etc you would either need a proper video camera or multiple DSLR's that you can cut between.

Do you have access to at least one more DSLR?

Seb

sebct wrote in post #15612296
Hi,

Unfortunately, I don't think you can get around the maximum record time limits set by Canon. 30 mins IIRC. This is usually not a problem for most however, if you are shooting play, ceremonies etc you would either need a proper video camera or multiple DSLR's that you can cut between.

Do you have access to at least one more DSLR?

Seb

Thanks, this is what I was thinking. Nop, don't have another DSLR.

Moin wrote in post #15612275
Question is; can I possibly shoot a 2 or 3 hour constant video with it? if not, how can I? I need to answer the client asap.
Thanks

You really cannot, your best bet in my opinion is going to be to get a copy of the script from the client and find scene changes where you can stop recording and restart without seriously breaking continuity and then use those break points to scramble and change cards etc…

Also, I would recommend you actually try to do a long shoot to shake out any problems before the actual production, the last thing you need is to hit an un-expected roadblock while recording the actual production, it would be so much better to have a problem, say in you back yard, where you can come up with a work around and no one other than you knows about the screw up.

Do keep in mind an HDSLR is a movie camera and movies are made up of short clips spliced together in post, as such the clips never hit the time limit, what you are trying to do requires a video camera or as they are known a camcorder.

And in addition you will need to determine how to grab audio, because without great audio your video will fall flat on its face.

Wayne

IMHO you need a camcorder for this sort of thing, which is exactly why I own one.

Oh, and off-camera audio -- good off-camera audio. The audio side of such a job is at least as important as the video, if not more so.

Plus post-processing software (e.g. Premiere or Vegas, etc) to sync the audio and video, along with putting the final product in whatever format the client wants.

This is not a dSLR job.

Further, for a "one shot" deal like this, where there are no second chances but the event itself is rehearsed, you should be present for, set up for and actually shoot several of the rehearsals, including most-particularly the dress rehearsal and should get (well in advance of that rehearsal) copies of the sound and lighting cue sheets. That's the only way to get a reasonable degree of control over unanticipated "surprises" -- Murphy is bad enough with preparation and planning, and without you're begging for him to visit.

Moin wrote in post #15612275
Hey guys,

I've been offered a job (my first one ever) to shoot a video of a play. They just need me to put the camera on the tripod, set it up and hit play to capture the event. They're only interested in the HD/Quality of the event.

I've a 5D Mark II and was wondering how can I shoot a non-stop 2 or 3 hours of video? I have couple of 32 GB CF cards and going to get myself a battery grip/extra batter tomorrow as well.

Question is; can I possibly shoot a 2 or 3 hour constant video with it? if not, how can I? I need to answer the client asap.

Thanks

You can't. The Mark II stops recording after roughly 12 minutes. Over three hours that means you'll be stopping and starting 15 times.

Turned it down. Don't wanna get into video anyway

I filmed a school play with my 5D Mark III last year. It can record up to 30 minutes. When I got past 20 minutes, I waited for a scene change, then did a quick stop/start.

With the 12-minute recording limit on the 5D Mark II, you are much more likely to find yourself running out of time with no scene change on the horizon.

charro callado wrote in post #15612609
You can't. The Mark II stops recording after roughly 12 minutes. Over three hours that means you'll be stopping and starting 15 times.

Well one could always do the reverse of a projectionist, that is take two bodies and mount them side to side and as the one recording hits say 10 minutes start the second one and let the first one run out, then once cooled down change the carbons, er, I mean the card and battery and go outside to have a smoke while number two times down.

Then to add a real cinematic effect, in post burn a motor cue into 4 frames beginning at 180 frames before the cut, followed by a change over cue at 4 frames ahead of the cut.

Wayne