Another ukulele holiday season

[Tom]

The Delta Strummers resume weekly rehearsals this evening, Sept 9. We have 22 songs on the provisional play list for our Christmas concerts, including several new (to us) numbers. New strummers acquired during the Summer bring our membership to almost 70 players. Time for a new group photo.

The Delta Strummers – A group of ukulele players

We're still in Wyoming until the end of the month, so I'm practicing in the RV. Maybe I need to hand out ear plugs to our neighbors.

 

[Tom]

With 5 weeks to go, after last evening's practice it feels like we need more time to be ready for our concerts. A couple of the new-to-us numbers are proving to be a challenge and need a little rearranging/tweaking. But I have no doubt our Music Director will whip us in shape.

We currently have 56 Strummers committed to perform at each of the two concerts, and only 2 undecided. This will be our largest number of performers.

Chris will again video one of the shows. The 'flat floor' format is always a challenge for the videographer, but I'm evaluating a couple of alternatives. e.g. 10 foot tripod, wifi/remote control of camera and a gimbal (for pan & tilt), remote monitor, etc. Neither of the cameras I use for video have all the features needed; One doesn't have wifi and the other doesn't have power zoom, so a new camera might be necessary.

We're also planning an updated still photo. We're spread too wide on the show risers with equipment etc, so we'll take it in an adjacent building.

 

[Tom]

We currently have 56 Strummers committed to perform at each of the two concerts...

We're now at 58. There's a strict Fire Marshall-imposed limit on room capacity; The more performers means the smaller the audience. If the band gets too big, we'll need to perform for ourselves

 

[UTTransplant]

Chris will again video one of the shows. The 'flat floor' format is always a challenge for the videographer, but I'm evaluating a couple of alternatives. e.g. 10 foot tripod, wifi/remote control of camera and a gimbal (for pan & tilt), remote monitor, etc. Neither of the cameras I use for video have all the features needed; One doesn't have wifi and the other doesn't have power zoom, so a new camera might be necessary.

Such a sacrifice! Is it kind of like each new project needs a new tool? Kevin always thinks so.

 

[Tom]

Such a sacrifice! Is it kind of like each new project needs a new tool? Kevin always thinks so.

Delayed response (I wasn't sure what you meant) ...

Chris doesn't feel it's a sacrifice (of her time); She readily helps out with anything related to the uke band, including collecting audience tickets at the door and taking videos.

As for the equipment, Chris has used a regular photographic tripod and one or both of my cameras to video our concerts. We've upgraded microphones a couple of times, thanks to feedback and suggestions from forum members.

Video taken from the balcony of a theatre where we've sometimes performed works out great, since there's nothing/nobody in front of the camera. OTOH the ballroom at a local community presents an issue for the videographer. The back row of the band is elevated a little on "risers", but the other rows of the band, the audience, and the videographer are on the same level (what I refer to as a "flat floor" format)...

Our photo tripod doesn't get the camera high enough to avoid the front row of the audience blocking the front row of the band. Talking to my oldest grandson who has a successful photo business (with occasional video), he suggested the use of a taller tripod such as the ones he uses for photographic lights. That presents a few challenges with my existing cameras (e.g. Chris can't view/adjust the camera 10 feet in the air).

Our grandson also suggested a few workarounds, including a remote controlled gimbal, wifi-controlled camera functions, and a remote monitor/iPad. If we can pull this off, it will solve a real issue with our band videos. I need to convince our Board to spend the money for new equipment/accessories and video camera.

I've jokingly suggested we put Chris on a very high stepladder, but she's not eager to do that.

 

[Larry N.]

Our photo tripod doesn't get the camera high enough to avoid the front row of the audience blocking the front row of the band.

I sometimes use an external monitor, Tom. As in the picture below, I have one mounted on the cold shoe above the mics. I've also taken that off of there and mounted it on a clamp on the leg of a tripod to use the camera at a higher level.

The monitor shown in my picture below accepts component, composite or HDMI (that 7" Aputure VS-2 FineHD is no longer available), but most today only use HDMI. But the FeelWorld 279S 7" model is still available at B&H Photo and is good even in broad daylight (2200 nits vs 350 or so for the Aputure), and though it only accepts HDMI, it also has an HDMI passthrough, allowing another monitor or recording device to be connected. There are, of course, many others but those are the two I have.

I also use a nice Benro video tripod (Manfrotto has some nice ones too), for smoother panning. Hope this helps.

 

[Tom]

I sometimes use an external monitor, Tom. As in the picture below, I have one mounted on the cold shoe above the mics. I've also taken that off of there and mounted it on a clamp on the leg of a tripod to use the camera at a higher level.

The monitor shown in my picture below accepts component, composite or HDMI (that 7" Aputure VS-2 FineHD is no longer available), but most today only use HDMI. But the FeelWorld 279S 7" model is still available at B&H Photo and is good even in broad daylight (2200 nits vs 350 or so for the Aputure), and though it only accepts HDMI, it also has an HDMI passthrough, allowing another monitor or recording device to be connected. There are, of course, many others but those are the two I have.

I also use a nice Benro video tripod (Manfrotto has some nice ones too), for smoother panning. Hope this helps.

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Thanks Larry. I hadn't yet figured out if I was going to use an external monitor or an iPad, and if I'll use hdmi or Wifi for the video.

Because of the 10 foot height of the proposed tripod, I was planning to use a remote controlled gimbal, which claims very smooth pan and tilt.

 

[Larry N.]

Because of the 10 foot height of the proposed tripod, I was planning to use a remote controlled gimbal, which claims very smooth pan and tilt.

Sounds like a good idea- those often are smoother than most people can do manually. If your camcorder can deliver real time video on WiFi then that certainly expands your options a lot.

It's amazing how much better I can see the video on a good 7" monitor, especially one that lets you do "zebra," etc. and it makes it a lot easier to make minor framing adjustments and to identify something on stage (such as my granddaughter in her choir) individually, compared to the built-in viewfinder or flip-open screen.

One other consideration when the camera is out of reach is whether there might be a need to adjust controls on the camera that aren't remoted, such as pressing the "spotlight" button when the lighting changes, or engaging some other function that's only intermittently needed.

Luck...

 

[Tom]

One other consideration when the camera is out of reach is whether there might be a need to adjust controls on the camera that aren't remoted, such as pressing the "spotlight" button when the lighting changes, or engaging some other function that's only intermittently needed.

Good point, and it's something I've been checking out. Neither of my cameras that take video have all the features I need, and I'm thinking I need a different camera. e.g. my (old) Cannon videocam, our go-to camera for most of our band videos, has power zoom, but doesn't have wifi. My newer Panasonic still camera that takes good video and has wifi has manual zoom (on the lens).

IIRC in my camera search, I was able to find a newer/upgraded version of the old Cannon videocam, refurbished/renewed on amazon. The brand new equivalent cameras are a little pricey to use only twice a year.

 

[Larry N.]

IIRC in my camera search, I was able to find a newer/upgraded version of the old Cannon videocam, refurbished/renewed on amazon. The brand new equivalent cameras are a little pricey to use only twice a year.

You might check out the used equipment section on B&H Photo where they have lots of neat stuff- my "latest" camcorder (Sony AX2000) I bought from there several years ago and, while their used pro/semi pro units aren't cheap there, they're well below the new cost of pro grade cameras, sometimes near the upper range of consumer camcorders, and often have features beyond typical those consumer units, and currently have prices from $750 and up. There's a lot of other stuff too, such as audio gear, post production, monitors, lighting, etc. They also have some fairly capable consumer camcorders at reasonable prices. I love to (window) shop there, and sometimes find something I need.

Twice a year is all the video you take? Mine see use year 'round, though less now that my grandchildren are grown.

 

[Tom]

You might check out the used equipment section on B&H Photo where they have lots of neat stuff-.

Thanks, I hadn't thought of them for used equipment.

Twice a year is all the video you take? Mine see use year 'round, though less now that my grandchildren are grown.

Sorry, I wasn't clear ...

The uke band holds 4 concerts a year - two back to back in Spring and 2 back to back prior to Christmas. Chris videos one of the two concerts in each season, usually the first of the two. On a couple of occasions, something 'went wrong' with the first recording, and either Chris or I recorded the second performance.

My Cannon and Panasonic cameras are more than adequate for any personal video recording. The only need for another videocam is to facilitate the 'remote' video recording (atop a 10 foot tripod) of two band performances a year in the 'flat floor' format I described. For several reasons, I wish we'd return to the theatre for performances; It eliminates the visibility issue, and the zoom lens on my old Cannon videocam is adequate for the job.

 

[Larry N.]

OK, I follow that now. Hope you can work it out.

 

[Larry N.]

Thanks, I hadn't thought of them for used equipment.

Tom,
B&H just sent me a link to this article about their used gear: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explor...-inside-the-superstore-the-bh-used-department