By Mary Gray
If you’re planning to videotape your show, the first thing you need to know is what are the policies of the publisher where you got the licensing for the show. Some publishers do not allow any type of videotaping, but most do allow it with the provisions that you do not sell copies of the tape or broadcast your tape on any public platform. In some cases there is a fee involved in videotaping rights. If you violate their policies, you endanger your ability to obtain licenses for future shows.
Assuming you are allowed to tape your show, you should try to get the best quality cameras you can find. You may be able to borrow some from the school system or the town, you may have parents who have equipment, or you may have to rent cameras or hire someone to do the taping. It is best to have two cameras, three is even better, and you need to have at least one person who is experienced and can organize and instruct the other camera operators.
If you have more than one camera, place the extra one or two cameras at the sides of the auditorium and the main camera operator at the center. With good cameras, you can shoot from the rear of the auditorium. If your auditorium is flat, you will have to construct platforms for the cameras to sit on, making them level with the stage.
The camera operators should be familiar with the show. They need to know where important parts of the show will be located on the stage. The side cameras should concentrate on entrances from Stage Right or Stage Left, following the character to their mark. The main camera should always be concentrated on the persons saying their lines or singing their song, while the side cameras capture the reactions of other people on stage and those actors responding to the main character.
There are two types of shots that should be used very rarely – one is a close up on the face. In a musical, this shot could be used briefly on a soloist. In a play, a close up should only be used in a very dramatic moment. The other type of shot to avoid is a full stage shot. This shot should only be used briefly when the entire cast is on stage. It is difficult to see faces in a full stage shot, and it does not fulfill any purpose. Instead, you can use a slow sweeping shot to capture a full stage scene where everyone is dancing, singing, etc.
Placement of microphones is very important. If the cast is working with body microphones and/or stage microphones, the best sound will be had by connecting to the outgoing sound from the sound board. If only some of the cast has body mics, and there are no stage mics, then you will need to place your camera microphones high and near the stage. If there are PA stands, you might attach them to those. Try to get your microphones at the same level as the voices on stage, near the front of the stage. They will probably have to be off to the side of the stage so as not to block the audience’s view. You will need two microphones, one on each side. If you were to use only one microphone, you would hear one side of the stage but not the other.
The most important part of a good videotape is editing. Try to tape at least two shows so you can use the best scenes from each version. You will need to obtain a decent video editing program. Your town or school may have a computer with a videotape editing program on it. If you have hired someone to tape your show, you should request that the director work with the video taper to edit the production. If you have at least two cameras and two versions to pick from, your chances of capturing the best of the performances will be good. Even with the best cameramen and great equipment, you are bound to miss a few lines here and there. Don’t expect perfection.
Some things to watch out for: a very dark stage is almost impossible to tape. It might look mysterious or dreamlike to your audience, but on the tape it will just look dark. A show where the lines keep popping from one character on far stage left and far stage right will be difficult unless you have warned your cameramen about that scene, so that one camera can focus on Stage Left and one on Stage Right. Don’t seat audience members too close to your microphones. You may need to designate a very nice usher to ask a parent if she or he would mind taking their baby into the hall to quiet them. A wailing baby can seriously ruin a taping.
It is possible for amateur camera people to make a good videotape of a show, but it requires a lot of preparation and a little training on the basics.
