3.3 How to spot musical potential: videoing groups for analysis

Get a tripod to keep things steady

Use a tripod – it makes a big difference having steady footage to watch. If you don’t have access to one try and use a solid object to rest on. Or you should invest a little in a tripod.  Or failing that, brace your arms by resting your elbows and upper arms on your body (did I mention getting a tripod?!)

(Another tip is to tether the camera attachment plate to the tripod so it can’t be separated – your tripod is useless without it.)

Good coverage is important

Try and use a second camera if possible. Have a camera that is set static, picking up most of what’s going on, and then have a second camera for parts of the room that are missed or for more close-up observations.

Don’t play around too much with the picture

Avoid too much zooming and if you have to make adjustments make them as quickly as you can without rushing. Never use digital zoom features, this is the digital bit of the camera guessing what’s going on. Slow pans and zooms make it more difficult to see what’s going on. Often the most interesting things that arise in analysis are not what you immediately notice in the session.

Leave the camera running

Usually you are advised to keep documentary shots quite short but for this purpose leave the camera running, you want to capture as much of what’s happening as possible.

Lighting

Lighting is a problem. Unlike normal videography (where you use additional lights if necessary) in this situation it can be distracting or off-putting to the participants to have additional lighting.

Try and have the light source behind the camera as much as possible. Sometimes this isn’t possible, due to the way a classroom or other space is set up. In this case try and minimise the backlighting – close blinds or curtains and turn lights on.

Sound

Sometimes it’s possible to set sound levels on a camera. It’s probably best to leave it on automatic levels because of the variation in volume range likely in the session (i.e. from quiet talking between participants to the whole group playing all at once).

Use a mains lead

It’s usually best to plug your camera in to mains power, unless you have high capacity batteries and know they are fully charged.