Timescapes Screening - Documenting a Live Event
On April 17th 2012, Tom Lowe had a screening for his debut film "Timescapes" at the Brenden Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the video above, filmmakers from around the world give their impressions of the film as well as predictions of what we can expect next from Tom Lowe. Timescapes footage was taken from the trailer, "Timescapes 4k".
In this post, I will be covering:
Preparation
Time-Management
Importance of Teamwork
How to Document a Live Event
There are many things you need to consider when you are documenting a live event. The first thing you need to determine is the type of film you want to create. For this project, I wanted to base the content off of the impressions of people who just watched the film. To lead the film off, I was going to introduce the project in order to immerse the viewer into the event that occurred that night.
Preparation
Before heading out to film, I first needed to determine what gear I was going to use and how I was going to approach filming everything. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it all myself as I would also be conducting the interviews on camera so I worked with Joel Graves, Tom Guilmette and Melqui Rodriguez.
Being that NAB was happening at the same time, this entire project was a rush from start to finish. There were specific elements of the night we knew we had to capture so it was figuring out how to coordinate everything to make sure it was covered. Like anything, you can only do soo much and can only be in one place at a time so you WILL miss some stuff.
When determining what content I would be covering, I broke down the story and determined what elements would be essential. I knew I wanted to establish the space, the people and the film and then reveal the impressions people had after watching the film.
Time Management
When covering this type of event, time management is extremely important. If you don't determine in advance what your priorities are, you will miss important elements. Another tip when it comes to time management is shooting for the edit.
When you have a clear idea how the edit is going to come together, you will also know when you have enough footage. For example, when shooting this project, I knew I wanted to establish the pre-party but knew the screen time would only be about 40 seconds -- meaning that once I had about 15 shots of the key people, I could head downstairs prep for the red carpet - where Tom Guilmette assisted with this. I also knew that I wanted to film the key interviews after the screening so I headed out about 20 minutes before the film ended so I could set up the lights and prep for the interviews.
Importance of Teamwork
Due to the structure of the night, if it wasn't for help on this project, I would not have been able to capture everything. During the speeches at the start, I knew I wanted to role on two cameras -- and get BROLL of the theatre filling up. Joel Graves helped film the speeches and also helped with the interviews at the end. Melqui Rodriguez also helped on another camera & audio for the interviews.
Technical Specifications
For this project, we used 2 x Canon 5D Mark II's and a Canon 5D Mark III. In regards to support gear, I used the Kessler Stealth and Manfrotto MPRO 536 legs.
Conclusion
It was an absolute privilege to be a part of this night. By being prepared and working with a team, I am extremely happy how the film came out.
NAB 2012 Recap
NAB is a must-attend event if you want to future-proof your career and your business. Another major benefit of NAB is the networking that takes place. It is the one time of year that over 100,000 people from the same industry come together for one event. With NAB wrapping up last week, I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences from the show.
NAB Teaser - Booth Set-up
About the Video
Similar to last year, Kessler Crane shared our booth with Zacuto. While setting up the booth, I filmed a quick video, which is attached above.