Dance Recital Video Pages
- Essence of Dance
- Spiral Dance Co
- Kauhane School of Polynesian Dance
- OneDance Creative Art Centre
- Maple Ridge Dance Circle
Camera Angles
2 Camera coverage is standard. The medium-follow camera films a medium to wide shot and is typically situated closer to the stage and to one of the sides. The Master camera is usually centred and shoots a wide shot.
DVD Authoring
DVDs are authored with chapters points at the start of each piece and a menu with thumbnail previews for each chapter.
Studio Copies
In addition to a complimentary studio DVD, Shawn Lam Video provides a complimentary DVD to each instructor at no extra cost.
Website Videos
Shawn Lam Video will create a webpage and host samples from your dance recital for current students to enjoy and potential students to preview.
Technical Considerations
Dance recitals are one of the most technically challenging live events for a videographer to produce at a professional level. Read about the technical challenges below and see how Shawn Lam Video is able to produce professional results every time. If you have experienced any of the following problems with your Dance Recital video, contact Shawn Lam Video for a complimentary consultation.
Challenge 1 – Lighting
Stage lights are a challenge to most videographers. With a contrast ratio that exceeds 10,000 to 1, (contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest and darkest areas of the stage) the automatic exposure feature on digital camcorders are fooled and the results can be disastrous with footage that is overexposed (too bright). This is common especially for the wider angle or master shot. Look at your old videos for overexposed footage. For the untrained eye, setting proper manually can be difficult, especially when lighting changes between none at all, to spot lit, to evenly lit, to side lit. Shawn Lam Video’s operators are all professionally trained in manual stage exposure settings by Canada’s only professionally accredited live event videographer. By using the camera’s manual exposure settings, Shawn Lam Video is able to ensure that your dance recital video looks as good as the original.
Challenge 2 – Audio
Patching into the sound system of modern theatres is a challenge for most videographers. Many videographers try to save money on “Pro-sumer” camcorders that don’t feature the audio controls that are required to capture great audio directly from the soundboard. The result is often overdriven audio that “crackles” as the “line level” feed from soundboard is too powerful for their camcorders that can only handle a “mic level” feed. Shawn Lam Video uses Sony’s Professional line of Camcorders that have professional audio inputs and controls (XLR inputs as compared to headphone jack plugs). In addition to the soundboard feed, a professional shotgun microphone is used to capture the applause, taps during tap dances, and vocals for song & dance numbers.
Challenge 3 – DVD Playback
Authoring a professional quality DVD that plays in 99% of commercial DVD players is not easy. There are many stages to DVD authoring and if one of them is not done properly the results can lead to skipping, freezing, and the video not even playing. Among the important variables a video producer must consider are the quality of the blank media and the DVD burner; the encoding engine and software interface; and the printing method. The combination of inferior DVD media and DVD burners delivers inconsistent results. DVD software that does not have a professional encoding engine that uses Dolby Digital Audio (AC3 encoding) will also not have a high compatibility. And finally labels on DVDs cause playback problems and should not be used.
Guarantee
Shawn Lam Video guarantees DVDs will playback properly. With DVD production in the 1000′s every year, Shawn Lam Video’s defect rate is negligible and his software features controls to detect defects. DVDs are printed using a professional thermal printer with ink that is waterproof and that will not imbalance the DVD.