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[Suran]

Here it is:   http://suran.info/2013/11/26/eurofurence-19-paw-pet-show-end-tide/


__________


Like last year
http://suran.info/2012/09/04/eurofurence-18/
and the year before
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bONH7iZRb0Q
I plan to organise a recording of the Paw Pet Show as good as my limited abilities allow it.

However I need some help!
We have 3 cameras (+1 GoPro), 1 audio recorder but only 2 people.
We need 2 additional helper and if at all possible one more camera would make a huge difference.

The last years have shown that there simply must be one helper per camera and one for the audio recorder.
Since we're audience members like everyone else it simply doesn't work out to have any camera run that you can't reach.
(Both years we had trivial issues like a battery going flat or the image being focused on the curtain and not the stage
 but couldn't get to the camera to fix that.)
We're talking about simple tasks like pushing a red button to start/stop and checking that it actually blinks.
Pushing another button if it's blury.
Switching batteries during the breaks.
Lifting the camera up when everyone stands up during the curtain call.

If anyone plans to record the show him/herself anyway. Please answer too so we can get that recording onto a laptop to have a fallback.
(We needed one both times. Even if it's just a chair squeeking or head in front of the camera for a second.)
If anyone has a small CCD camera, that would be great (since it's a pain to record the DLP-projectors with CMOS).
If you have a Micro-4/3 camera but lack the right lenses, we can help you.

---- the plan:

Since we don't have a 4th Micro4/3 camera this year and we need the DLP projectors,
we can't shoot dialogues from 2 sides (looked great last year).
# We'll be limited to one camera showing all of the stage.
# One camera showing the DLP projector with terrible rainbows dancing.
# A third camera following the action and showing a medium shot or closeup of the current main puppet.
Last year our main audio failed completely but hopefully this year we'll have better audio (less reverb/echo) then last year.

[Arctic Steve]

I'm hoping to film it on my camcorder and I do have a tripod, 170 min of battery and over 14h recording time but the camcorder (Canon Legria FS46) isn't HD though.

Example of it's indoor quality, though i've started using the manual focus now. - http://youtu.be/F-6hCR0o47I

Feel free to see if anyone else comes forward first.

[Suran]

Hey, it would be great if you could do the projector.
You could get our audio recording and we a recording of the DLP with no rainbows.
Win-Win.
If would also mean that we have 2 camera free for closeups and in dialogues can have one camera on the right shoot the left pawpet
and one camera on the left shoot the right one.

[Arctic Steve]

Sure, i'll film the projector.

[Suran]

Great!.

We're still short 1 volunteer.

[Suran]

We have a problem.
For both GH2 cameras, everthing is fine.
But for the Panasonic GH1 we have serveral (mostly empty) batteries but THE BATTERY CHARGER IS MISSING.

Does anyone have a charger for Panasonic GH1 cameras (Battery DMW-BLB13E)?

Update:
* Just ordered  a charger to be shipped to the post office down the road from the hotel.
* A friend has a compatible charger and will bring it along ro EF


So we have the following setup:
* A-audio from Zoom H4n
** Special power cable missing so batteries need to be replaced during the breaks.

* Helper 1 - wide shot
** good tripod
** Panasonic GH2+battery grip using 64GB card with Leica 25mm or Panasonic 14-42mm
** also doing B-audio with Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro (same audio as last year)
** and using GoPro on a Monopod in case something happens outside the stage and when people give standing ovations

* Helper 2 - close ups + medium shots from left
** great tripod
** Panasonic GH1 using 64GB card  with Panasonic 100-300mm

* me - medium shots from right
** footed sports monopod
** Panasonic GH2 using 64GB card with Panasonic 75-150mm
** and C-Audio using a slightly directional microphone

* Arctic Steve - DLP
** Canon Legria FS46 in SD

We do not have:
* the second GH1 with a wide angle lens ready in case something happens in the audience (like applause, fursuiters standing up 2011 or to show the sound stage when it is mentioned during the curtain call).

We could have use for:
* 2 additional helpers to distribute Audio and GoPro to helpers but this is not required for things to work out.
* a more sturdy sports monopod or slender tripod for helper 2 or me because the monopods sway a little unless you hold a super firm grip on the camera for 4 hours.

Printed, graphical cheap-sheets for each camera/audio recorder have been printed for start/stop. proper focus, replacing batteries and SD-cards.
Since the pawpet stage is well above stage level, the camera for the wide shots can hopefully be slightly below eye level in one of the center aisles. (Worked out well 2012 and 2011). It just needs to be raised when everyone stands up.

[Arctic Steve]

My camcorder will last for 190 mins, longer if I close the display door. If you wanna meet and chat beforehand, PM me before Tuesday and I'll give you my mobile number.

[Suran]

So what's going on?
I'm using a different workflow this year. We should get a final version much faster and in much better quality but we can not have a full preview like last year.

needed
If anyone has another 1080p or 720p wide shot of the stage. We could use that! (see "issues")
If you have something, we will probably be able to link to other videos on YouTube (not outside, sorry). e.g. soundtrack, EF-Prime, backstage,... .

footage
I have the material of all of mine and of Arctic Steve's cameras.
I have one of the soundtrack CDs.
I have the audio we use for the cheering of the audience.
I'm waiting for the footage of the camera framing the DLP projector wich is also our main audio.
I'm also waiting for some additional clips for opening, credits and intermissions.

next steps
I'm checking if any commercial music was used that could create DMCA-trouble.
I'm currently importing all footage into Motion 5.
There I'm doing some advanced denoising, tracking hand-selected features to stabilitze the shot, try to remove the very few pawpeteer heads and matching the colors and exposure of all cameras.
Learning how to use Davincy Resolve to match the cameras better and maybe try to even change the mood of scenes to help the story.
Then I'm exporting one clip per camera and scene to build a multicam clip in Final Cut Pro X and editing one scene at a time.

Issues
This is the first time I have to coordinate so many helpers and of cause things didn't go as planned.

The wide shot camera kept it's 25mm lens while it should have switched to the 14-42mm zoom when it had to be reseated to the far back. Thus we have a slightly blury pawpet stage in the center 50% of the frame.
The backup wide shot didn't record since the main wide shot was now sitting next to it.
Luckily an additional camera provided very nice wide shots for all but the beginning of one scene. Thanks Digitalc! However it's just 720x576.

With the 2 cameras for the closeups we failed to communicate where the playrail should be in the frame but that doesn't show.
However the closeup was focused at the backdrop insted of the pawpets wich does show at 600mm since the camera man was used to ENG cameras with more depth of field and parfocal lenses.
When we saw the glow effects being set up in front of the stage we opted to both mount extremely fast f0.95 lenses, expecting a very dark scene. However these where the brightest black light effects I've ever seen and we should have stayed with the darker 45-175 and 100-300mm zooms.

We did have an audio recorder record EF-prime but it mysteriously shut down during the second break. It was running on mains power and has enough storage space to last into the early morning.
However since one of the 2 TV sets had no signal on the left channel and there was heavy 50Hz and repeated clicking in the sound, that would have only been a second backup anyway.
Aparently Audacity doesn't like 96KHz/24bit wav files. VLC plays them fine.

on the plus side
Our backup sound sound recorded in the audience sounds awesome!!!
Can't wait for our main sound. It is reported to be even better.
Many of the closeups are really great.
Having our cameras so low means we have nearly no pawpeteer heads in the shot
and the extreme positions chosen for the closeups make for very cool dialogues.
No camera failed.
No audio tracks failed.

[Suran]

Just got myself a new 3.4GHz quadcore iMac with 32GB ram upgrade and a hybrid disk as well as a license for Neat Video.
This is just too much for my old Macbook Pro and with the new camera DaVincy Resolve won't work on this one anyway.

[Ragear]

gogogo foxy, you're doing good!

[Suran]

The most difficult scene is done.
Friday the next scene will be edited.
Then steadily one scene per week (except during Conventions).
Should be done by mid-November (theoretical) or end of November (something WILL not be perfect and ask to be improved for an additional day or two)
Spending a ton of time getting the source material as perfect as I can make it before editing a scene. (Like a day per camera and scene with 2x 3-6 hours of the computer crunching away on the FullHD footage.)

[Ragear]

go foxxy go!

[Suran]

Slightly more then 1/3 of the show are done and I've learned much more then I ever wanted to know about rotoscoping.


Now 50% done.

[Arctic Steve]

Keep up the good work, really looking forward to seeing the end result ^^

[Quincy the Raccoon]

Slightly more then 1/3 of the show are done and I've learned much more then I ever wanted to know about rotoscoping.


Now 50% done.

...More waiting I guess...