Filming on the Road

When I went to film school, one of the most important concepts I learned was CYA or “cover your butt”. In other words, expect everything to go wrong and be prepared to deal with it. It seems a rule of life that when you undertake a project without any backup or alternate plans, things always mess up. However, if you have spare parts handy and your backup plans prepared, things rarely go wrong. Preparation seems to negate bad luck.

This means always have extras – extra charged batteries, extra tape cassettes, extra cables, etc.

It’s All About Power

In my experience, the most common issue when shooting on location is power. How are you going to get electricity to your camcorder and to your gear?

You really have two choices – batteries or AC power. When you purchase a camcorder, you usually get a single battery. One of the most important accessories you can get is an extra battery or two. Also, check how your camcorder charges up its batteries – do you have to have the battery inside of the camcorder to charge it up or did you get a separate standalone battery charger – AC power unit. Obviously, using the standalone device is more convenient because it allows you to charge up your back-up battery while you are shooting on another one.

Yes it is good to have backup batteries when you go out to a location to shoot an event but you have to make sure the batteries are charged. All batteries lose juice just sitting in the camcorder bag. I always charge my camcorder batteries up the night before, and if possible, leave them in the charger until the last possible second.

However, if you are serious about shooting on location you need to invest in a better power source like a power belt or an external power pack. By using a power belt, not only can you shoot for hours without worrying about running out of power, but by using a power belt with multiple output connectors, you can also power portable lights, audio mixers, wireless mike kits and other accessories.

A power belt may seem heavy when lugging it around but once it is properly riding on your hips, you will hardly notice it all. If you plan on shooting from one location, you can drape the power belt over the bottom legs of your tripod, enabling you to stabilize the tripod while powering up your camcorder and accessories at the same time.
AC Power

An even better option for running your camcorder is using AC power. However, you need to make sure you have enough extension cables and that your power source won’t get disconnected. You can never have too many AC extension cords and power strips.

You don’t want to be using lightweight cords you pick up for a dollar or two at the local discount store. Get yourself a few heavier, outdoor quality cables that will be a bit more resistant to breakage. Get a variety of lengths. When you are shooting on location, the fewer places a cord can disconnect the better it is. One long cord is much better than a bunch of smaller cords plugged into each other. Also, as the bright yellow cables may be a bit garish in a church or wedding hall, you might want to buy cords that are dark or very light in color.

Remember, these AC cords are tools just like your camcorder and tripod. Make sure you roll them up carefully after you use them so that they don’t get knotted or broken. Also, label them – it is very easy to have your cords walk off with someone else and find a new home. Get some masking tape near the ends of each cord and write down your name.

I always bring a few heavy-duty AC power strips and put one on either end of my AC cables. I plug one into the socket wall and attach my extension cord. I then use the other to plug my camcorder and other accessories into.

Running power from the wall socket to the camcorder can be an art. To maximize safety and keep people from tripping and stumbling over your cables you should run the extension cords around the edges of the room, along the wall. If you do have to run a cable across the floor or open area, try to cover them up and protect them. When I am shooting near a wall, I often will grab a few folding chairs and position them over the cord.

If it is a long run, you should use gaffer tape or protective mats to shield your power cables from people’s feet. You can use standard duct tape but remember it can be messy and ruin carpets and floors. If you are shooting outdoors and need to tape your extension cord down, remember to pull out the broom you always carry in the back of your car and clean the ground first.

Another good idea is to carry a few AC grounding plugs. Those little doohickeys allow you to plug a three-pin power connection into a two-slot outlet. Two slot AC outlets are getting increasingly rare but show up at the worst possible times.
Also, if you are shooting outside of the US, make sure you have the right power connectors and transformers for the job. If the country you are shooting in uses 220 volts outlet instead of 120 like in the US, make sure your camcorder power supply can handle it. Get your adapters before you leave on a trip. Trying to find them in a foreign country or at the airport can be quite expensive. Look at the fine print on the power supply and make sure BEFORE you plug it in.

Remember what I said about being prepared. Sometimes when shooting on location, someone may object to you running extension cords across the floor, there might not be enough power outlets, the power could go out – a million things could happen. That’s why it makes sense to have an extra charged battery or battery belt in your car trunk nearby.

I usually have a few charged batteries inches away in the camcorder case. I also used to travel with my battery belt fully charged- even if I “knew” I wasn’t going to need it. Most of the time, the charged battery belt sat alone and unused in the trunk. However, a couple of times, events changed and I needed to disconnect AC power and run the camcorder off of the belt.

Audio

Working with audio on location can be extremely challenging. First off, you should invest in a nice pair of headphones that you can attach to your camcorder that will enable you to monitor the sound that your camcorder is recording. Get nice big ones that mask the sound of the room around you. You want to hear what your camcorder is recording.

As the built-in mics that come with most camcorders are not very good, you need an external microphone that can plug into your camcorder’s audio-in jack. In general, a good shotgun mic attached to your camcorder, especially if it is adjustable and allows you to change how wide of a sound pickup area it offers, is your best choice. Another good option is a wireless mic kit that consists of a wireless receiver connected to your camcorder, and then either a handheld or lav mic held by the host or master of ceremonies.

Whatever audio options you end up going with, make sure you bring extra batteries for the mics. Also, make sure you have the right audio connectors and have extras as well. Test your audio system before you use it for the first time. Make sure that the connectors are tight.

Connect the shotgun mic to your camcorder, plug in the audio jack and then play with it a while. While rolling tape, move it around, swing it, and jump up and down. Aim up and aim down. You want to know if the connector is loose in any way. When you play back your tape you don’t want to hear any static or audio break up.

Shotgun mics often come with an acoustic wind sock to cut down on noise. Test your mic both with and without the sock and, using your headphones, listen to find out which sounds better.

One of the most complicated audio challenges is shooting a live performance where the sound is being mixed and run through a PA system. If you are lucky, you will have a good location where your shotgun or on camera mic will pick it up fine without distortion. Sometimes I have managed to capture good sound by simply aiming the shotgun mike towards the back of the room or towards the ceiling, rather than straight at the loudspeakers.

If possible, get to the event early and have them run a sound check for you. With your earphones on and video recording, check out the audio sounds. Play it back. If it distorts, try adjusting the recording volume or moving the mic in different directions.

You might have to run a direct feed from the audio booth to your camcorder. If this is the case, you want to be located as physically close as possible to the audio guy and his gear. Ask him to run a mic level signal to you. You might need to have shielded XLR cables – the kind used by audio professionals and rock & roll bands, as well as adapters that will allow you to connect the three wire professional cable to the two wire minijack mic in connection. You also may need an attenuating connector that looks just like the XLR to minijack connector but also converts the signal from a pro line out level to the mic in level required by your camcorder. Once again, it is better to test the set-up on your own time before you show up at an event.

People running sound at events are usually pretty frantic with their own preparation and may not have the time or inclination to help you set up the audio feed for the video. If you already have an XLR cable ready to attach to an audio out on their system, life will be a lot easier for all concerned.

Video Monitors

I also like to shoot using a video monitor. Often, especially when working in a large, darkened hall using extreme zoom, I find it to be a lot easier to have my video displayed on a monitor instead of using the small foldout LCD. Using a large monitor makes it much easier to check your lighting, properly adjust focus and do smoother zooms.

Most camcorders provide analog and S-video out connectors. Simply run the appropriate cable from the camcorder to the monitor and you will be able to see exactly what your camcorder is capturing as you videotape the action.

In an optimal setting, I like having the monitor on a table right next to my camcorder and tripod. The setup is then located adjacent to the audio gear for the room so it is all nice and convenient. That way I stand back, or sit on a stool and tape the action. I find that my camera moves are smoother when I am working through a monitor rather than a camcorder’s viewfinder.

The monitor does not have to be big. I have been using the same portable “professional” Panasonic CRT monitor for 20 years. It works great. You can also use a smaller and lighter LCD monitor instead.

Tripods

You may have noticed that I have referred to tripods over and over again. If you want your videos to look professional, you need a tripod. It is almost impossible to hold a camcorder steady for any length of time. And if you are using zoom past 10x or so, it is impossible to hold the camcorder steady without any noticeable jitter or shakiness. You don’t want to rely on electronic image stabilization. Aside from not working that well, it also slightly degrades the quality of your image and uses up valuable battery power.

Here are a couple of tripod tips. When you are setting up your tripod, make sure one leg points to the action. The triangle created by the tripod legs should always aim at the front of what you want to shoot. To maximize steadiness, if you don’t have to fully extend the tripod legs, extend the wider top sections, not the narrower bottom sections.

If appropriate, tape down the tripod legs to the floor. To get the smoothest possible tripod moves, use an extender on the camera control arm. You can slide a piece of plastic pipe over it – you can firmly tape a piece of wood, anything to extend the length of the tripod head control arm. It’s all about simple physics and leverage – the longer the tripod control arm, the smoother your camera movements can be.

One last tripod tip. You might want to buy a little fluid bubble level. For just a few bucks you can pick up a small fluid level to help you make sure your tripod is set up right. If you are doing any camcorder movements, you don’t want your image ending up cockeyed when you pan right or left. You can buy levels that screw onto your tripod, you can simply tape the level to the tripod, or you can simply lay the level on top of the camcorder.

Some Final Tips

Bring some tools. You never know when you might have to adjust something, tighten or loosen a screw, bend a piece of metal or cut a piece of tape. I also have a small assortment of screwdrivers and pliers close at hand, just in case.

I organize my extras into a couple boxes or bags. All the power related items go into one bag while all the audio related components go into a second. All the other cables and accessories then go into a third bag. By the way, LABEL EVERYTHING. It may sound petty, but it is amazingly easy to lose your cables, adapters and tools. Things have habits of walking away when you are busy and there are lots of people working on a production.

BAGS OF STUFF, PROPERLY LABELED

Preparation, practice and a good sense of paranoia will serve you well when you need to go out and shoot an event on location. Learn to anticipate that everything will wrong and have a plan to deal with it. In addition to all of the above tips, I also travel with another camcorder tucked away in the back of my car...just in case.

Originally posted by Mark Shapiro at Internet Video Magazine, appearing as: “Get Ready to Shoot on the Road.”