Week 2B: Technology in performance and recording. Basic editing and mastering including video.

Today we were privileged enough to use some amazing equipment provided by the education department at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, to teach us the ‘ins and outs’ of film recording. It is obvious that filming musical performances would be beneficial for students. However by learning the correct technique to obtain optimum lighting, a variety of camera angles and quality sound recording can all enrich students’ reflections of their own performances further.

When getting students to film each other performing, lead them to realise that shooting the camera angle across the stage diagonally is more pleasing to the eye than straight in front. By having one camera stationary, captioning the entire screen at all times also allows for groups shots and a backup picture when it comes to editing.

And teaching students the correct terminology for filming is also an engaging way to allow the shooters to feel more ‘professional’- plus they’re learning!

When it comes to editing…

• Looking down from a birds eye view, the top layer of movie or sound is the one that will be seen on video.

• Sync audio to the film by finding the clap.

• Use opacity to make smooth transitions

• Experiment and decide which camera angles will be used at any given time and cut appropriately to rearrange priority in your software.