Your movie begins with the right preparation, including both the technical and creative aspects of your shoot:
If this is your first time videotaping a live event, you can use one camera, a tripod, and perhaps a shotgun mike or an external mike. This is the simplest setup, and with it you can get plenty of good footage. A tripod is essential. You don't want to see wobbly shots of your star in her big moment. After you've used a tripod, you will wonder how anyone could shoot an event without one. You are likely to get tired of holding a camera for an entire performance. On the other hand, if your "star" is a six-year-old and the "performance" is a 5- to 10-minute classroom play, you may be able to get by without one. For important occasions, you may need an external microphone to capture the sound. When you shoot live events, you often cannot get close to the performers, so you may need to have an external mike (a shotgun mike is best) because it's better than your regular camera-mounted mike at capturing audio from a distance. A less desirable solution is to mount an external microphone closer to the action; it will need to connected (by an audio extension cord) to your camera. Here is a list of essentials you should bring with you to shoot the live event:
Here is a list of other equipment you should consider taking with you:
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