Ken Ehrhart
Forum Replies Created
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From what I’ve heard, Flash video is widely accepted as the most compatible format for putting video on the web, in that everyone has Flash enabled browsers. If you’re looking for a way to put large files on the web, you might check out the samples of the 2005 4EVERGroup Artistic Achievemnet Awards (which can be seen on their website at (www.4evergroup.org). They are presented using Dynamic Media Player. You can check out what they offer at to the public at http://www.dynamicmediaplayer.com
Let me know if you have more questions
Ken Ehrhart, owner
(the REAL) SUMMIT Productions
http://www.storytellermovies.com -
Craig…
I suggest you approach the baptism in the same way you approach a wedding. Same number of cameras, same audio considerations and prep. Mic the priest, he will be doing most of the talking. Mic the godparents (godfather lapel mic will work) and if they have a deacon or cantor mic them as well.
The baptism will begin in the back of the church, so you’ll have to be mobile. The priest will say a series of prayers and ask the baby a series of questions. The Godparents will answer FOR THE BABY… replying occassionaly to the questions. Generally they face forward (into the church) for this, but at a certain point they may face away and lean over to prayer and then spit on the devil. It won’t last long and can be shot from the same position you will be in for the rest of the opening prayers. Generally, the prayers last 5 or 6 minutes… can be shorter and much longer depending on the priest. Once the prayers are done, the baby… godparents and father will move into the church. You WILL have time to relocate with them. Depending on the restrictions at the church and the setup of the church, you can then get into your position. I always shoot events with three cameras, two upfront and one in the back. During the opening prayer the back camera can get shots of people watching. The front camera doesn’t have much to do until the proceedings move inside.
The Greek Orthodox churches I’ve shot Baptism’s at have been fairly liberal with where we can and cannot set up. It is true, that femaile shooters can not go into the actual alter area. Where that alter area IS, varies from church to church. If the parents don’t get you information ahead of time, contact the church directly and explain you are a PROFESSIONAL videographers contracted to shoot the Baptism and you’d like to meet with them to discuss the event. If you act in a professional manner, they should too.
Once the participants move inside, the baby will have their clothes removed for the baptism. You need to get some shots of this, for sure. The priest may be saying prayers during this time or just filling up the baptism kettle, either way, you’ll want to concentrate on the baby. Once the baptism starts, the godparents will have little or nothing else to say… the godfather will probably remove his jacket, so place the mic on his tie to avoid it getting ripped off. The godparents will have oil poured onto their hands and they then rub the baby down head to toe. Often the priest will have the godparents cup their hands and pour more oil into it so he can dip his finger in to actually baptise the baby. He will dunk the baby three times… he will use the oil to bless the babies feet, hands, head, heart etc. etc. etc. The priest will cut three pieces of hair… and the baby will usually be presented with a necklace of some sort (a gift from the godparents). The baby will be dressed, in an outfit that is often a present from the godparents, so you’ll want to get some of that too. The baby then is given a spoonful of wine (three times)… and the priest will wrap things up. Sometimes the parents are invited up to hold the child at the end sometimes not. Total elapsed time can be as short ast 15 minutes and as long as 45 minutes… depends on the priest.
I know this is rather long… (sorry about that) but if you have any questions, feel free to contact me a Ken@summitvid.com. Happy to help if I can.
Ken Ehrhart
SUMMIT Productions -
Pat,
“Crossing the Line” or the 180 degree rule is a fairly “hard and fast” rule that should only be broken if you MEAN TO BREAK IT. In Event Video, weddings to be specific… it almost always should NOT be broken. For instance, it’s very distracting to be watching, say the groom say his vows on one camera and then suddenly have the bride start saying hers facing the same direction, shot by a different camera. The two should be FACING EACH OTHER… in effect, looking at each other (one from the left one from the right). Same with interviews etc. I can’t “draw” the line in this post, but it should go from your camera position diagonally across the subject. Hard to explain in a post. If you’d like to contact me at ken@summitvid.com, I’ll give you my phone number and try to explain it better on the phone. Hope I made “some” sense.
Ken Ehrhart
SUMMIT Productions
http://www.storytellermovies.com