For the past few summers I have helped out at RibFest by doing live switching of the bands at the Rotary stage. This involves connecting 4 cameras to a video switcher and then acting as a director during each set.
Bands play from 11am-9pm. Between bands we have a laptop connected that plays either short ads or slideshows of photos from the event. I almost said not this year because it is three full days (8am-10pm) with little pay. Between each band I get a couple minutes free time while the stage crew sets up for the next band. The morning sessions usually have bands of one or two musicians playing slower music. This can get tiresome as we have 4 shots that are basically the same. I have a good working relationship with the cameramen, but the style of each camera man has to be accounted for. Some guys don’t mind locking off and letting me control the visuals, others are really pushing to be constantly moving the camera to create “cool” shots. Which I actually love, but there is a fine balance.
The slow bands allow us to practice some stock moves like having one camera doing a slow push and then I time the switch to another angle. Often we will have a combination of shots gliding up a close up of a guitar and then fading into a med shot of the singer. Anticipating what the band itself is going to do comes into play a lot, and it is really usefull if I am familiar with the song so I can anticipate when a guitar solo is going to start, for example.
I am not a musician, but I love getting into this almost improvisational groove space where I am able to guide the cameraman to the most effective shot while they are anticipating my needs. Each cameraman has to play their part, and it can fall apart quickly if suddenly there is a guitar solo and three cameras suddenly jump to close ups of the same guitar.
Some cameramen like to get shots of the crowd dancing or grooving to the music. One in particular really likes to linger on the attractive woman.
I have become much more accustomed to directing the guys and not just switching off of what they are providing. We have been able to set up some interesting and complex moves using focus pulls, zooms and panning. I like the thrill of lining up a sequence of shots live that flow with the music.
There are some great spontaneous and exciting moments that can come out of a very energetic band. This year we had a Rod Stewart impersonator who was not superb, but there was this sudden amazing drum solo near the end, and the lighting guy went crazy with the lights and enabled me to start switching like a banshee, all hard cuts with out fades, trying to match the drummer’s beats and the lighting cues. It was super fun.
It’s those moments when you are in the ‘zone’ that make the rest worth it.