Streaming events, especially for performing arts, can be very demanding. Video production systems designed to do it well can easily cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars and require significant expertise and work to assemble.
Fortunately, the technology is becoming cheaper and more accessible all the time, but many of the essential features that help with live multicamera production still apply.
In this post, I’ll look at what makes a good camera for live streaming, especially with performing arts in mind (concerts, live theater, dance, etc.).
These are a few of the important aspects of how a camera captures an image effectively. Get these right and you’re well on your way to a great-looking video. Mess any of them up, and it could compromise the quality of the production.
Composition/framing
Essentially, composition or framing refers to what’s in the frame – what the camera is pointed at and how zoomed in it is.
Two of the most important tools for composition are zoom range and zoom control.
Zoom range
Zoom range describes the difference between the widest the lens be (showing as much of the scene as possible) and the tightest or closest it can zoom (showing as much close-up detail as possible).
More zoom range is generally better, but what the specific zoom range is matters too.
For example, if the camera is very close to the stage you will generally need a wide lens that can zoom out quite far to see the whole stage. However, it will not need to zoom in as far as if you are filming from far away and need to zoom in to see closeups and detail.
Zoom control
Being able to change the zoom easily and precisely is a great tool.
For example, most broadcast cameras have a zoom rocker that allows the operator to smoothly and gracefully zoom in and out during a shot, whereas most lenses for still photography have a zoom ring the operator must turn, which makes it much more likely a zoom will be jerky and uncontrolled, which often means it’s best to set the zoom before a shot begins.
Additionally, cameras designed for live events often have remote controls for the lens that can be mounted on the tripod handles. This allows the operator to control the zoom without taking their hands off the tripod, so they have more control while zooming and pointing the camera at the same time.
Exposure
Exposure generally refers to how bright or dim the scene is.
The main settings that effect exposure for video are:
- Iris – The setting on the lens that physically controls how much light it lets in. Closing the iris allows in less light, resulting in a darker image. Opening the iris allows in more light, resulting in a lighter image.
- Gain – The setting on the camera that electronically controls the brightness of the image. If the gain is turned up too high, the image starts to appear grainy and noisy and loses detail. Some cameras can have their gain turned up higher than others before this happens.
Iris control
While gain can only be controlled in steps, some lenses allow the iris to be controlled smoothly. This can be critical for live events, especially performing arts, where the lighting may change during filming.
If the iris can be controlled smoothly, a skilled operator can adjust it as the lighting changes without the viewer being aware that settings are changing.
Some lenses only allow the iris to be controlled in steps, however, meaning the brightness of the image will abruptly “jump” as it gets lighter or darker, calling attention to the change and pulling the audience out of the moment. In this case, the iris usually should not be adjusted during a shot, meaning the video will need cut between cameras in a coordinated way as the lighting changes to avoid any given camera changing its iris while in use.
Low light and dynamic range
These are related properties
Low light performance generally refers to how far a camera’s gain can be turned up before the image gets grainy. This affects how well the camera can capture scenes without much light – usually not a problem filming outside, but often a challenge filming inside a dark theater or concert hall. Lenses also affect overall low light performance based on how much light they can let in.
Dynamic range refers to how much of a difference there can be between the brightest and the darkest part of an image.
In general, for live performing arts capture indoors, we need the best low light performance and highest dynamic range possible.
Remote shading
Shading refers to controlling camera settings relating to exposure and color.
Consumer camcorders generally need to be controlled by an operator physically touching the camera (or have remote controls that aren’t well-suited for smooth adjustment during a live performance). Broadcast-style cameras usually allow for someone to control their exposure from a remote panel, often in a different room (or even farther).
Having someone solely responsible for shading means they can watch the video from all the cameras at once and make sure they match. They can also devote their full attention to shading, anticipating and responding to lighting changes more quickly while allowing operators to concentrate on other things (like composition and focus).
While it is a standard in broadcasting and higher-end streaming, remote shading is not mandatory. Many teams successfully record or live stream events (including performing arts) while having camera operators handle their own exposure. This does come with tradeoffs, however: Operators will be paying attention to more things and will likely require more direct technical experience to be able to do everything at the same time. There’s also a risk that different operators could shade their cameras slightly differently, resulting in different shots having different exposure (i.e., being lighter or darker than each other).
Focus
Focus refers to whether the image is blurry or sharp.
Some things a camera sees will be in focus (sharp) and some out of focus (blurry), depending on how far the objects are from the lens. The focus distance the lens is set to will determine the distance at which objects appear sharp – anything in front of or behind that distance will be out of focus (how far from the focus distance objects can be before becoming unacceptably blurry depends on a number of factors, such as iris and sensor size).
Autofocus is traditionally not used in broadcast-style filming, although of course it can be a valuable tool and there are many different styles of production.
Focus control
On a typical camera, there is a focus ring. The operator reaches up to the lens and turns the ring to adjust the focus distance. This works fine, but requires the operator to move their hand and touch the camera, potentially bumping it or compromising their ability to control it.
A broadcast-style camera will usually have a focus control on the tripod handle, so the operator can easily adjust focus while panning and tilting the camera.
Parfocal lenses
A lens is parfocal if the focus distance does not change when it zooms in and out.
This is a tremendously valuable tool for a couple of reasons:
- A shot will not go out of focus because the operator zooms in or out, making it much easier to zoom during a shot.
- Operators can zoom in quickly, adjust their focus (it is easier to see if the focus distance is correct when the lens is zoomed in) and then zoom out while maintaining the focus distance they just set.