Journal tomhudson's Journal: Gee, that was fun ... or "howto enjoy a christening" 2
Okay, I'm one of those heathen atheists - rumour has it that I have 666 tattooed on my skull (hey, i'm the one who STARTED that particular rumour
Now, I seem to remember attending one christening in the past, and the distinguishing feature was "B-O-R-I-N-G-!-!-!" So, today, I brought my video camera along, along with my tripod, media pc, etc (my "movie studio in a pull-along").
Now, I've only used the camera a couple of times, mostly "just fooling around" stuff during Christmas (and even then, I passed it to others, who ended up recording more than I did). So, since I've never recorded a "real event" before, I figured it would be fun.
I figured right. There were 4 kids baptized, and while most of the people got a chance to be bored when it wasn't "their" kid who was being "processed", I had fun.
A quick review of the raw footage uploaded to the lappy surprised me - it's pretty good. I didn't want to go for the "stick a camcorder on a tripod and record everyone from one static POV" thing, so I got to practice my "pan-n-zoom" techniques. It was a bit awkward at first (new tripod - gotta "break it in a bit" to get it to work completely smoothly), but while everyone else had to sit for over an hour, I got to grab a scene, move to another POV, grab another, move again, etc.
I even got a few emotional shots that I think nobody was aware of
My one regret was not having more than one camera set up. If I can find 2 more of that camcorder's make and model on sale, I'm in the market for sure. I figure that with judicious use of the remotes (along with decent-sized lcds acting as monitors so I can see what each camera sees in real time), I can overcome some of the limitations of a one-camera/one operator setup.
Like I said, it sure beats being in the audience, and it ties into what I've been bugging people to do at work - MAKE A FRIGGING RECORD OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING WHEN YOU MAKE A PRESENTATION ALREADY! Beats having to go over the same stuff for each new hire, for sure.
Christenings and videos (Score:2)
The last christening I attended had about six infants and a child of about 4. (i.e. Old enough to talk, scream and rant.) I actually thought the holy water might turn to steam and green vomit might project from this child's mouth. Sorry, no video. I'm a sports guy.
Regarding a second camera. Get the same model or at least one that uses common resources (charger, battery, miniDV tapes etc).
On youtube ... user=kjhorton
Re: (Score:2)
The kids in this one were pretty good. As for camera, I'm looking around for 2 more the same model. I don't feel an irresistible urge to move from 720x480 to 1920x1080 - yet ... 3 of those cameras will cost a pretty penny at this point in time.
In the meantime, I have to find at least one within the next month, or take the jump to hi-def. One of my nephews is getting married next month.