Live Video and Audio

In week 3 of Music Technology in Music Education we had the opportunity to experiment with recording a live music performance. We had access to some amazing resources such as professional video cameras, high quality lighting systems and microphones. The class wasn't given instruction on how to use the equipment so we carefully had to figure this out. After assigning groups of people to different jobs such as lighting, sound, video recording and performance we were able to record a couple of takes.

We had multiple cameras on tripods capturing different angles as well as hand-held (iPhone) cameras in operation for each take. The lighting system was set up from the beginning of the process and seemed like an approachable job I'll sign up to lighting crew next time!). The microphones we used were hand held Zoom H5s and a pair of Rode NT5s.

One major point I noticed about using the zoom recorders in my experience is that if you are recording the most effective use is to place the device on a surface as any movement while holding the microphone is easily picked up in the recording. This class was a fun glimpse at the life of professional studio musicians or recording crew. I think it is worth being aware that often schools will not have access to these kinds of resources and that will be both a challenge and an opportunity to experiment with non-conventional ideas.

It was an awesome experience that encouraged group collaboration. This project would be incredibly effective in the classroom. I think as a teacher it would be important to get creative with your resources to ensure the final video product is as polished as possible to encourage student engagement and investment.

Note: All videos of peers have their written permission to be posted publicly :)