mikeburnie Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 We are a small amateur theatre in Carlisle. Quite a lot of our sets end up being closed constructions and our stage managers, curtain operator, prompt, back stage people can find it difficult and sometimes impossible to see what is going on on stage. We were thinking of having a CCTV camera installed in the back of our small 142 seater auditorium pointing directly at the stage and feeding a couple of backstage screens. We would need to back this up with at least one camera behind the curtain so that when the curtains are closed the backstage people can see that everyone is ready to go for curtain calls etc. Does anyone have any experience of such equipment and can you recommend any makes, prices etc. We would obviously need a reasonable camera for picture quality. We tried one of those cheap home security cameras once and the image went completely "white-out" when the lights were up full. thanks. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GShort Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Hi Mike and welcome to the Blue Room. I have just installed a camera for nearly the same purpose (SM being able to see the show). We bought ours from screwfix for I think about £85.00 Click here. It may also be worth investing in an infra red source so that you can see when it is dark on stage. I can't remember how much this was (not much more I think) nor can I currently find it on their website, although I know both came from the same place. Not sure what your buget is but hope this helps. Gavin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 O just what I was kinda of going to ask. I will add on (if I can) the possibility of recording shows. I now work in a college and we need to record the shows for evidence. Either to pc/dvd or standard VHS. Obviously we can use a video recorder but we would like the ease of being able to just turn it off and on rather than set up and then convert the video from DV etc. One thing to note is how the cammera picks up back outs or very low light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 For the recording bit, most DVD recorders will let you record from either firewire or AV inputs. I now use one along with a portable DVD player, to enable me to see the on-screen menu & what is being recorded. I use a DV camera as this has some degree of auto focus & lighting level adjustment. They don't like red light though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 If you intended to record shows as well, you'd probably want to look at either a high quality CCTV camera or using something else - the lower cheaper ones linked above don't really have the resolution. Of course, if you were actually looking for a decent recording copy you'd want an op for the camera, since auto-exposure can produce some rather odd effects, IIRC. Obviously if it's simply for relaying during the show, a nice cheap one should do fine. (OT I know, but if you were recording shows for archives, you'll find recording or mastering to DV tape might be better - DVD-Rs have a (relatively) short life span.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 A cheap camera won't do. They just can't cope with the contrast or changing light levels. Automatic iris would be a good plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Nick when you say (OT I know, but if you were recording shows for archives, you'll find recording or mastering to DV tape might be better - DVD-Rs have a (relatively) short life span.)how do you mean ? The turn around of the archive will be 3/4 years as far as I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 CDs that you burn (rather than CDs that are pressed) have always had issues with lifespan, because the dye used for the surface obviously breaks down fairly easily for the burning process to work. This issue is magnified with DVDs because there's more data on a disc. Have a look here if you're interested, or google it - there's quite a bit of stuff out there. Obviously a lot of this depends on how you store and burn them. This is compared to something like DV tape, which being magnetic doesn't suffer from these problems. Sure, the lifespan isn't indefinite, but it's a lot longer than a burnt DVD. My university archives refuse DVD-Rs of our work, it all has to go on DV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Infra-red is a godsend, I don't know how I ever managed without it! Makes it much easier to see when scene changes are complete.....I'm pretty sure you can get cameras that switch from regular to infra-red when the light drops below a certain level, this might be a good option to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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