Stage camera

[countryman45]

My amdram wants to have a camera monitoring the stage so that can watch what is going on "on stage" on a tv in the green room. Can anyone suggust what would be the most suitable camera pse.

 

 

Thanks

[nplatt]

My amdram wants to have a camera monitoring the stage so that can watch what is going on "on stage" on a tv in the green room. Can anyone suggust what would be the most suitable camera pse.

 

 

Thanks

 

 

We just use one of the crews handheld video camera nothing special at all, for this at our panto each year. The camera is fed in to a video player and then along a long length of coax to a amplifer then on to 3 or 4 TV dotted around the place.

 

The picture is not the best in the world but good enough for the cast to see when they have missed a cue.

[GridGirl]

It really depends on how good the picture needs to be. We call shows from monitor, due to the prompt desk being tucked away in a corner where you can't see most of the stage, and so we've got a decent quality CCTV camera with auto-iris. A d0me$tic video camera won't cope well with the changes between light and dark at all, and so you're likely to get a pretty rubbish picture quality. Ours isn't perfect - sometimes with a lighting change the focus goes out of whack, but the next change (particularly if it's a snap) usually brings it back to a clear picture. I've also worked in venues where they have cameras which snap to infra-red when it goes dark - you need an infra-red light source, but it's a nice trick which can be very, very useful for an SM. But if you only want it for a rough idea of what's going on, a reasonably high-end d0me$tic camera should be enough for you.

[madorangepanda]

I've always had good luck with a CCTV camera. You can get them with built in IR LEDs that seem to do the trick to see enough of the stage in a blackout.

 

If you're in the UK then try this http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=33744 it seems to be the latest variant of the cameras we have.

[ojc123]

FWIW In a school hall I have an ancient domestic camcorder rigged up. It was put up as a temporary measure and has been there for years. Not brilliant but does the job. I also use the sound for relays because the compression makes it idiot proof (Essential in Schools.). Cheap and cheerful.

 

If we want better quality we connect a better camera to the system and have an operator follow the action.

[Unfathomable]

We have a fairly cheep cctv/IR camera that is linked to a tv in the control room (a pesky off centre, high up place) that does the job. but its only really a cueing view, and by no means a nice way to watch the show for entertainments sake.

[rgye]

If you can afford it, consider a PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) camera, which can be mounted more or less anywhere and controlled with a remote or from a PC. Sony EVI-D30s and similar come up frequently on ebay and the quality is superb - I managed to buy a pair for £50, but that was particularly lucky. There are cheap ones from Hong Kong, but I don't know what they are like.

 

I installed an EVI in a school theatre for just your purpose. I always try to use a backstage video relay of some sort for school shows, not just for cueing, but because it helps stop the kids getting bored and noisy.

[countryman45]

Thanks for you help

 

We are going for a middle range security camera.

 

What I was going to do was clip the video feed to the existing speaker cables, do you think there will be any interference with the video signal doing it this way.

 

 

Thanks