Opportunity to shoot auditorium event need advice

This is a speaker with projection screen in a very large auditorium I'm concerned that I will be relegated to the back of the auditorium and need a monster telephoto lens. For those of you who have done this, is this the case or can you set closer and utilize shorter lenses? I'm hoping to utilize an Ursa mini Pro 4.6K and an Ursa mini broadcast g2 obviously on legs.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

You may also have to alter your shutter speed to avoid any patterning from the screen.

Not that I have done this, and never would but if you get a chance to get in there if the speaker has a run-through, that would be a good test, as would be two camera's but you have what you have.

Good luck.

I do this all the time.

I would want to see the auditorium before the shoot. (And maybe bring a camera/lens to see what I can do from my expected camera location.)

Showing up the day of with the wrong gear is just...unprofessional.

When placing cameras in a venue one needs to consider the camera’s shadow. There are seat kills in front and behind the camera and operator to preserve sightlines for the audience. A detailed plot of the venue and stage should be available through the house. If it’s a private performance then the shooting location will be up to the client, best to have an A, B, and C plan before this conversation occurs.

I’d probably be looking at renting a B4 lens. A modest Fujinon 23x7.6 lens would provide a roughly 23-525mm f1.8-2.8 zoom in s35 equivalence.

Good Luck

Visit your site well before the shoot. If there’s an audience with fixed seating, you’ll be in the back of the auditorium. I did a last minute request for a concert and the producer wouldn’t let me get closer to the performers precisely as it would disturb the view of the audience.

When I record in a very large room without fixed seating, the chairs are arranged so I can shoot through a clear pathway in the centre and an area off to the side.

Howard’s right. My Fujinon 20x7.8 B4 Cine Zoom means I can shoot from anywhere in a room and still be as ‘close’ to the performers as I wish.

Use the LensKit f8 app (or similar app) to review your field of view and depth of field for a given distance to subject with your camera and lens focal lengths you plan to use.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I have a little time and hope to visit the venue if possible. It is about a 750 mile drive one way but I might be able to make it part of another trip. A lot of great input. @rick.lang, the F8 app is great! I had depth of field covered as well as an app that will swag at white balance but now having FOV at my fingertips I feel complete! I was able to download a pdf of all of the meeting rooms at the venue with size specifications. My invitation comes directly from one of the organizers so I should be able to gleam a lot of information from her. It's a three day convention that is held yearly. I haven't received estimates on attendee numbers yet. They are not asking for live broadcasting thank God as I just don't have the facilities or wherewithal to do that.

... I have a little time and hope to visit the venue if possible. It is about a 750 mile drive one way but I might be able to make it part of another trip…

Sounds like my annual 3-day music festival in June. I hope your contact will be funding your stay and allow you to come the day before the first presentations to finalize how you’re going to shoot it. You should make it clear that you need to interface with any other production staff to coordinate the lighting and audio including how you will interface with the audio. You’ll want to run your equipment from mains supply. I always bring a 100’ high quality extension cord and some shorter extension cords and a power strip to connect your gear up mains power.

I was able to download a pdf of all of the meeting rooms at the venue with size specifications. My invitation comes directly from one of the organizers so I should be able to gleam a lot of information from her. It's a three day convention that is held yearly...

That’s all good. Knowing the room layout is important including where the mains power outlets are in relation to your camera etc.

If you go with a one week rental of a quality parfocal zoom such as a Fujinon, make sure it has a back focus adjustment otherwise you may not be parfocal. Get the lens earlier and experiment with it.

If they’re willing to cover your equipment costs, rent a Fujinon XK20-120mm Cabrio T3.5 for a week (which will be superior to a B4 lens). It has an optional servo.

How you control the zoom is up to you. I use a PD Movie motor-driven thumbdrive for focus and an old manual Chrosziel Zoom Control for very smooth and slow zooms. There are more modern options available, but if you go old school, search on the internet for used gear.

... I have a little time and hope to visit the venue if possible. It is about a 750 mile drive one way but I might be able to make it part of another trip…

Sounds like my annual 3-day music festival in June. I hope your contact will be funding your stay and allow you to come the day before the first presentations to finalize how you’re going to shoot it. You should make it clear that you need to interface with any other production staff to coordinate the lighting and audio including how you will interface with the audio. You’ll want to run your equipment from mains supply. I always bring a 100’ high quality extension cord and some shorter extension cords and a power strip to connect your gear up mains power.

I was able to download a pdf of all of the meeting rooms at the venue with size specifications. My invitation comes directly from one of the organizers so I should be able to gleam a lot of information from her. It's a three day convention that is held yearly...

That’s all good. Knowing the room layout is important including where the mains power outlets are in relation to your camera etc.

If you go with a one week rental of a quality parfocal zoom such as a Fujinon, make sure it has a back focus adjustment otherwise you may not be parfocal. Get the lens earlier and experiment with it.

If they’re willing to cover your equipment costs, rent a Fujinon XK20-120mm Cabrio T3.5 for a week (which will be superior to a B4 lens). It has an optional servo.

How you control the zoom is up to you. I use a PD Movie motor-driven thumbdrive for focus and an old manual Chrosziel Zoom Control for very smooth and slow zooms. There are more modern options available, but if you go old school, search on the internet for used gear.

Travel, lodging, meals are covered. She's throwing in an honorarium which I'm really not interested in. It's an X-Con event, closely related to MUFON. I'm glad you mentioned possibly interfacing with other AV activities. I didn't even think about that. For the segment my contact is presenting she simply wants wireless lavs which I have already. I went over room sizes with the app you proposed and have decided I will be able to get the coverage I need with a 70-200 F4 Canon L I have and a 200-400 F5.6 Canon L I am purchasing used. I probably won't be able to get smooth zooms with the close up lens but hope to cover up the zooms with the wide angle camera. Great call on position of mains too.

Very good. Do some testing at your leisure to make sure you’re getting parfocal results. If not restrict your lenses to your preferred focal lengths. You may sill be able to do a mild zoom even if not parfocal, but not a long zoom. Also do a test where you focus at the telephoto end of the lens on something at a similar distance and then slowly zoom toward the wider end of the lens. Maybe talk to your recording where you frequently identify the focal length of the zoom. In post you may find results are acceptable since a wider focal length has increased DOF.

You likely won’t get good results going from wide to telephoto unless the lens is parfocal.

Very good. Do some testing at your leisure to make sure you’re getting parfocal results. If not restrict your lenses to your preferred focal lengths. You may sill be able to do a mild zoom even if not parfocal, but not a long zoom. Also do a test where you focus at the telephoto end of the lens on something at a similar distance and then slowly zoom toward the wider end of the lens. Maybe talk to your recording where you frequently identify the focal length of the zoom. In post you may find results are acceptable since a wider focal length has increased DOF.

You likely won’t get good results going from wide to telephoto unless the lens is parfocal.

Got it! Will do. I think with the two camera angles I won't need to go from wide to tight but I might want to adjust the tight shot as you mentioned. The speaker should stay stable at a podium as I understand it with a big screen to the back and side. I will definitely be giving the new to me telephoto a good work over on wildlife this summer before the event. That was another reason to go ahead with the purchase. I've been using a 150-600 Nikon with a Z8 on a lot of wildlife and really miss the wonderful BlackMagic color.