Multi-Camera Interview Set-Up and Equipment.
During the United Nations General Assembly Dan and I were responsible for shooting multi-camera interviews for Talk to Al Jazeera.
I thought it might be of some interest to share our set-up and the gear used.
Most locations and shoots share similar set-ups, I’ll explain the set-up used for the “Hotel Suite Interview” I’ll add in a few extra pics on some other locations.
Hotel Suite Interview
Cameras, Lens, Slider, Monitor :
x1 PXW Fs7ii with Canon EF 70–200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens (Main Reporter Shot).
x1 PMW F55 with Sigma 50–100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF (Main Guest Shot).
x1 PXW Fs7ii with Sigma 18–35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF. Mounted on the Rhino Camera Gear Motorized Studio Slider with Arc (Two Shot).
x1 PXW Fs7 with Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens. (Wide dirty shot).
X1 Convergent Design Odyssey7Q+ OLED Monitor.
Custom scene file/ matrix settings across all Sony cameras, ready for broadcast, no grading needed.
Sound :
x2 Lectrosonics SMDWB Wideband Beltpack Transmitters with the Sanken COS-11D Omni Lavalier Mic.
x2 Lectrosonics SRc Dual-Channel Slot-Mount (Mounted to both the main cameras).
Lighting and Stands :
x2 Matthews C-Stand Grip Head Kit
x2 Matthews Mini Matth Boom
Multiple Manfrotto 5001B Nano Black Light Stand
x2 Aladdin ALL IN 2 Bi-Color RGB LED Panel Kit (Key Lights)
x4 Nanlite PavoTube 15C 2' RGBW LED Tube with Internal Battery 2 Light Kit (Backlights and Fill) with TRP WORLDWIDE 40° Universal SnapGrid for 2' Single Tube.
Multiple Dedolight DLED7 Turbo Bi-Color Focusing LED Light Head with city scape
Location and notes :
We are always limited to location and space in New York and it’s really out of our control. For this interview, we were given a hotel suite and to help with depth we added a full length mirror behind the Reports shot, which reflected back across the room and mirrored the background of the Guest. In this situation the Nanlite PavoTube lights are ideal, as the offer an even backlight and side fill without spilling a large amount of light across the room or onto each person. I really like the Sigma Art lens, they offer an aperture of 1.8, and have zoom, so it’s easy to make framing adjustments and maintain a nice shallow depth of field.
The Den Interview
Similar set-up showing the Fs7 mounted on the Rhino Slider (it just falls under the weight limit).
It’s worth noting, I do prefer using the Fs7 on the slider over the As7 or similar cameras, having matching color matrix cameras is really critical for this work, and it’s just a hassle free option. I run the slider and camera off mains power, it’s one less thing to worry about as I’d hate the batteries to go flat during the interview.
On this shoot I was testing out the Accsoon CineEye 5G Wireless Video Transmitter. The output you see on the iPad is being sent from the Convergent Design Odyssey7Q+ OLED Monitor via Wifi. Very little delay, worked really well, quality is excellent.
The SG Interview.
Working in a boardroom is never ideal, especially with a set up time of one hour. All things considering I actually thought this turned out quite nice.
It was a shame there were no blackout curtains on the windows as it would have matched the Reporters shot much nicer.
It was nice to be able to frame in and use the depth of the boardroom table. Dedolights were used as backlights and also used highlight items in the background.
