When you record your jams with some sort of video camera, which angle do you use?
Overhead?
Over the shoulder?
Something else?
Can you post some pictures of your video recording setup?
1 Like
…if u shoot with just one camera, topview perspective/overhead straight angle down on ur hands and gear surfaces/table shot is most effective…and most straight forward, if u can’t cut to any other alternative perspectives…
1 Like
i do a little of both… but i use my old DSLR with a 40mm 1,4 aperture lens so i prefer doing perspective shots to get that nice Bokeh in frame…
this one.
haven’t done many, but just my phone on a mic stand over the desk looking straight down so you can see what i’m using and what I am doing.
need to get some fancy light up gloves really.
Some fancy visuals are always nice!
I remember some other user on here, he would record his modular techno sessions with a top down camera, very dimly lit, but he had a lamp on his forehead, which kind of showed you where he was looking at. Can’t find it right now, or remember his name anymore – he had a profile pic with a black/white cartoon teeth grin.
1 Like
I am experimenting with an overhead angle but my problem is that I couldn’t find a nice solution for mounting my camera.
My table is 160cm wide and I laid everything out so that I sit in the middle.
Mounting my camera to my table becomes wobbly quite quickly and I can’t find a stand/tripod that can be out of my way while putting my camera in the middle of my table.
Yea I appreciate it’s probably what a lot of people like, as indicated by @reeloy but logistically mounting a camera over your head isn’t easy - and can involve rigging and the need for more space around the surface. I’d like to do it but it’s not practical.
I use a 35mm prime lens and just try to create a vibe with my videos instead. I only have a couple of practical angle to choose from.
For those that haven’t seen one before
i’ve got mine on an extendable microphone stand, at right angles, with a mount on the end? Might need to weight the stand down depending on what camera I guess. I just use a phone, so it’s not heavy.
puts my phone easily 80cm out over my (155cm) desk.
this sort of thing:
mine’s actually just got it’s leg jammed under the leg of my desk to stop it toppling over.
I guess even that may not be tall enough if you want to stand up to play though.
1 Like
Ah yea if you’re recording with a phone that’s a good shout! I use a DSLR so weight is an issue for me haha
…stand up on ur working chair, find the right top fraiming spot above ur table/workspace/field with ur phone…install a little hook in the ceiling above that position from which u can hang in a simple selfmade wire constrution, easily designed the way, that u just lay ur phone in there whenever u want again, just the way as u tested it before for angle and distance to match again, let gravity do it’s work for final position, turn on recording, clap ur hands in frame once before u start, so that u can later easily sync up audio to picture and take ur ride…
1 Like
yeah, you might need something heavy on the mic stand legs in that case…
2 Likes
These work well together and solve a lot of camera mounting problems - will clamp to a desk, keyboard stand, mic stand, bookshelf, etc.
1 Like
…ok…ok…use good old gaffa tape instead of a hook skrew…musicians best friend, anyways…
a simple cross of tank stage tape to hold a little triangle made of wire…and form some tray, also with wire that has the right length to end up hi or low enough for a perfect framing, hang it in and again, let gravity do it’s work until vision remains the same…
Just realised I hadn’t actually shown what the setup looks like, probably useful…
This is the angle I use the most - the tripod can go that high on it’s own but the standing desk is in the way so I make the most of it!
It’s a Slik AMT with an AF trigger mount and is as solid as the day I bought it 15 years ago, second hand.
2 Likes
What are you doing with the video afterwards? In my case, I want to have them mostly for myself, so that I can capture when I improvise, including what was on the screen of my synth, but I also want to be able to upload them if I deem the recording good enough.
ooh , interesting topic …
really depends on what you have available and what you are filming
(e.g. whats the focal length of your lens, how much are you trying to put in frame)
for tutorial type videos, its hard to beat overhead… just so people can see clearly what you are doing.
if its something like the Octatrack, I’ll then in post, also overlay a ‘zoom in’ of the display.
it gets pretty tricky if you have more than piece of gear your filming, or if its large.
(e.g. I find my modular pretty difficult to frame)
of course, if it’s a musical performance, then you can do what you like - as your more going for a vibe,
you don’t even have to be 100% in sync, so you can use b roll.
I will say, one thing, I dont do enough of, is use different angles … for sure, one static framing for a video is pretty tiring for a viewer to watch.
as for recording rig…
sound - sound is most important aspect, much more than video, so I always use direct recording and sync in post. I’ll say for voice , my mics are a bit crap 
cameras, nothing expensive… I use my iPhone and sometime use a webcam for supplementary video - its not very high res, but for a second angle, that might be an inset shot, works ok…
(I used to use my Canon 7d, but the limed recording time was a pain)
lighting is arguably more important than camera… a crap camera with decent lighting will often outperform a mid-range camera with poor lighting.
I use a few cheapers lights… which are ok, though reflections and glare can be a bit of a nightmare, so positioning is important.
mounting - my best setup, was when I hung some shower rails from the roof… so had a semi permanent rig to fit lighting and overhead cameras. thats now gone.
I also use normal camera tripods and also desk tripods (with phone adapters)
main thing with these is to be careful you place there when you wont accidentally knock them, and they also take time to setup.
(desk tripods can be really problematic if your desk moves even a tiny bit… usually I only use when mounted to a separate desk to the one Im playing on)
looking at this from a different way… look at the top YouTubers (in quality) in our field, and we can learn from them.
yes, they use expensive cameras, but thats not really where they get the quality from…
Id say mainly its decent sound quality and lighting and then using multiple cameras angles.
thats pretty much what sets them apart (video quality only!) from other amateurs (like me!)
and yeah, I think they also pay a bit more attention to ‘vibe’… so coloured lighting or backgrounds, along with those different camera angles…
at least thats my impression
edit: you can see my videos here
you’ll see every example of the pitfalls, as I fall into them head first… and try different approaches 
2 Likes
I agree with this, with one caveat: the ones I watch usually make videos about one specific device. I would not have issues with that. I could just use my tripod on my table and point the camera down.
What I’m trying to do instead is to record this:
Suddenly it’s a lot harder to have everything in frame and in focus.
As for what I am using: I have a Sony FDR-AX53 that I would eventually want to use for live streaming. I found that many 4K DSLR cameras have overheating issues, or at least the ones that are in stock near me: Sony A6400, Fujifilm X-T30ii.
3 Likes