...okay, this was EXACTLY what I was trying to do with my doc and it completely blew up in my face. This is what I learned from this:
...this is something you may already know: Ambient light is fine, no light will not work. It especially doesn't work in nightclubs. Damn near every nightclub I shot in had black walls and lighting that is great for nightclubs and hell for camerawork. So, yes, get an on camera light. Mine was a bescor that I got from B&H. The bad news is that it never worked (hence, no light will not work, you CANNOT make it work either). Now, I am still trying to find out if the problem is the light itself or the batteries. If you can find someone at b&h who knows lighting (on any given day, usually they are knowledgeable, but sometimes...) Also there is Anton Bauer, I don't know how great this light is.
...you also might consider having some extra light if what you are going to do is shoot interviews. From now on, for me, ambient light means "assisted ambient light".
...if you are shooting only performances, you may find that the drummer is almost NEVER LIT. If you have an 'in' with the people you are shooting, maybe they can do something about this for you. This happened for me repeatedly but maybe 2 or 3 times and I was able to get a few good shots, so know going in that the drummer isn't lit very often.
...The DVX is a good camera. You can get really good shots in very dark areas and something I discovered. It is possible to get a pretty good white balance in a dark room. You have to do it quickly but it can be done. Here's how you do it: during soundcheck for the band (if that is what you are shooting
) there will also be 'light checks' just before they play. At some point or another, and this is just my experience, some lights will come up for a short period of time. Focus quickly on something white like the drumkit or someones t-shirt and do your white balance. The lights will go off around this time, damn
, but you will have a pretty good white balance.
...the last thing I will tell you is a troubleshooting thing: If for some reason you find yourself without a on camera light, as I did, and no lighting at all, as I did, live and learn, you can make an on camera light. this is guerrilla filmmaking at its finest, so don't laugh
: Go to Staples or Office Max or whatever. Buy 3 or 4 reading lights, the little ones with the snake like adjustable lights that you use to read in bed that you attach to your book. Buy batteries for all lights and put them in. Tape all 3, 3 is big enough, tape all 3 together and tape those three to a piece of cardboard (from the packages) to the bottom only the size of the 3 lights taped together. Tape this to the rear part of the handle of your DVX and aim the lights, all 3, at your subject. THIS DOES WORK. I used package tape, the kind easy to tear by hand, get it from k-mart or meijer or whatever.
now I know you may not want to put that tape on your DVX, but if you are in a situation where it is either, tape it or go home, I think you will re-think the tape. Besides it comes off and it doesn't add much weight to you camera even with the mic attached. Also, once you begin to really use your camera, you will stop thinking of it as your 'baby' and begin to see it as a tool for what you want it to do, though you will always be careful as to how you use it...
...I realize that you wrote this in August, but maybe you can make use of it in the future. I have decided to buy some more of these reading lights just in case of an emergency in the future. These things I learned the hard way. I hope I was able to save you alittle headache, or heartache. My best advice is that even with ambient light you should have assisted lighting. There was an effect I was going for that didn't come off the way I would have liked, but I learned from my missteps and maybe you can too...
....that's why we are all here, right?
good luck and tell us how things went for you....
--spinner
