Bach - WTC II: Prelude & Fugue in C major, BWV 870

[andhow04]

i've posted audio of the entire WTC but recently have been working in this long shutdown on new video techniques. here's an excerpt from an hour long video recital., premiering march 19, showing a few things i have learned!

while in the end it's all about the music and the quality of piano playing, i do believe presentation matters and esp. when talking about on video, not in the atmosphere of the concert hall. so to that end i tried to create a certain look and atmosphere that will hopefully draw people in to listen. i think it is esp. effective on a phone screen if you have the time and focus to watch which is getting rarer for classical music !

hope you enjoy.

[lelle]

Excellent playing. And good choice of camera angles. I like being able to view the pianists hands as much as possible! What cameras did you use to film this?

[andhow04]

thanks so much., finding the angles is quite fun but also risky business. esp. the overhead angle, i don't have the right kind of tripod.

i used pretty standard items, an iphone 10, ipad pro and another camera you probably haven't heard of called an obsbot, it has a physical zoom but it is maybe not the same quality as the i-things.

this is the first piece of an hour long video recital, there are 10 pieces total and each one has different angles and editing. it's available on march 19 (free )

[ivorycherry]

Hello,
I also liked the camera angles and angle switching very much too. Very beautiful and controlled playing.

[quantum]

Very beautiful playing. 

Great choice of camera angles for a multi-cam setup.  Adding a separation light behind you would help create better definition between subject and background.  Similar to how we bring out the melody in music, one can also bring out the subject using lighting. 

[andhow04]

Very beautiful playing. 

Great choice of camera angles for a multi-cam setup.  Adding a separation light behind you would help create better definition between subject and background.  Similar to how we bring out the melody in music, one can also bring out the subject using lighting.

thank you so much, that means a lot to me. i had a friend advise me on certain setup aspects, but i do not know what a separation light is. help me understand !

i have learned a lot about the production of these things over the past year. this one, i am actually a little remiss about the fugue. basically, i wanted the overhead angle, and the right and left keyboard angles. i darkened the room, and had a bright light to use. when it was in front of the piano, it highlighted the yellow-pine-wood floor color from the left-hand keyboard angle. so i moved the light, behind the overhead angle. and it created a pretty dark atmosphere, more than i wanted.... but i didn't want the color of the floor. i am remiss because i learned later, that in the software, you can darken areas of the shot pretty much at will. so i could of had the light illuminating the entire keyboard, without my head or back tripod in the way, and blocked out the ugly floor. however i did not know that when shooting.

now you know my dirty laundry. what is a separation  light!!

[quantum]

To put separation light into perspective, I'll list commonly used lighting functions.

Key Light - The main light on the subject. Usually the brightest light illuminating the subject.

Fill Light - Often placed opposite of the key light, the fill light aims to fill in the shadows on the opposite side of the face.  The fill light is not there to remove shadows, it is there to balance the shadows on the darker side of the face, with the key light on the brighter side of the face. 

Separation light - goes by many names such as, rim, hair, shoulder, or back light.  Places an outline of light around the edge of the subject.  The separation light is often placed behind or above the subject, the side of the subject not facing the camera.  The separation light creates a distinction between where the edge of the subject is and where the background begins.  It is important to remember that in photo and video a 3D subject is being rendered onto a 2D plane.  From a human perspective our brains understand how 3D things are visually separated, however when working with 2D images, such images can use some help from lighting to recreate that 3D sensation. 

Background light - used to illuminate the background.  Another tool used to create separation between subject and background.  Having a contrasting light here can help with separation. 

A great way to learn about lighting is studying examples of portrait photography.  Do a search for one light, two light and three light portrait tutorials. 

***

Your video had a low-key lighting vibe.  You might be interested looking up chiaroscuro and how it has been used in painting and photo. 

I really liked how you changed camera angles in the exposition of the fugue.  I've found that a great way to learn about and improve production is to just do projects and make notes on things that you want to do better, and with every subsequent production you implement those improvements. 

To control the light from spilling on to the floor you could use barn doors, grids or various other light modifiers.  Light modifiers can be DIY.  For example, white foam core, or a white bed sheet can be used as a reflector. 

[andhow04]

To put separation light into perspective, I'll list commonly used lighting functions.

Key Light - The main light on the subject. Usually the brightest light illuminating the subject.

Fill Light - Often placed opposite of the key light, the fill light aims to fill in the shadows on the opposite side of the face.  The fill light is not there to remove shadows, it is there to balance the shadows on the darker side of the face, with the key light on the brighter side of the face. 

Separation light - goes by many names such as, rim, hair, shoulder, or back light.  Places an outline of light around the edge of the subject.  The separation light is often placed behind or above the subject, the side of the subject not facing the camera.  The separation light creates a distinction between where the edge of the subject is and where the background begins.  It is important to remember that in photo and video a 3D subject is being rendered onto a 2D plane.  From a human perspective our brains understand how 3D things are visually separated, however when working with 2D images, such images can use some help from lighting to recreate that 3D sensation. 

Background light - used to illuminate the background.  Another tool used to create separation between subject and background.  Having a contrasting light here can help with separation. 

A great way to learn about lighting is studying examples of portrait photography.  Do a search for one light, two light and three light portrait tutorials. 

***

Your video had a low-key lighting vibe.  You might be interested looking up chiaroscuro and how it has been used in painting and photo. 

I really liked how you changed camera angles in the exposition of the fugue.  I've found that a great way to learn about and improve production is to just do projects and make notes on things that you want to do better, and with every subsequent production you implement those improvements. 

To control the light from spilling on to the floor you could use barn doors, grids or various other light modifiers.  Light modifiers can be DIY.  For example, white foam core, or a white bed sheet can be used as a reflector.

this is very valuable information, thank you. i am only using one light for this whole project, it gets very bright, but maybe can expand in the future. as far as a fill light, i really like the "half-face" look at the piano, first because it captures my good side, believe it or not, and second because overall i wanted a dark and moody atmosphere for this hour-long video project. next i will experiment with more color.

i think the background light for the prelude would have been useful as yes, it is hard to distinguish my body from the background. as it was a wider shot i guess the light was further away and didn't give as much definition...

in this project there are 10 pieces, i changed the angles/light position often. i will post a rachmaninoff etude that has some more definition, as the light was probably closer physically

it is fun learning all this from scratch and really just reacting to the music with visuals.

thanks