What I shoot with

The most common question I get. This is the current kit — nothing exotic, and none of it is what makes the shot. Years of experience do.

Camera Lumix S5 Full-frame, with excellent color capture.

Lens Sigma 14-24mm Wide enough to hold a whole show.

Audio Zoom H1essential Separate audio track — the concussion is half the show.

Support Manfrotto tripod Locked off and level. No handheld.

For anyone curious about filming their own.

The short version of the videos above.

Experience

Nothing replaces it. Film every show you can — even the boring ones.

Distance

Know what your lens covers. About 300 feet is my minimum.

Tripod

Always, and level it. Turn image stabilization off when it’s on one.

Set up in daylight

Focus manually before dark, with focus peaking if you have it.

ISO

Never auto. 400–1200 on a GoPro, 2000–3500 on the S5.

White balance

4800K. Lower washes the color out, higher turns silvers gold.

Audio

External mic, and watch your levels for clipping.

Aperture

Around f/3.5 lately. Open enough to keep the ISO down.

Write it down

Log your settings every time out. That’s how you iterate.

Spares

Batteries, cards, swabs. More than one of everything.