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Recording dances in a very small space?
Hey Ladies!
So, I keep saying I’m gonna record, and I DID try to do so today! However, I’m having a bit of a space issue.
The largest, and really only place for my pole right now is in my bedroom… which means it shares space with my giant bed (with posts for hanging drapes, though I don’t have any on right now), two dressers, a very big bookshelf, and the massive amount of clothing that Boyfriend and I have.
Not a whole lot of space, I have to say! Sometimes I can’t fully extend in a spin, and I usually have to be rather careful which way I’m facing when I’m doing any kind of floorwork. Some days it feels larger than other days.But, with wanting to record, I’m not finding any good places for my camera! I have a pretty good tripod, and the camera (unfortunately) seems fairly closely zoomed in on default. I’m also not great with camera angles.
Any tips for recording in tiny spaces? I feel like, if I get a good angle for floorwork, you’re only gonna see my feet if I’m standing… and if I get a good one for standing, you won’t see me from about mid-thigh down! Pretty frustrating! -
27 Replies
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Depending on what you are recording with, a fish eye lense is very helpful. I use my phone and got a lil cheap clip on fish eye
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I’m not sure if that’s an expensive fix for a real camera :/
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It would help to know what kind of camera you have. As Lucca mentioned, for cell phones they sell fish eye/wide angle lenses that just clip on or attach to the case.
For some of the regular digital cameras, check the manual or menu. Some have a digital zoom that needs to be disabled. -
I have a small camcorder, which doesn’t really take lenses or anything. I’m not sure if you can disable the zoom, but I’ll look into it! Would be nice to be able to get more into shot, as long as it’s the right stuff 😉 As far as I know, I can’t get any new lenses for this thing… and if I can, it’ll be pretty expensive!
I’d love to know if anyone has any tips for camera angles and such with smaller spaces, though, in case it’s not something I can disable. -
do you know the brand and model? if you can’t read where its printed on the outside, it can be found in the menu/settings
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Alright, so my video camera is a Canon Vixia HF R300. I’ve not seen any indications that the zoom can be “turned off,” and generally I have it at absolute minimum zoom I can get, anyways.
I have a pretty good tripod that it’s compatible with, too, but as I said, when contending with the bed and all the furniture, I’m not sure where or what angle to place the camera at in order to actually see me dancing, and not just have half the shot being of my bed, or my bookshelf, or just showing my feet or just my torso.
Any help with that would be awesome. -
OK. Just read the manual for your camera.
Make sure in the menu that you have Zoom set to “M” Manual. Automatic defaults to 32x zoom. Normal setting is Automatic.
After checking that, would use the menu (Func -> Zoom) to make sure the zoom is all the way out.
The zoom controls appear on the left side of the screen. Touch anywhere within the “T” area to Zoom Out.See if that helps. Also what is the distance between camera lens and your pole?
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Film into a mirror. You can get twice the distance away due to reflection angles.
cos, science! -
It might appear that way to the eye but actually its not true.
The distance of an object from a mirror and the distance from image to mirror are the same.
There is a simple science experiment you can do. Hang a ruler a foot feet in front of the mirror. Then measure the distance of the image in the mirror. They will be exactly the same.Of course with concave and convex mirrors there is a change to the image. But presuming we are talking about flat mirrors.
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The distance of object to mirror and mirror to image are the same, but the distance from the camera to the object and the camera to the image are not!
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I’ll split it with you. It will be the distance to the mirror. The eye or camera is capturing light. There is no actual depth to a mirror. (Did they invent 3D mirrors yet?) Only reflecting light. The light of the object from the mirror’s surface.
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Are you talking about the distance from the object to the mirror?
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I’m not going to get technical, but yeah, use a mirror. Play around with placement you’ll figure it out. Here’s an example of when I had no distance to work with for video. This video is super old! https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/c610b412-c3b3-11df-bc90-001b21721e0c
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As much as I love the idea of using a mirror, my only mirror is wall-mounted, and the room is really not conducive to using it to showcase my pole. Directly next to the pole is the closet, and the only proper place for the mirror is directly next to that. I’d love to angle the mirror, or move it to accomodate (especially since I’d love to be able to see myself dance in it!) but I haven’t yet figured out how to do that.
At some point, I may rearrange my room, and have that in mind. I’m hoping to get rid of my own dresser and add in my desk, allowing me to have some place for work, and maybe I’ll move some other things around so I can do that.
The maximum amount of space I can have between my pole and the video camera is approx. 9 feet, but there’s a bed literally between the two spaces. Otherwise, I’d say max space around 3-4 feet from camera to pole. -
The light bouncing off the object being captured by the camera travels twice the distance than when placing the camera in the same spot as the mirror. So yes, you can get twice the distance away, making the object appear smaller in the viewfinder, and thus being able to fit more of the object into the frame of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXypyrutq_M
Robyn Rooke BEng
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If you look at my drawing (never said I was an artist):
The distance from Subject (a pole in this case) to the mirror is “A”
The distance from Image to mirror is “B”
The distance from Camera to Mirror is “C”When taking a picture to the mirror, you add A & C.
You do not add all three (A,B & C) as someone suggested in a private email. The mirror is simply providing a Copy of the image going to the Subject as if you were standing where the mirror is.In the case of what Runemist34 provided if I understand correctly,
A = 4
B = 4
C = 5 (if she had a usable mirror)So the actual Distance to Subject might be (A)4 + (C)5 = 9′
Move the camera further from the mirror will not change A or B for her but the total
(A)4 + (C)9 = 13′
If the camera is closer to the mirror it could be:
(A)4 + (C)3 = 7′Of course you must still be able to get your camera to capture the entire image in the mirror whether from distance or camera. If the camera is too close to the mirror it still may not help.
So you could get an increase from using a mirror. It is not an arbitrary doubling, multiplier or percentage or magic. Depends on actual distances. A simple bit of measuring and math will give you an exact figure.The issue she and a lot of people deal with, has to do with the camera and lens.
Consumer Video cameras are geared towards distance. Video is about action & movement (sports, animals) and expected that will be some distance away. That is why nearly all give zoom capability and often the zoom is on & advanced by default. You need to manually “zoom out” to get subjects that are closer. The lenses usually are zoom or telephoto although their size starts as a normal or Prime lens.
Consumer still cameras and even mobile/cell phone cameras are primarily geared for still photography. The main consumer use is close portrait (yes and selfies!) or objects which tend to be closer Distance to Subject. They have limited zoom (and often no optical zoom) capability to better focus on near subjects. The other main use here is landscapes which are very wide. The lower end cameras & phones often have a wide-angle lens, smaller than prime.
For the more technology minded, yes the digital image sensor also affects this.
Could get further into Focal Length, Depth of Field and more but it requires even more math.
Hope this helps.
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WebJunk, I’m not ignoring your reply but have not read it yet. Thing is that I had also started with some drawings and I don’t wanna read what you said before I’m done. Right now I’m so limited with time, but I’ll get back to this:)
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Lina. Sorry. Time is up.
You don’t get paid for the post (I don’t get paid either even with my pretty yellow Star) or win the trip to Barbados. -
Okay, so… my takeaway from this is basically I’m going to have to wait till I have a bigger space, lots of money for a camera with a different lens, or totally rearrange my room (which may or may not be possible or conducive to having enough space to pole at all) in order to actually record my dancing in a way that shows all of me.
I mean, I love hearing the science and stuff behind light bouncing and cameras, but… I had hoped there was going to be a bit more for suggestions on this one. I know there have been a few polers on here with very small spaces, and they do get videos out. -
I have kind of a small space, and currently I use a go pro so it’s less of an issue because it’s got such a wide lens, but before I got my go pro, I just had a basic Canon digital camera without any fancy lens or anything. I place my camera outside of my doorway, on top of a chair, and film from there (even with the go pro). It’s a little inconvenient to have to bring my chair into the hallway to set it up, and I also can’t close the door so my cats are always in the way, but it works well enough. I should add that my pole is close to the centre of the small room so that when you look through the doorway, the pole winds up being in the middle of the shot.
When I was using my Canon camera, it would often be a bit of a trade off – I’d have to think about if I would be focusing my dancing or training on the floor, or standing height, or higher, and then adjust the camera for that. Still would sometimes cut off parts of the shot, but it worked enough to still be a helpful training tool. -
Runemist34
Have you tried a webcam or can you use one? Almost all of them have a wide-angle lens. -
Thanks Lola!
Webjunk, I do have a webcam, but I haven’t seen much of a difference with angles and such. Also, my webcam is tethered to my computer when I want to use it… and when I dance, my computer is tethered to my stereo, which is in my closet (and one of the doors must be closed for me to have space to dance), so trying to figure a way of getting my webcam able to see me dance is tricky! That’s why I have been trying to use the Canon.
Eventually, I hope to have my Airport express hooked up to my stereo, so my computer doesn’t need to be connected to it directly (thus freeing myself of having to choose between music and a possible video I’d like to watch, such as one of Veena’s lessons or something). -
Sounds like you have multiple things going on.
Your stereo is hooked up to your computer which is hooked up to your Airport Express (I guess for Internet connection)? Does your computer not have wifi?
Also note that most webcams you have to zoom out (for full wide-angle) from the computer’s software. Have you done that? Almost any webcam should give you a much wider field than your Canon camcorder.
And so I understand completely, what is in the closet? -
WebJunk, I presume poor analysis of optics wouldn’t win me the trip to Barbados anyway? Or was that the “consolation-prize” 😉
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Maybe your prize should be a trip to the Abba Museum 🙂
I don’t think Barbados is a good prize regardless. Don’t remember anyone on here from there. But several people are from the Cayman Islands and there are pole studios there. Might be a great Winter trip.
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