Published Monday 5 June 2023 by Stu Gaunt in Video Production

Little Ships Live Theatre Filming in Exeter

In a return to his roots of filming the theatre, on Saturday Stu visited the Barnfield theatre in Exeter to film the brand-new production by director and composer Danny McAvoy - Little Ships.

"Set in 1940, Little Ships is about a West Country family at the start of World War II. The father, who was brought up in England, is of mixed Irish and French parentage and joins the French army. He is part of the 1st Army that for a short time holds Lille, enabling the British army to retreat to Dunkirk.
The four children of the family, who have spent all their lives in, on and under the sea, join with some friends, and together they set out in their small boats to rescue their father and bring him home". Find out more at www.littleshipsmusical.com

We were contacted by the director, who wanted to capture the show onto film in order to promote it, and hopefully take the show to larger theatres.

Stu captured the show using two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K cameras. One was fitted with our Canon 18-80 cine zoom lens for capturing close-ups, and their with the Canon 17-55mm lens offering a wide shot of the whole stage. He captured ambient audio using a Rode NTG2 on one camera, taking a live feed from the sound desk into the other camera.

Stu worked closely with the show crew, arranging for the sound technician to provide a left right mix, identical to that being sent to the theatre PA. This will allow him to mix this with a little bit of the ambient room noise, especially for audience applause - making for a more 'in the room' feel.

On the night there were a couple of sound issues on stage, luckily the sound tech also made a multitrack recording and he will re-mix the show. Stu has provided a reference video track and will marry the two together once the sound mix is finished.

If you are interested in having your theatre performance captured on video, please get in touch. We can work with you to ensure that we can make your show look great and ensure that we meet your budget.