Concert filming
Classical concert capture is our bread-and-butter, and the foundation of our team’s work so far. We’ve livestreamed and filmed concerts for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, we’ve worked in a wide variety of venues (including the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow) for clients including ClassicFM and record labels like PARMA Recordings and Intrada. We take a flexible, multi-camera approach and handle all aspects of production in house, from initial scripting all the way through capture and editing to delivery.
The Wolfgang process
-
Scripting
It’s important to us not to leave quality to chance. We’ll analyse the musical score, or script, in advance, and ensure we know which camera will be covering every musical entry, every big moment, every audience reaction. From concert hall to pop-up marquee, we can adapt this approach to work for your venue.
-
Capture
To make sure the film is as immersive and visually interesting as possible, we capture performances with up to 12 cameras – robotic and manned – often monitored from a control room we’ll create on site. Other than requiring power and internet, we are entirely self-sufficient and will work around your existing setup.
-
Editing
If we are livestreaming, the editing is done live. Otherwise, editing takes place at our studio later, when we combine the captured clips into one film. You’ll have the opportunity to review the edit and request changes (this happens twice). We deliver in 4K as standard, at 25 frames per second, but this is flexible to your requirements.
featured project: the nutcracker for ClassicFM
Our team were thrilled to provide the capture of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” for ClassicFM. The show was captured with 10 cameras and livestreamed directly to ClassicFM’s YouTube channel from the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. By fully scripting the concert in advance, we were able to capture every prominent solo and crucial entry.
team
As well as Lorimer and Calum who work full-time at Wolfgang (read more about us!), we’re proud to have built up an extremely talented team of freelance crew over the years – including camera operators, vision mixers, jib operators, sound engineers, editors, make-up artists, and runners. They know our production methods, and they know each other.
As well as production crew, we can also recommend on-camera presenters and other talent.
While the team is primarily based in Edinburgh and Glasgow, we do regularly undertake work further afield – just tell us what you’re looking for. If we’re not right for you, we’ll point you in the right direction.
FAQs
-
We offer both services.
Livestreaming is immersive – it has the benefit of audience-interaction, the feeling of everyone being in the same virtual space at the same time. It doesn’t all need to be live – quite frequently we’ll cut away to pre-recorded material in the schedule. We also use a large number of cameras to add visual variety. It feels professional, but genuine and real.
Capture is pristine – the material is filmed first, and then edited together later. It allows precise editing, and total control over what is released. It feels polished.
The two can be easily combined – quite frequently an event will be livestreamed first, and then tidied up for later release.
-
The short answer is any – we work across the UK and have experience setting up a variety of concert halls, theatres, and event venues for capture. In general, we’ll need at least a day in the venue for camera setup. We’ll need a good internet connection, and the better your venue’s lighting is, the better the picture will look.
-
The cost to capture or livestream an event varies significantly and is dependant on a great many factors including location, duration, content, and desired production level, with optional add-ons (such as whether pre-created auxiliary content is made for use in the stream, or more advanced editing is desired) adding further complexity. The best way to get an accurate costing is to contact us and tell us exactly what you’d like (or, we’d be happy to brainstorm with you). We’ll be happy to give you a rough idea of cost without any upfront commitment.
-
There’s no such thing as too early – feel free to get in contact with us as soon as you know you might need our services, don’t wait! We tend to plan our calendar around 6-12 months ahead.
Preparing for a show can take some time (preparing the camera script, booking crew, organising equipment and camera plan for the venue) and in general the earlier you contact us, the more options we have to make the capture as good as possible.
book the gang for your event
We’d be pleased to discuss the capture of your upcoming concert – just send us an email (howl@wolfgangstudios.co.uk) or complete the form here, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we see it (usually the same day). We’d love to hear from you.
