Why did you mix it in Soanar, Vegas could do the whole job?
I only mention this cause we've had the odd user who didn't realise that Vegas is a multitracker / DAW.

Vegas will help you get the other camera angles. Setup Vegas to loop the section you want the shot for, point camera with LCD screen flipped so you can see it and get it focused right, hit record and play along. Cut new vision into video.
Also using Vegas to record the audio if you fluff a note or two while recording, no worry Vegas does punch in and handles multiple takes right out of the box.

Bob.

Excellent---I love that concerto and you played it very well--

Wonderful performance and the video looked good to me. A little hot on your face, but if you didn't say anything about the lighting, I wouldn't even mention it. Like the crop you chose...we still get to see a hint of your funny, ehem, dramatic faces. Very dramatic... I'm amazed how you're able to adjust your chin position right in the middle of what sounds like a complicated bit.

What did you use for a back drop?
Do you have a specific audience in mind? Sort of like an audition tape? I might try a soft dark border on the whole thing to finish the edges.. or tweak down the saturation and maybe bump up just the blue. Then I'm not one for leaving any video pure.

I think you did a nice job, especially for a one-man-band-and-crew. If you could only have one angle, you chose a good one, and the wide-screen fits it well. But I think it would feel a bit static in longer clips. Next time, you could recruit a friend with another camera to alternate between closeups of your face (and some tight closeups of your eyes) and closeups of your fingering....they should use a tripod because shooting handheld is too shaky when zoomed in. Then you will have 3 or 4 angles for variety when you edit, and you won't have to worry about the closeups not matching the master shot.

Howdy folks! Thanks for all the suggestions!!

I'm gonna try to address each of them. ...sorry I took so long to reply. I've be practicing and I had an orchestra rehearsal today. I've got the three cadenzas all partially learned now....just about done with the notes for two of them. :-]

jonjon01:
You're right. Some finger close-ups would look great, especially with my favorite wide-screen 24p project settings. :-] I really need to get somebody to run the camera for me. I've even got a great Manfrotto tripod with a 501 fluid head. It's kind of being wasted when used this way. :-\ I'm kind of leary of shooting multiple angles and trying to get the audio/video sync'd. Imitating the movements is easier said than done. It's hard enough to DO the movements in this piece....let alone do them in sync (and believably) with another recording! However, I will admit that I haven't tried this yet. I am a big fan of straight-takes - no edits - for both audio and video. But the first time I tried some note-by-note edits for picky clients, I really surprised myself with what I could get away with edit-wise. I should try some sync/overdubbing before I write it off (for violin recordings) altogether.


farss:
Sonar 4 is my primary audio program. I'm hooked on the bussing structure, I'm used to the plug-in and editing tools and layout. And I find that it's less cluttered (especially the way I've customized it) for detailed audio work. However, I'm not a big fan of it's audio/video sync functions, and it really screws things up if you try to combine fancy audio comp'ing with MIDI parts that include tempo changes. (If you're interested, check out my "Mute Tool Bug" posts on the Sonar forum over at the Cakewalk website.) I use Vegas now for video work and some of my post-production stuff. I'm aware that Vegas does multi-track; but Sonar is more powerful in some ways, and I've got templates for my mic setups; plus I'm familiar with its GUI and such for audio work.
Like I said above, people keep suggesting that I try the sync/overdub/VO techniques for this. I'm not conviced it will work, but I should try it before I make that call, huh? I feel the same way about punch-in and punch-out. But then, I come from 20 years of traditional classical violin training. The whole concept of NLE-type editing (audio or video) is just about opposite all that training. With live classical, it's all about getting it EXACTLY right in the one shot you have on stage! It feels kind of dirty and fake to just 'fix' stuff. But I need to get over that and just try it. :-) All the pros do.


rextillion:
Thanks! I love that piece to death. It's just hard to believe that one guy wrote that, AND the BMajor piano trio, AND the symphonies, AND the Requiem. Now why can't I do that??? What's wrong with me?


Jim H:
:-] Yup...it WAS hot. But then I grew up down south, so it felt good. Seriously though, you are not the only one who thought it was a bit bright. I need to put some more thought and effort into my lighting. It's just that by the time I set up the camera, the mics, the lights, the hard disk recorder, the cabling, and all that - I JUST WANNA PLAY!!! I don't wanna screw around with the lights! :-] I guess you could say I'm lazy - but I'd prefer it if you think of it as just a but too involved and busy. One of these days....when I can set it all up and leave it up. As for the faces, well...yeah they just look downright silly. It's the old "this is really harder than it looks so I'm subconsciously going to make faces to SHOW you how hard it really is" principle of violin playing. I have yet to fix that. :-\ I'll get it though. Sophie doesn't make weird faces; so I've got to get over it. The chin-shifting is actually part of the trick of it. If you get locked down in any one position, things don't work. EVERYTHING has to be fluid and in motion (if only a little bit) all the time. It's natural and human. (If you lock something down, you're working against everything in you -- including your HEARTBEAT!) It took me 17 years to figure that out....but it makes all the difference in the world.
The backdrop is actually carpet padding. I've got Auralex acoustic tiles overhead, and I use carpet padding on the 'walls' because I can't afford that much Auralex. (Plus it's hard to hang Auralex vertically in the MIDDLE of a room. Carpet padding just hangs straight down...no problem.).
Right now, YOU are the audience I have in mind. It gets boring to just practice all day without sharing it with anybody. Eventually, I'd like to record the concerto - probably with piano - with orchestra if I'm really blessed. By then I hope to have it in tune and fully memorized. I'm finished with school, so the only audition tapes would be for orchestra jobs (or solo performance opportunities?). But right now, I 'm just doing it for kicks and for others' enjoyment (I hope).
When you say "bump up the blue" do you mean the blue in my shirt, or the blue-green in the backdrop?


JulieR:
Thanks for the kind words. :-) It would ABSOLUTELY be boring in long clips. When I get around to doing the whole thing, I'll have to have a real crew. I have a friend with another camera; but it's much lower quality, and he's busy with grad-school auditions. The video quality with my cam is good enough that if we had two, this could look pretty solid. As I mentioned, I've got the Manfrotto + 501....just nobody to work them. I've be able to do some NICE pan/tilt work with that setup. Well....some day. :-]

Thanks again folks! ...time to go to bed. Work awaits tomorrow.....
--
Mike