OCEANSIZE - THREE NIGHTS AT THE ROADHOUSE - October 2008

We were invited to crew a three-night live shoot (for DVD release) with Dash Productions. The three nights celebrated the tenth anniversary of the band "Oceansize", and they played a different album on each night! The gig was mixed live using a Tricaster Studio, and directed by Andrew and Hasan.

Mat writes: "Camera Operating in such a small and crowded venue was a new experience for me. A fun experience that involved maximum concentration and impecable patience with some members of the slightly inhebriated thronging crowd! When the band began, crowd noise and the band's sound filled my ears making listening to the Director's instruction over COMMS very difficult. Despite these insignificent occupational hazards it was a brilliant night and a very succesful shoot. The experience gave me an incredible and powerful image of how a team should work; we were ahead of schedule at some points and had very few technical hitches for an OB of this magnitude."

Hasan writes: "Directing the second and third nights of Oceansize's 10th anniversary gig was an unbelievable experience, I was calling the shots I wanted and everybody came together very well. This was my first paid live directing gig, and I loved every minute of it: from the technical aspect of it to the late nights, it was definitely worth it. The gig required a lot patience as the main event didn't start till late, however we had to be ready early as people started coming into the building to see the support band. From the directoral side, it was unbelievable, I had to talk constantly make sure all the cameras knew what was going on and what was going to happen, you would just see a perfect shot and tell the camera person to stay as still as possible so you could get on them.... but you wouldn't have time to appreciate the shot as the next shot was already asking to be taken!"    

Jack writes: "I spent the three nights filming on what we dubbed 'Pit-cam', a small hole in front of the stage between two speakers. It was cramped and very loud, but it enabled us to get some great shots. I really enjoyed the shoots, but it left me aching for several days afterwards!"

Steven Writes: "Filming Oceansize at the Roadhouse in Manchester was an amazing experience: it really gave us a chance to see what a "live" Outside Broadcast (OB) is like. Most of the equipment used was hired, therefore it was top end. When I was faced with the challenge of getting to know my camera it looked a rather daunting prospect. I looked at all the switches and dials, I was overcome with fear "what if I mess up or break it". after 20 minutes I became comfy and had got to know my camera. I then had the rest of the night to look forward to. Once the band started it was nearly impossible to hear the director call our instructions but once you had tuned your ears it was awsome, it was like being involved in the industry. There were Instructions flying at you all the time you really had to be on the ball. At the end of the night the bar looked very tempting to us all....!"