Michael Gaither

A few months back, I had what will definitely one of my best gigs of the year: A solo slot at The Woodshed in Los Gatos. I split the evening with the Rayburn Brothers. It was a way fun “Santa Cruz Americana”-themed show, with me solo and the Rayburns with full band in tow. (In fact, it was so much fun, we’re doing the same double bill at Treasures Roadhouse on September 27th…but I digress.)

I wanted to capture some of this, so my buddy Clark brought his GoPro camera, installed it on a mic stand, and captured my whole set from a fisheye-view sort of angle. Case in point: This version of my cell phone song, “Hang It Up”.

One of the ongoing dilemmas of trying to record a live show is that you need something that works well in low light. It’s multiplied by the fact that after you post to YouTube, that footage is compressed by an algorithm. (Or in plain English: “It tends to make the video look cruddy.)

The GoPro used here (Hero2 model) has great quality video. It’s own unique quirk is that it’s designed to be an action camera. It has no viewfinder (gasp), so you estimate, or yank the memory card out and check in a nearby laptop a few times, or just crop the video, as I did here.

Interesting angle though, and a nice live take on the song with a very vocal audience singing along. Thoughts on this low angle? Anyone?