The Dance Academy
Intro
The Dance Academy is a Bucks County dance studio dedicated to instilling the love of dance in all of their students and have been doing so since 1987 through the art direction of Mrs. Donnajean Kline and her talented, caring, and friendly staff. The studio contacted me by referral in June of 2023 looking for a last minute replacement videographer for the studio’s yearly dance revue. This proved to be a fairly large production with many moving parts, lighting changes, and sound quality challenges.
My Role
Videographer for stationary camera operation, Audio Tech for capturing stage and Emcee audio. Gimbal operator for B-roll Footage. Photographer to capture stage performance.
Timeline
2 Night Event
4 hours of recording
1 Week Turnaround
Tech
Lumix G7 | 40-150mm Olympus Lens
Canon Rebel T4i | 55mm Canon | UV Filter
DJI Ronin S2 Gimbal Stabilizer
Adobe Premiere Pro & Light Room
Outcome
Parents, students, and staff have loved their videos and photos. In 2025, TDA enjoyed my work so much they requested additional backstage and b-roll footage, which they use throughout their social media.
Videography
The Dance Academy requested one stationary camera to capture the stage performance. There are always surprises during live events handheld microphone failures, lighting changes, amplification changes, and added video elements to name a few. Here are a couple of challenges I encountered.
Challenge: Handheld microphone failure during introduction.
Solution: Backup wireless lavalier microphones to capture audio
This clip shows a handheld microphone failing during Mrs. Kline’s introduction of the graduating seniors. Luckily you will not notice a change in the video audio because of my microphone coverage. I placed one Hollyland wireless lavalier mic on Mrs. Kline and kept one in the back of the room to guarantee coverage of the audience. Also, I strategically placed my Handy Zoom H6 with a 120 degree environment microphone on stage behind Mrs. Kline.
Challenge: Lighting delay during introduction.
Prior to the event start, I ran through the lighting changes with Mr. Kline at the Engineer desk but there was a lighting delay which caused over exposure.
Solution: Mid-range aperture settings, real-time adjustments, and post production frame-by-frame edits.
I used safe mid-range aperture settings and a double speed frame rate. This produces darker raw footage which is easily enhanced in post while ensuring added brightness does not over expose the footage beyond usability.
Photography
During the performances of the 2024 Revue I used my Canon to capture signature moments of each performance.
