Hoffmann and video cameras

[edo...@gmail.com]

At last night's Hoffmann performance at the Met, the video cameras
were all in place, capturing everything. I believe they always video
one or two performances before the actual movie-HD showing, which is a
week from today.

One reason for this is so they can make a sort of compilation for
their eventual DVD release. If a certain scene or aria, or even one
high note goes better at an earlier performance than at the HD
performance, it will be spliced in and used for the commercial DVD
release. So what we will be getting is still a live performance, but
not one single live performance. We get the best of three live
performances made into one.

I also believe that the entire camera and technical crew use these
other two performances to "perfect" and get used to and familiar with
exactly what they have to do for the actual HD performance.

I thought the presence of the cameras to be quite intrusive last
night. On both the left and right side of the orchestra level, a
camera with cameraman was placed on a very high sort of big chair
attached to some hydraulic devise so the seat would rise and fall as
need be for a given scene. Because of this, about 20-30 seats behind
and around this obstacle were left unsold. This camera was in about
Row L on either side, right in the middle of the row. At least 60
orchestra seats were not sold for a sold out performance just so the
eventual DVD could be a mixture of three performances. I am sure the
same thing will happen at the remaining Hoffmann performance before
the moviecast next Saturday. I also think the camera was a real bother
to the people sitting right in front of it, since the huge lens was
literally directly over their heads by no more than what appeared to
be less than a foot in measurement.

There were also cameras at the left side front and right side front at
the orchestra pit, and I am sure there were other cameras that I
couldn't see from my side box in the balcony.

While I suppose all this fancy equipment is silent, its very overt
presence is distracting, to say the least. Also, the little robotic
camera in the footlights constantly moves back and forth during the
music. It is relatively small, and black, but it can be seen, and is
very annoying and distracting.

I guess those that paid up to $320 for last nights performance do not
even have the right to complain. It's "all for the preservation of
art" I suppose, and the Met's forthcoming DVD is much more important
to the Met than the comfort and enjoyment of the performance by the
full house which paid a lot of money to be there.

Ed

[Chuck]

> > I guess those that paid up to $320 for last nights performance do not
> > even have the right to complain. It's "all for the preservation of
> > art" I suppose, and the Met's forthcoming DVD is much more important
> > to the Met than the comfort and enjoyment of the performance by the
> > full house which paid a lot of money to be there.
>

> In one of her occasional pleas for donations, the Live-HD hostess for
> Hoffman, Deborah Voigt, mentioned that less than half of the Met's
> budget comes from ticket sales.

Bleah.

The performances of Tales of Hoffmann I saw at Minnesota Opera a few
seasons ago were far better in every musical aspect than what I heard on
Toll Brothers McMansion Radio yesterday. (I'd guess the staging was
probably better too..)