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Joined: Feb 2012
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OP
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I have a real issue with the video recording of competitions and concerts in that the videographer seems to be more interested in putting on their own show rather than concentrating on the pianist. There is constant changes of camera angles, showing more of the pianist's head bobbing up and down rather than the hands playing the keyboard, angles from the top of the hall roof or underside of the piano, close ups of the face where you can see the beads of sweet, etc. and so much so that a viewer can never get into watching the pianist PLAYING THE PIANO. During a recent competition the pianist was approaching the final bars of Rachmaninoff's 3rd which to me is one of the most exciting (and difficult) pieces of music to watch and hear. What did the video go to? The side of the piano shot, the entire orchestra shots, behind the piano views where all one could see was head bobbing, and very little of the pianist's hands PLAYING THE PIANO. What a total disappointment for the viewer but in contacting those who did the video (major recording company) they felt it was great coverage? Is it me or do others feel the same?
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I would agree that sometimes videos of musical performances, particularly those of solo performances, have camera movements that actually detract from the viewing experience. The biggest "culprits" in this domain that immediately come to mind are Anderson and Rowe. To me - and let me remind you this is just one opinion - their videos smack of "Look how cute we are! Aren't we just so great!" They are a remarkable piano duo, however, and they deserve much of the praise they get for both their technique and musicianship, but I do not like their self-serving videos.
That said, when one knows the score and knows more or less what notes the pianist is playing, how important is it to see the hands? I have the same reservations about those feeling the need to sit where they can see the pianist's hands in a live recital. Unless one is a bit of an amateur and/or non-pianist, I don't see the necessity of seeing the hands when the sound produced is what is important.
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BruceD
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That said, when one knows the score and knows more or less what notes the pianist is playing, how important is it to see the hands? I have the same reservations about those feeling the need to sit where they can see the pianist's hands in a live recital. Unless one is a bit of an amateur and/or non-pianist, I don't see the necessity of seeing the hands when the sound produced is what is important. I must confess to sitting on "piano side" for every recital I've ever seen except one. For me there's extra excitement or interest in watching the hands I guess. The professional pianists in the audience almost always sit on the non piano side haha. As far as video close ups of the hands go, I think those are particularly interesting, and one can learn a lot about playing the piano just by watching them.
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[...]
As far as video close ups of the hands go, I think those are particularly interesting, and one can learn a lot about playing the piano just by watching them. Yes; I certainly agree with that. Sometimes one can get ideas on re-distribution of notes between the hands and even, in some cases, fingering. I've often tried to emulate the relaxation displayed by certain pianists; watching them in videos can help that aspect of practice and performance. Regards,
BruceD
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[...]
As far as video close ups of the hands go, I think those are particularly interesting, and one can learn a lot about playing the piano just by watching them. Yes; I certainly agree with that. Sometimes one can get ideas on re-distribution of notes between the hands and even, in some cases, fingering. That's right. When I was learning Ravel's Ondine, it was actually watching a pianist's redistribution of notes between his hands that made a very tricky passage playable for me, at long last. Afterwards, I was scratching my head wondering why I never thought of that before....... 
If music be the food of love, play on!
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I knew a piano teacher who always made the point of sitting far in the back on the "non-piano side" in order to evaluate projection while not being swayed by visuals. ðŸ˜
I haven't been annoyed with recent video coverage of competitions, as far as pianists go. Often, I think conductors are shorted coverage where they are important in piano concerto performances.
Way back in music school, I got stuck sitting on the "wrong side" when a friend of mine was performing a piece for LH only for a weekly recital. It took me a while to remember that her RH was in a cast!
WhoDwaldi
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Well they are shot many times by people who do not know the music or what might be interesting to pianists who are watching. How many times have we seen footage of a particularly difficult section of a concerto only to see the camera pan away from the pianist's hands and to the flute or other instrument?
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Well they are shot many times by people who do not know the music or what might be interesting to pianists who are watching. How many times have we seen footage of a particularly difficult section of a concerto only to see the camera pan away from the pianist's hands and to the flute or other instrument? I guess a "score reader" that helps the director call the camera shots is not in the budget!
WhoDwaldi
Howard (by Kawai) 5' 10"
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I have been to some Amateur Competitions where they just DON'T seem to know what they are doing, like taking a picture of my back from below stage accenting my rear end. Why is that interesting? So disappointing. You can tell when they really know how to video a piano performance!
Musica 71
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I have a real issue with the video recording of competitions and concerts in that the videographer seems to be more interested in putting on their own show rather than concentrating on the pianist. There is constant changes of camera angles, showing more of the pianist's head bobbing up and down rather than the hands playing the keyboard, angles from the top of the hall roof or underside of the piano, close ups of the face where you can see the beads of sweet, etc. and so much so that a viewer can never get into watching the pianist PLAYING THE PIANO. During a recent competition the pianist was approaching the final bars of Rachmaninoff's 3rd which to me is one of the most exciting (and difficult) pieces of music to watch and hear. What did the video go to? The side of the piano shot, the entire orchestra shots, behind the piano views where all one could see was head bobbing, and very little of the pianist's hands PLAYING THE PIANO. What a total disappointment for the viewer but in contacting those who did the video (major recording company) they felt it was great coverage? Is it me or do others feel the same? I wholeheartedly agree with you!! It is so frustrating when the exciting piano part is coming up, and they cut away to some other view. I have often thought "why can't they have someone filming who knows the music"... And I love to see the hands as well. It is amazing how much I can learn just by observing others.
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When you hear pieces played on a recording, you don't see the performer and tend to focus on just the quality of the sound. With video recordings, they become a different show altogether. When you are sitting in a concert hall, depending on your seat (Orchestra, L, Center, R balcony), you get a limited view of the performer. The videographer probably has several cameras fixed in different spots and after the concert is done do a cut & paste of different videos angles to give a more balanced coverage.
Once went to a concert given by the organist Cameron Carpenter. Each person was seeing the concert from a different angle. There were 2 video screens hanging down from the ceiling in front of the organ to gave his hands & feet a close-up view as he was playing.
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