stuyvesant high school choruses

a complex video project with 13 simultaneous cameras and over 150 performers onstage

problem

The Stuyvesant High School Chorus Winter Concert had prohibitive light conditions, over 150 performers, space constraints, and no margin for error. We set out to improve their video productions and elevate the quality of video to a standard on par with the Stuyvesant seal.

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Stuyvesant High School is the premier public high school in New York City and the choral program is regarded as one of the top in the US.

We worked together with the school's Choral Program Director, Liliya Shamazov, and Harry Zernike, a videographer, to shoot and produce the video recordings from the Winter Concert.

When we were approached about this daunting project, the answer wasn't if, but how. We put together a gear plan, a shotlist, and detailed diagrams depicting the movements of the performers and our shooters. Our number one priority was to showcase the talent onstage, without distracting the live audience or placing a burden on the performers.

Additional challenges included a finale with unpredictable lighting, a birthday surprise for the conductor, and a sing-along end piece that involved performers moving throughout the audience (this created an issue for gear placement as well as recording).

To do this, we set up:
2x R5mkii
1x R6mkii
1x C500mkii
1x A6siii
1x Insta360 (shooting 5 angles at once)
1x Osmo Pocket 3
1x R5
1x 5Dmkiii

We had 2 moving shooters with telephoto lenses to capture the performers up-close, and multiple fixed wide angles to capture the whole of the stage (from different angles).

After recording, we were given a short deadline and worked around-the-clock in DaVinci Resolve to sync, edit (as Multicam), color grade, and deliver the videos to the choral program.

Students, faculty, and families were delighted to see the elevated quality we brought to the productions. One remarked, "you can finally see our smiles when we sing."

Lights & Sound: Teo Woodward (Lights and Sound Director), Nelson He, Jonathan Hu

Cameras: Anders Zernike, Harry Zernike, Jerry Qiu, Hugo Hu

Music Directors of Stuyvesant High School: Liliya Shamazov, Harold Stephan

Special Thanks to: Teo Woodward, Harry Zernike, Harold Stephan, Hugo Hu, Jerry Qiu, and the Stuyvesant Alumni Association & the Stuyvesant Parent Association.

New York, NY, USA, December 2025