Filming a Primary School Musical: Behind the Scenes of a Four-Day Production
Families getting settled in before the show begins!
When you think of a primary school musical, you might picture proud parents, colourful costumes, and kids giving their all under the stage lights. What you may not picture is the technical production happening behind the scenes to capture every moment and make it available for families to enjoy again and again.
Recently, I had the opportunity to film a four-day school musical at a local theatre. Each night featured a different house, so every student had their moment to shine. The school wanted families to be able to purchase a high-quality recording the very next day. That meant filming, editing, and delivering each show under tight timeframes while maintaining professional production values.
Here’s how I made it happen.
Professional Camera Setup
To do justice to the students’ performance, I used a two-camera setup:
Sony FX3 – my main close-up camera. With its cinematic image quality and low-light performance, it handled the tricky theatre lighting beautifully.
Sony ZV-E10 – set wide to capture the full stage. This gave me a reliable “master shot” to cut back to at any point.
Both cameras were fitted with Tentacle Sync devices. These tiny boxes provide matching timecode across all cameras and recorders, so everything lines up perfectly in the edit. No clapping hands or guessing, just frame-accurate sync every time.
Capturing High-Quality Audio
In theatre, sound is just as important as vision. Instead of relying on camera mics, I tapped directly into the theatre’s audio desk. From there, I recorded the clean feed into my Sound Devices MixPre-6, a professional-grade audio recorder.
For extra insurance, I also captured ambient audio to blend in applause and audience reactions later. This little detail helps parents feel like they’re back in the theatre when they watch the recording at home.
Editing Overnight on Final Cut Pro
Each performance needed to be ready for purchase the following day. That meant working fast without compromising quality.
Here’s my streamlined workflow on Final Cut Pro, running on a Mac Studio:
Ingest Footage – copy footage and audio to SSDs as soon as the show wraps.
Multicam Sync – thanks to Tentacle timecode, syncing is almost instant. Both cameras and the MixPre-6 audio slot neatly into place.
Cutting the Show – I create a multicam sequence, switching between close-ups and wides to keep the storytelling engaging.
Sound Polish – balancing levels and blending in audience ambience for a natural feel.
Export & Encode – I export a master file, then compress into H.264 for a smooth playback experience without huge file sizes.
Because much of the process is pre-prepared with templates, I can move from curtain call to delivery within hours.
Seamless Sales & Delivery via Shopify
To make it easy for families, I use Shopify’s digital downloads system. Each show is uploaded as a secure digital file. Parents can purchase directly through the school’s online shop and receive a link to download their child’s performance.
The result? No waiting for DVDs, no postage delays. Just instant access to a polished, professional recording.
Why This Matters for Schools
For schools, this approach has clear benefits:
Professional Quality – cinematic video and crystal-clear audio that families will treasure.
Fast Turnaround – recordings available the very next day.
Easy Access – simple digital downloads through a secure online store.
Lessons for Fellow Videographers
For other videographers looking to tackle school or community productions, here are a few takeaways from my setup:
Always run two cameras: one close-up, one wide. The wide is your safety net.
Sync with timecode: Tentacle Sync saves hours in post.
Prioritise sound: a direct desk feed plus ambience is far superior to camera mics.
Build editing templates: graphics, titles, and export presets cut turnaround time.
Plan delivery early: whether digital or physical, know how you’ll get the product into parents’ hands.
Final Thoughts
Capturing a school musical is about more than pointing a camera at the stage. It’s about creating a keepsake for families, building a system that’s reliable under pressure, and delivering results quickly.
For this production, four houses, four nights, and four polished videos later, every student had their moment preserved, and every family could take home a piece of the magic.
