This is a multi-part blog series.
0. Overview – objectives, challenges, key steps.
1. Obtaining “blackness” under the player’s arms, above the legs.
2. Creating nicely-diffused lighting of the keyboard yet permanent and compact.
3. Mounting a good quality overhead camera to be there when needed.
Temporarily, for initial positioning tests, we mounted the Cybershot onto a microphone stand – this gave the height and position (168 cm above floor; approx 110 cm above keyboard table level).
For the final installation it will be useful to have a control/charging/data cable connected permanently, which is not possible with the Cybershot model we have, so reluctantly the search begins for an alternative. We discover the Sony RXO but version one had a fixed screen which would not be viewable from the piano side once mounted – but the RXO is superseded by the RXO mk2 which has 4K capture and a screen which can be tilted and flipped. The screen is small (very small) but is sufficient for verifying camera operation and position while seated at the piano. It saves buying, powering and cabling a separate HDMI screen.
A custom metal panel is installed which is used to both fix the camera and to align it horizontally.
Results: “Blackness” under player’s arms, SonyRXOII camera mounted above keyboard, diffused overhead lighting. All comes together with an animated space in the upper half of the image.
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