Recording with a handheld digital camcorder? Help PLZ

[JonathanD]

I have started a project. We have gotten an opening slot and I know that the place will be standing room and people lined out the door. Great pa, sound guy is awesome. Its going to be a good time to record for a promo pack, youtube, myspace etc...

It will be a decently well lit area. People will be at tables eating or standing around a coffee bar or around the other bar. Should be 150-225 people attending.

So, any tips for getting the best out of this situation?

Should the person record from the back so that the crowd can be seen? Or close and just look out to the crowd every once in a while? Any ideas about sound quality? The drums will no be mic'd so I assume that a room sound would be best. Also if the camcorder is too close I assume it will distort and I don't want that... do you

Thanks again guys. This isn't till Dec 14th so I have plenty of time.

[WashburnBasser]

Whatever you do, i would strongly suggest getting an addon mic. Mics built into the camera are going to sound terrible, no matter what.

[pulse]

make sure that mic can handle lots of sound pressure too!!!

I capture a lot of live events and I usually use 2 cameras

one focussed on the stage

the other on the room

best results is make a desk recording and also camera mic audio too and mix them later on in editing software

make sure the camera taking the whole room has the stereo mic attached

the one at the front will be moving around and so will your sounds if you have a mic attached to this one

peace