3 cameras filming and editing

[obsh]

Hello,
I need to shoot interviews with 2 people for my website. My budget is limited, but it's important for me to make it look professional as I can.
My plan is like this: I'll use 3 cameras - one as main, and the other 2 - c.u for each person. For audio recording I'll use 2 wireless lavalier microphones - which I'll connect to one of the cameras. I'll record it on SD card, and than edit the footage with premiere Cs5.5, using the multy camera editing.
From the research I did in the internet I've found that for our budget the best camcorder is: Canon VIXIA HF R200 - the only one in that price range that has audio input port.
Microphones - I'll use the Azden 330LT UHF On-Camera Dual Bodypack System.
For the editing I'll use laptop - Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 15.6".
This is my plan, consider my budget and other limitation.
I'll be happy to hear opinions about it, and if anyone has suggestions of other ways to do it.
Thank you.

[filmboss80]

No mention of your lighting package, which is absolutely essential if you want professional looking results. No mention about the camera support either. Are any fluid head tripods in your budget?

I also have some doubts about editing 3 simultaneous streams of AVCHD on a laptop.

[obsh]

Thank you for the reply.
About the lightning - I'm going to shoot it in a small room with window, so I didn't decide yet how to do it, do you have any idea?
about the tripd - I'll get something simple, because there won't be much camera moving.
I think I will capture it to the laptop as SD.

[filmboss80]

About the lightning - I'm going to shoot it in a small room with window...

Terrific. I thought you said it was important for you to make it look professional. Lighting is essential! It is what divides professional looking shoots from those that are amateur crap. Gel the window, or block it off entirely, if you don't want backlighting issues. (Also remember that outdoor color temperature is different from indoor lighting, and you will get a poor color balance trying to mix the two.) You are trying to light 2 people, but if the room is small, you can forget 3-point lighting per person. In a small room, you will need distance between cameras and subjects; so do you plan on shoving the people up against a wall? (That would create noticeable shadows, as well as acoustical issues with sound bouncing off the walls.) You may be stuck with flooding out your whole set with soft fill lights--and that may not help you much.

about the tripd - I'll get something simple, because there won't be much camera moving.
I think I will capture it to the laptop as SD.

You're being foolish with your money. Instead of buying 3 cameras, shoot with just 2, and while one subject is speaking on one camera, you can alternate between close-up and 2-shots with the other. Never underestimate the importance of a good tripod.

Also, you are not shooting Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. You are shooting talking head interviews, with plans to stream the video on the internet. So, no need for HD. Save your money with SD cameras. SD video is also less likely to choke your laptop.

Remember, the quality of your content is far more important than the type of equipment you use. No one is going to watch your HD video if the interviews are as boring as sh!t. Ask yourself if you even need to feature an interviewer. Lots of documentaries are shot with just one camera on the interviewee. The answers are usually more important than the questions.

[turk690]

For the editing I'll use laptop - Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 15.6".

In any ideal non-linear video editing situation (NLE), there should be at least two independent hard drives at the very minimum in the computer to be used, attached to separate controllers (SATA, PATA, SCSI): one for the OS and programs, the other for captured and edited files. This requirement immediately puts out of the running a good number of laptops for consideration because they have, and can ONLY have, one hard drive. No, USB drives DO NOT count because USB controllers have other things attached to direct apart from the hard drives. Some recent-model laptops have an eSATA port. Attaching an external hard drive via eSATA fulfills the requirement for two independently-controlled hard drives in an NLE scenario where that laptop is concerned. Does this Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 have an eSATA port? If it does, well and good, and you HAVE TO use it. If the Lenovo does not, and you still want a laptop, look at another model that does.
Most beginners in NLE initially like to think the two-hard-drive argument is facile and needless. Give it time. After a few projects, they soon see.