I've been contract shooting video of community theater and orchestra for several years as a second job. No film school, but I am passionate about video/audio, am an aggressive topic researcher, and a perfectionist who puts in way too much time testing things, and analyzing results (my main career for ~3.5 decades is R&D chemical engineer). My focus has been on getting professional-looking capture of performances where the videographer cannot control the performance, and where the budget is limited. So no Arri or RED camera gear (but no entry-level camcorders either).