Hello everyone! This is my first posting in this section. I’d love if you were able to offer some feedback, both on what I’m doing right and what I should/can do better.

http://fmw.teack.net/lullaby/lullaby_01.html

I was asked by the band to come out and be a B Camera - I've never shot a music video before, but I've seen many and know what I like, or what I'd like to try and do at least. The last video production I did was *very* controlled and stable: always on sticks, slow pans, no zooms, good exposure, tack sharp focus.

I went for grit on this one. I wanted to do everything to get away from the orderly style, just to try it out. This was all hand held, arm-extended swooping in-your-face shots with aggressive colour grading (which is also used to hide the grain in the blacks). I was only on sticks for two takes - one when with the singer's face is up close, and the other was a wide.

I’d really appreciate some constructive feedback, thank you.

Well,

It felt very organic. The camera moves were good, and it "felt" like a music video. I only have two issues with it.

1. Structurally, there was just nothing. It's a shoot of a band. There's no story at all. I think what separates pro music videos from the rest is that pro videos tend to be mini movies. They have a story line that gives you some reason to care about the band or the song or both. Here, we have some guys playing on a stage. Or at least we assume it's a stage because there is no audience, and nothing of a "space" is shown around the band.

2. Lighting. Yes it's gritty and heavily graded. And it works. In fact, I think it looks terrific! But, on the closeups of the lead, and for some of the others, you have no eyes. And I think in order for us to make any kind of emotional connection to these people playing, we need the eyes. I found myself paying far more attention to the technicals of the shoot, than the artists, and I don't think this is what you want for the average audience.


Now don't get me wrong. This is certainly a cut above most of what I see. I thought it was really well done. And other than those two nit-picks, I've got nothin!

Good stuff.

Wow, I just finished my first music video today. It looks nothing like that!
What size room did you have to shoot in. I would love to be able to shoot on a stage big enough to do selective lighting with a black background.\

Great job.

Perrone, that's exactly what I wanted, honest feedback, thank you. I agree with everything you said, and have some answers for you. Glad you like it overall, means a lot to me, especially since your feedback is so balanced.

1) Totally agree - stories are so important. There was/is a story that's been shot, but it was done with out me, several months ago. This was more of a pickup shoot - just the band playing, and it was the only shoot that I was involved in on this video. The story starts with a young girl, being left alone in front of a TV as the song says, then shows her later in life as a gorgeous in-her-early twenties doing a photo-shoot but living a jaded life, and continues on from there. My shots will edited with the story, but all I have to show are my shots, and from the DP/showreel perspective. This isn't the final video that'll be shown, rather, I'm using this as an experimental piece to show my colleagues (you) to get perspective on if I'm doing it right or not :D I also had fun shooting + editing it.

2) Again, totally agree, - gotta be able to see their eyes. Next time, I'd demand a bounce/eye-light be used in addition to the overhead lights. In the raw footage, you kind of can, but crushing the blacks removes eye-detail. I've tried using a spot vignette to raise the exposure on the singer's eyes, but since I shot this with HDV, I've already pushed it to its max. Next shoot I do, location permitting, I'll bring along the Mac Pro and shoot uncompressed, and properly light the eyes. Thanks Perrone!

Mark, thank you, that's very kind. I'll admit, the raw footage looks pretty bland - spending time with the 3-way Color Corrector then some time in Magic Bullet Looks can really do wonders, even with HDV. And yes, I lucked out with being invited to a stage with black drapes and a full lighting setup - lighting from overhead really looks pro.

Some Specifics: I shot this with a single-chip camera with the addition of a 35mm lens adapter with the HDV codec (this is the best low-light footage I've seen this rig produce since these setups aren't known for doing well in darker situations). It was fun, and good learning - thank you for the feedback; if anyone else has something to say I'd appreciate it too.