Making a music video.
 

This local band called Harsh Manner, have finished their CD, and just have to do the final steps before being able to sell it. I recently heard their main track on the cd, and it blew me away. I heard them play it a few times live, but something would always be messed up when they played it live, that usually killed the whole song, but this studio recorded and mixed track, is freaking amazing, it sounds awesome, and as always, Jimmy's guitar playing is insane. Anyway, I know these guys pretty well (my cousin, Lindsey, dates the guitarist, and my other cousin, Amelia, used to date the Singer....so yeah..).

Anyway, I've mentioned to them a few times about doing a music video, and my cousin, Lindsey, said that would be a pretty good idea, and they would like to do it. I haven't talked to the band yet, but i'm 95% sure they will be up to it. They have also asked me to do their website, but they already paid some kid $40 to do one, and we'll see...if his sucks, then i'll do them one...i'm guessing its going to suck...

Now about shooting a music video. I need some serious pointers here, editing is no problem, but i'm worried about shooting. The main thing is, how many different locations do we need to go to and get every shot...and all that? Basically i'm planning on finding a main location, and doing a wide overall shot of them playing the song, then doing the closeups, or whatever, of the guitarist, then the shots of the drummer, then the bass, then the singer....etc.....but what how many more shots do I need? I don't have any ideas of anything they could do to represent the song to just kind of cut in the video...so what about another location on the next day, or something? Or how about shooting the main stuff, and then just shooting some stuff at their live shows and mixing that in there?

Also, since I don't have much access to lighting stuff, would it be best to find the locations outdoors and shoot it in daylight? My camera is just a $400 1CCD consumer camera, also. I don't think anyone would be willing to put up the money to possibly rent a better camera (such as a PD150) so it will have to work. I don't think they will be expecting anything great, but I can guarantee that it will be much better then their expectations, though...

So....any advice on this stuff would be great....

Stay away from malls...

Alex,

Storyboard your video first.

Seriously. A little formal film approach will go a long way in making the whole thing come together.

Not funny. Infact, i'll get permission, and the music video will take place in a mall. Nah, that would be too... but you get my point.

You could film a narrative seperate from the performance
and intercut that with the performance footage.

You are the only one with the vision, so it's not about how many shots you have to shoot. Then it depends on the pace of the song and uhm...your vision, of course you have to consider your technical limitations as well, but you are the only one who knows that. All I'm saying is, check out some music videos from different artists and after that it's up to your own, did I tell you? Vision.

Even if I can explain how to do it, you would end up with a totally different look and feel anyway, so trust your instincts.

Narrative, is telling a story, short and feature films are usually narrative.

Yeah, there's really no story to tell with this song, it's just fast brutal good ol' metal...

"Imagination is more important then knowledge." -- Albert Einstein

Amen to that.

<<"Imagination is more important then knowledge." -- Albert Einstein>>

MY imagination tells me that Einstein probably wrote "than" instead of "then"...but it's still a good point!

Alex, this would be a great chance to be creative, rather than just a straight-up presentation of the band. Fine, you don't have to tell a story with the video, but you CAN present a mood, or a attitude, or a metaphor. At the very least, try to come up with interesting ways to shoot the video. Take advantage of the mobility of your 1 CCD camera; lash it to a long pole and get up on a ladder and swing it over the band (be careful, of course!); attach it to the musicians or their instruments or roll it between their legs on a skateboard, anything really. This is your opportunity to experiment!!

Alex- Any steel mills in your neck of the woods? That might be a cool setting for a metal vid...

Hmmm, thats a great idea, we have plenty of them here in Canton, one of the biggest would be Timken. I think it would be difficult to get permission and all that crap to be able to film there, that plus all the safety concerns, and that plus the fact that its like 150F in there....heh

If you ask REALLLLY nice, you may be able to have access ( Following OSHA safety standards, of course ), and film some footage for background. Then bluescreen the band and superimpose it over the steel mill footage.

<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Knappenberger : Hmmm, thats a great idea, we have plenty of them here in Canton, one of the biggest would be Timken. I think it would be difficult to get permission and all that crap to be able to film there, that plus all the safety concerns, and that plus the fact that its like 150F in there....heh -->>>

hmm, i think the 150F would add a nice touch to the atmosphere. Adds tension to the situation.

Well, a few pointers (i have 2 metal videos under my belt now :)

1) Length of the tune. Keep it under 4 minutes unless you have a very compelling story to tell :)

2) Show the band. Remember that ultimately this is a commercial for the band. So if you dont' show of their charisma and stagepresence (not necessarily on a stage though) then it will be fairly useless for marketing the band.

3) Make storyboards and use as much "traditional" techniques as possible. This mainly because it saves time when shooting. And you can waste tape shooting variants of the scenes instead of shooting scenes that you never use.

4) make a shooting list /schedule. When going in on your 8:th shooting hour and the band is getting tired, having a list to see "ok. what have we got and what havent' we got" will save your day. Trust me that calling up the band a week later when you discover that you are missing a vital chunk with the lead singer, is not an option.

5) in relation to #4, having a good assistant to keep track of what shots are in order & what timecode for each shot & take is very very very very useful.

6) shoot a lot of film/tape. For both my videos i've had 5-6 hours worth of material for 4 minutes of video.

7) The better prepared you are, the smoother the actual shooting (and following editing) will be. The talent can get very very very testy when you are running in on the 12:th hour =)

8) Provide for food. :)

9) Listen in with the band if they have any ideas and if there is a special setting that they feel conveys the "feel" of the band. The Steelmill might be real cool for certain metal genres, and totally wrong for others. So listen first, decide then.

10) Remember, that even if you make a good video, its up to the record label (ie. the promotors of the band) if it will be sent to any stations. Getting stations to play videos of unknown bands are VERY VERY VERY hard and usually needs some incentive (such as buying commercial time).

Well, there are probably several others i've forgotten but you'll find them out :)

Good luck,
Henrik Bengtsson

Hey Henrik- I have some buddies in your neck of the woods I believe... Have you ever heard of Swedish Whistler? They're more Popish than Metal, but not bad overall.