Music video shoot - any tips?
 

I will be shooting my first music video next month. It will involve a lot of kids in a playground as well as band shots. Im shooting with an HD100 and I have a Dykortech AdvantaJib-Lite to use. Does anybody have any tips or ideas that make music videos a success - especially ones shot outside?

Make sure you use a timecode slate or else sync will be a royal pain in the behind. If you don't have a budget for a slate, burn timecode over the song and hold it up to the camera before playback on a laptop. Works like a champ.

The problem with music video sync can be that the band plays out of sync with your playback device. i.e. their drums are overpowering the song, so they just follow their own rhythm.

2- Some shoots just take notes (about which verse they are shooting), and they just sync in post.

3- Or if you want, you could potentially splice sync beeps into the music (lower the music's volume a lot beforehand) to make sync easier for yourself. i.e. make it really easy to sync via looking at waveforms. However, you may still need to check sync yourself (going back to my first comment).

The Three Ls
 

Lighting, Lighting, Lighting!

Even (or perhaps especially) outdoors, lighting is one of the most important aspects of getting good shots. You need to control your highlights, shadows and contrast with reflectors or spotlights. Shoot on overcast days to control harsh shadows. If you want sky/clouds in the background, you really should use lights/reflectors to make everything even and well lit. Avoid shooting during midday, as that is when shadows are the most problematic.

If you can't get lights, you could make reflectors out of silver colored tarps or styrofoam sheets or something similar. Take the time to set up your shots and experiment with lighting. This might be hard to do with the kids in the playground, so choose the right time of day to get even lighting.

Good luck!