Music Video... at DVinfo.net

Kevin Lee · November 25th, 2003, 12:28 PM

I am contemplating shooting a music video (my first) of a friend's percusion
band.
I have a PD150. I have an idea for it but have yet to approach and pitch it to
them.
Before i go ahead, it'd be great if others who have experience in
producing/shooting
music videos share some advice/info.... shooting techniques, 2 cam or 1 cam and
capturing the best audio on the most miserly of budgets (currently, i just have
the
pd150 mic and a audiotechnica lav mic).

Thanks...

Matthew Laskey · November 27th, 2003, 03:51 PM

Generally shooting a music video isnt a real problem with sound. Most major video shoots add the audio track afterwards, unless your doing a live version or similar.

I have had friends involved in past music videos and it seems that the track is normally played outloud for the group 'to sing along to' or 'play along to'. Audio isn't recorded, it is simply added after the shoot.

Correct me if im wrong, but its how I have always seen it done.

In the matter of shooting with 1 cam or 2, I would have to say it depends on many factors, your budget, crew avaliablily, format etc. If you are shooting with plenty of time record a certain angle then have them rerun to film other angles.

Matthew Laskey

Bill Pryor · November 29th, 2003, 07:24 PM

What Matthew said about sound is correct. The band plays for real, but they're playing along with their CD. Then after the shoot you load the sound from the CD and edit to that. Just record reference audio with your camera.
Depending on the style of the video, what I usually do is have them run through the song one time while I do a lot of different moving long shots...play it again and I do shots of the singer, then play it again and get the lead guitar, play it again...etc. So if there are 5 band members, you might want them to run through it 10 times or so. Sounds difficult, but the song won't be much over 2 minutes, probably, so it's easy. I also like to use a tungsten preset and let the colored lights do whatever they do. If I'm using a camera that has slow shutter speeds, as the 150 does, I'll do a few additional takes at a 1/4 and 1/8 shutter speed, making for nice blur effects. You can also walk in and out or zoom in and out for some cool effects using the slow shutter.

Joe Sacher · November 29th, 2003, 11:56 PM

You do want to capture sound while shooting, but on camera mic is fine. If you don't have any sound, it is harder to sync up the video to the master audio when you start lining up takes.

Dan Uneken · November 30th, 2003, 07:27 AM

Doing percussion on a music video has always proven hard for me to synchronise. Even though the beat is regular, they throw in riffs (or what do you call those in percussion) at unexpected moments, which is difficult for the artists to remember exactly when they occur, I would identify those "riffs" and do close ups of them to be inserted later at the right spot. Since your band is a percussion band, you have your work cut out. Please let us know what happened! Good luck.

Kevin Lee · November 30th, 2003, 09:36 AM

Thanks for the replies.

It's a coincidence Dan you mention. I just spoke with the lead and he mentioned it would be best to record it live. There is a lot of improvisation with percussion so each take can be quite different.

I'm on a "no-budget" shoot for this... what will be the most economical sound equipment solution for a live 12 man percussion shoot? 12 wireless lav, mixer? 2 shotgun boom mics? (my sound equipment experience is limited)

And... if i go for a night/exterior location shoot... whats the most economical lighting package? battery/generator? (my lighting equipment experience is limited too)

We'll try and get some sort of sponsorship from rental houses... scheduled to shoot in january... after choreographying a set piece.

Cheers.

Joe Sacher · November 30th, 2003, 10:34 AM

It is going to be hard to record it live without a couple of cameras. I did about 35 runs through the song with two cameras to get all the angles I wanted for one of my videos.

Dan Uneken · November 30th, 2003, 12:46 PM

Shoot with at least two camera's, do at least three or four passes of the music. Make sure each pass is as close as possible to the others, especially in tempo.
Sound recording: just a suggestion, but I would try somehow hanging two omni directional microphones above the band. This is assuming there is not a lot of ambient noise there and not too much wind.
Light for night shooting: hard to light a 12-man band with a few lights. Ideally you would want one or two of these white balloons that float above the set and have strong lights in them, or some other way to smooth the light (reduce the glaring contrast that normal lights will give you at night outside and the difference in lighting between subjects close to the lights and subjects farther away). But all these tricks are expensive and require professional electricians. I would use free light (daylight).

Kevin Lee · December 2nd, 2003, 09:44 AM

Joe Sacher - >> 35 runs? whoops, that must have been exhausting. I'm hoping that a little storyboarding on my end might help. I aim to get at least 2 cams for tights and wides. I have a pd150 and there might be an xl1 available. I assume matching footages from the two will not be too much of a hassle??

Dan Uneken -->> Yes, it seems daylight is most likely the way to go. Beggars can't be choosers. Your 2 omni directional mic setup sounds good. But since i'm most likely shooting outdoors these would have to be on stands.... or would 4 fed into a mixer be the way to go? I'll "try" hook-up a sound dude but any advance advice will be most helpful.

Cheers.

November 25th, 2003, 12:28 PM	#1
Kevin Lee Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 224	Music Video... I am contemplating shooting a music video (my first) of a friend's percusion band. I have a PD150. I have an idea for it but have yet to approach and pitch it to them. Before i go ahead, it'd be great if others who have experience in producing/shooting music videos share some advice/info.... shooting techniques, 2 cam or 1 cam and capturing the best audio on the most miserly of budgets (currently, i just have the pd150 mic and a audiotechnica lav mic). Thanks...

November 30th, 2003, 07:27 AM	#5
Dan Uneken Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andalucia, Spain Posts: 301	Doing percussion on a music video has always proven hard for me to synchronise. Even though the beat is regular, they throw in riffs (or what do you call those in percussion) at unexpected moments, which is difficult for the artists to remember exactly when they occur, I would identify those "riffs" and do close ups of them to be inserted later at the right spot. Since your band is a percussion band, you have your work cut out. Please let us know what happened! Good luck. __________________ Film & TV locations & production Spain http://www.fotofilmvideo.com/

November 30th, 2003, 12:46 PM	#8
Dan Uneken Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Andalucia, Spain Posts: 301	Shoot with at least two camera's, do at least three or four passes of the music. Make sure each pass is as close as possible to the others, especially in tempo. Sound recording: just a suggestion, but I would try somehow hanging two omni directional microphones above the band. This is assuming there is not a lot of ambient noise there and not too much wind. Light for night shooting: hard to light a 12-man band with a few lights. Ideally you would want one or two of these white balloons that float above the set and have strong lights in them, or some other way to smooth the light (reduce the glaring contrast that normal lights will give you at night outside and the difference in lighting between subjects close to the lights and subjects farther away). But all these tricks are expensive and require professional electricians. I would use free light (daylight). __________________ Film & TV locations & production Spain http://www.fotofilmvideo.com/

November 27th, 2003, 03:51 PM	#2
Matthew Laskey Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: NY Posts: 37	Generally shooting a music video isnt a real problem with sound. Most major video shoots add the audio track afterwards, unless your doing a live version or similar. I have had friends involved in past music videos and it seems that the track is normally played outloud for the group 'to sing along to' or 'play along to'. Audio isn't recorded, it is simply added after the shoot. Correct me if im wrong, but its how I have always seen it done. In the matter of shooting with 1 cam or 2, I would have to say it depends on many factors, your budget, crew avaliablily, format etc. If you are shooting with plenty of time record a certain angle then have them rerun to film other angles. Matthew Laskey

November 29th, 2003, 07:24 PM	#3
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	What Matthew said about sound is correct. The band plays for real, but they're playing along with their CD. Then after the shoot you load the sound from the CD and edit to that. Just record reference audio with your camera. Depending on the style of the video, what I usually do is have them run through the song one time while I do a lot of different moving long shots...play it again and I do shots of the singer, then play it again and get the lead guitar, play it again...etc. So if there are 5 band members, you might want them to run through it 10 times or so. Sounds difficult, but the song won't be much over 2 minutes, probably, so it's easy. I also like to use a tungsten preset and let the colored lights do whatever they do. If I'm using a camera that has slow shutter speeds, as the 150 does, I'll do a few additional takes at a 1/4 and 1/8 shutter speed, making for nice blur effects. You can also walk in and out or zoom in and out for some cool effects using the slow shutter.

November 29th, 2003, 11:56 PM	#4
Joe Sacher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 177	You do want to capture sound while shooting, but on camera mic is fine. If you don't have any sound, it is harder to sync up the video to the master audio when you start lining up takes.

November 30th, 2003, 09:36 AM	#6
Kevin Lee Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 224	Thanks for the replies. It's a coincidence Dan you mention. I just spoke with the lead and he mentioned it would be best to record it live. There is a lot of improvisation with percussion so each take can be quite different. I'm on a "no-budget" shoot for this... what will be the most economical sound equipment solution for a live 12 man percussion shoot? 12 wireless lav, mixer? 2 shotgun boom mics? (my sound equipment experience is limited) And... if i go for a night/exterior location shoot... whats the most economical lighting package? battery/generator? (my lighting equipment experience is limited too) We'll try and get some sort of sponsorship from rental houses... scheduled to shoot in january... after choreographying a set piece. Cheers.

November 30th, 2003, 10:34 AM	#7
Joe Sacher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 177	It is going to be hard to record it live without a couple of cameras. I did about 35 runs through the song with two cameras to get all the angles I wanted for one of my videos.

December 2nd, 2003, 09:44 AM	#9
Kevin Lee Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 224	Joe Sacher - >> 35 runs? whoops, that must have been exhausting. I'm hoping that a little storyboarding on my end might help. I aim to get at least 2 cams for tights and wides. I have a pd150 and there might be an xl1 available. I assume matching footages from the two will not be too much of a hassle?? Dan Uneken -->> Yes, it seems daylight is most likely the way to go. Beggars can't be choosers. Your 2 omni directional mic setup sounds good. But since i'm most likely shooting outdoors these would have to be on stands.... or would 4 fed into a mixer be the way to go? I'll "try" hook-up a sound dude but any advance advice will be most helpful. Cheers.