Re: First time shooting a concert (questions)
 

It's quite possible to edit different songs together, but you have to match the musical keys and the tempo, and that's a bit tricky, but can be done.
This is an edit of quite a few weeks worth of show, into something that works musically - If you listen to Proud Mary, there's a bit of a verse, a chorus and and end - so just enough to make the song work. The singer was just given the clips with her in them - so no separate audio tracks - just the 'as broadcast stuff'.

I'd see if you can do something similar with your clips from the show.

Re: First time shooting a concert (questions)
 

Steven hit the one thing that stood out a bit to me - the expectation is that the audio and the video "match" in some way... once I got over that, the video itself looked good, you improved over the last guy!

The problem with a "highlight" is always trying to stitch together a bunch of different "outfits" to make an ensemble that doesn't look funky or tacky (nod to those US Olympic duds - ouch, my eyes...).

I just took it as a highlight video with a generic "soundtrack", and figured the actual deliverable DVD would be the actual performances, i.e. a "documentary" of the event.

Most of the time mixing a successful "trailer" or "highlight" is harder than straight "docu" mixing! Much like a movie trailer, you have 30-60 seconds to "hook" the viewer to watch the whole thing, so you have to connect them to the "whole" - perhaps a "Christmas Concert" with Christmas music might be one place to start?

Re: First time shooting a concert (questions)
 

The reason I didn't use Christmas music for the highlight video was simply because the place I went to license music (premiumbeat.com, due to affordablility) had very little that I liked as far as Christmas went, so I decided to throw some generic "rock" track on there to suit my needs. At this point, I'm trying to put together a simple highlight with actual video/audio from the event as opposed to the generic track. I'm having a bit more luck with it already than I had anticipated. The DVD itself has a full length edit of the video, and really the intention of delivering the DVD was to give out a copy of the full performance. That is what I spent most of my time on. The highlight, for me, was a bit of an after thought. Something else I could put on the DVD to give it more depth. I intend to work closely with the director of the concert to create a promo for next year, however I deemed that an unnecessary part of the DVD as it is still January.

At the end of the day, I don't have to deliver a highlight video. They are not paying me for anything other than a DVD with the full video on it. That is what I will deliver if I can't put a better highlight video together by tomorrow night. I appreciate all the feedback.

Re: First time shooting a concert (questions)
 

Matthias,

You have had a great project to cut your teeth on. And a lot of DVINFO guys really stepped up to give you good advice. There is a lot of good advice on this thread. That does not always happen for new boots. It happened for you because you hung in there with us. Don't get me wrong, this is a community based on people helping each other, regardless of experience level. I have done this for a few years and I learn something new on this site almost every day. The reason some guys ( at least me) are hesitant to spend a lot of time helping a new guy is this: some guy logs in and says "I have a new project on my hands, PLEASE help me! We spend our time helping out, and the guy never returns to the site again.

If you continue to hold your interest in video this site is an amazing resource. And much of what you will want to learn is already here. Check out the whole site, you might be surprised what you find.

I am glad this project went well for you. I have seen guys with far more experience than you put a gig like that straight in the toilet!

Paul, did you work on that edit? I could have made some jokes about her choice of hair style but I am sensitive to the fact it could be chemo induced, so I refrained?

Steve

Re: First time shooting a concert (questions)
 

Matthias, first, you did a very good job shooting and editing the images for the highlight video. But, a lot of the viewers experience will be how well you were able to capture the sound. If it is good you've got a very worthwhile product.

or event videos, as has been pointed out, you can't go by what a mass produced DVD would cost. I do a lot of dance, theatrical, and live performance video productions. I keep the costs of the finished DVD's as low as I can while still making a reasonable rate. My normal day rate for a day of shooting if I bring my own camea is $850. So, if I'm doing a live event video where I'll also edit there has to be a reasonable return. I'm still less expensive than a lot of others around me in my market. I usually charge $25 per DVD and $30 for a BR. Other companies around me are charging $30 or $35 per DVD. Having the ability to purchase a quality produced video is usually very worth it for the people who want it because it allows them to enjoy the live performance without having to worry about videoing it. I always have people come up to me after these shows and thank me for doing it.

I would recommend that you don't scrap working on the highlight video. You've got the footage and it could be a good learning experience as well as possibly a good marketing tool. To be able to cut between different performances you should learn a little about editing narratives and documentaries. Using a lot of those techniques and theories will help to put a highlight video together that won't feel choppy or have a strange rhythm to it. Cross fades can help but don't over use them. You could cut midway through a song to the beginning of another song to eliminate strange tempo or pitch changes. If you are knowledgeable about music, you could even go as far as making cuts between pleasing chord progressions. Think of it as doing a jazz solo, sometimes changes in keys or tempos are abrupt, and sometimes they are smooth and almost seamless. Editing is definitely an art. There is a definite rhythm that every project has both visually and sonically. Good luck and have fun with it.