[Jacke]

This is a bit related to the How to make a movie thread, but in my case I want to know some tips for making a music video, and specifically how to best sync the video to the music? I have an eMac and I have access a to DV cam and Final Cut Express...

Any and all tips and tricks are welcome!

[Axo1ot1]

I've done a few music videos in my day. Make sure you have your song recording finalized befre you start shooting. You are going to want to play it while you are taping the action, especially if you are doing lip synch.

As a general rule you will throw away all or the vast amjority of your location sound, because the audio track will be the music video, so you don't need to worry about ambient noise when you are out with the camera.

Make a storyboard of the video and/o devise a shot list so that you know exactly what you need to get on tape while you are shooting. It sucks ass to sit down in the editing room and realise you don't have enough coverage. Get lots of angles and cutaway shots so that you can fill in all the space..

Once you have shot everything, import it into Final Cut. Also import your song as a .aiff file or a .wav file (Make sure it's not a compressed format like .mp3 or .m4a). Use the audio from your location whil you are aligning the clips to the song. I find it best to have the audio waveform overlays turned on so you can quickly make the allignment visually. Once you have your video synchronized to the song you can delete the adudio from the location or turn the volume down on it to nothing so that the song isn't competing with any other sounds.

Other things to think about:
Useof camera movement is very important in music videos. The way the camera moves should reflect the pace of the song. If your song is fast and energetic, the video will not work very well if the camera is always on a tripod (unless you make incredibly fast cuts to make up for that or something).

Make sure your visuals are colorful and interesting. Don't shoot in the band's basement, shoot at the band's concert

Try to think of interesting themes and motifs for the video. It's usually boring to just watch the band play the song. It's more exciting to watch the band defeat evil space aliens while singing Not trying to suggest anything specific, just saying that as long as you're shooting a movie, you might as well tell a story.

Have fun!

[direktor]

http://homepage.mac.com/nweaver/iMovieTheater23.html

I did this one on FCP and a $3200 camcorder. 8 hour shoot, one day edit.

[k_munic]

before you ask for any tricks:

HAVE AN IDEA!!!

remember "sign o' the times" by prince/tafkap?? just "letters", no cameras, no lights, no action - you could do such a video nowadays on an iBook! (ok, allmost...)

remember "thriller" - teach your band how to dance, just 15 years later you're ready to go

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i'm sorry to be cruel, but your question remembers me of the good old times in the early 80ies, when young guys ask for more processor speed on their grafic work stations, but had absolutly NO ideas! the best art directors work nowadasy still with a stencil - and a brain....-

so, maybe your question goes more in the direction "how to make a doicumentation of a concert/band" - then see post above !

enjoy your video making

[Jacke]

Thanks everyone for your input!

Originally posted by Axo1ot1:
I've done a few music videos in my day. Make sure you have your song recording finalized befre you start shooting. You are going to want to play it while you are taping the action, especially if you are doing lip synch.

I'm actually just doing a hobbyist music for an already existing song. Anything special I need to think about while playing back the music or will any good CD-player do?

Make a storyboard of the video and/o devise a shot list so that you know exactly what you need to get on tape while you are shooting. It sucks ass to sit down in the editing room and realise you don't have enough coverage. Get lots of angles and cutaway shots so that you can fill in all the space..

I've learned the lesson to make storyboards and shot-lists the easy way (from watching the Greenlight Project ), and those are definitely on my to-do-list

Useof camera movement is very important in music videos. The way the camera moves should reflect the pace of the song. If your song is fast and energetic, the video will not work very well if the camera is always on a tripod (unless you make incredibly fast cuts to make up for that or something).

Gotcha. Any good ideas for faking a steadycam motion with a DV cam? I read a report from a journalist who used a tripod connected to the camera while holding it to give it a more "natural" movement and not the typical jerky handheld motion.

Originally posted by k_munic:
i'm sorry to be cruel, but your question remembers me of the good old times in the early 80ies, when young guys ask for more processor speed on their grafic work stations, but had absolutly NO ideas! the best art directors work nowadasy still with a stencil - and a brain

Don't worry, sometimes it's good to be cruel... But I do have an idea (not that I'm telling you so you can use it before me! )

I've realised some time ago that filming isn't about just filming whatever comes your way, but actually requires quite a bit of planning. Right now I'm picking through my options and seeing what I can do with the equipment I have and looking a bit for locations. But since I have other obligations too (studying, mostly) I'll need to do it in my spare time...

[k_munic]

i am happy you don't get angry about my "wiseguyish" comments�

the cheapest steadycam?
the tripod thing is just the half: use some tape to glue something heavy at the end of the tripod! the shakey thing is, because a dv cam is too light! so, connect something like a brick or whatever at the end of the tripod - ok, it looks silly, but the result is astonishing! same effect (what i'm doing sometimes) just hang the camcorder case over your wrist! same effect, the weigth stabilizes your arm. and don't try to use the viewfinder, just clip out the little monitor at the side of your camera!

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ideas?
listen to the music! to the lyrics! get inspired by the artist, he had some inspiration before�

well, there are some classics: filming backwards, the roadmovie, the what-happend-backstage-documentation, the chase, the surprise concert (the beatles, '69, picadilly circus london), the art/concept video............. hey, spent a few hours with mtv