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Sunday, January 6, 2008

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A Hot Live Show + Good Camera Work = A Killer Promo Video
Sid Kali Filmmaker used to shoot live shows. Booking a live show is a huge opportunity for up and coming artists to showcase their talent. Everyone has heard the incredible stories of a unknown artist being discovered by a major record label in some small club where they were performing. The media hypes these stories with a blitz of press that you can't help but notice. This hype fuels the dreams of many artists seeking music stardom.
The reality is a great majority of independent artists do not end up with record deals period. The truth is the music industry doesn't want you or your music until you can start your own buzz. It doesn't matter how good your music is. If they don't know about you they don't want you.
The dream factories like 'American Idol' are a long shot for an artist to get discovered. Having an A & R person from a major record label end up at the live show and offering you a deal is another long shot.
You're probably thinking, "Hey I thought this was going to be about taping my live show", we will be getting into that later in this article. I just wanted to set the stage for how important a marketing tool a promotional video is to an artist.
Thousands and thousands of unsolicited CD's are sent off to record labels by hungry artists every month. They range from the submissions that are labeled by hand that always end up in the trash to the more well packaged CD's that include artwork or maybe a press kit.
An awesome way to make your CD submission stand out and get noticed is to include some footage of you performing live. I guarantee it will make you more appealing to record labels as an artist. Music videos are a different animal all together, but in this article I want to focus on sharing with you how to shoot a promotional video for next to nothing.

Maximize the opportunity you have to perform at a venue in front of a live audience to the absolute fullest by taping your performance. A performance lasts for one night, while a promotional video of you crushing your set lasts a lot longer.
Regardless if you’re the opening act or headliner you’re taking the stage to rock the show. You know you’re the next big thing. Unfortunately, many talented artists do not have major music labels or sizable marketing budgets behind them when they start to have a professional camera crew tape their show and capture behind the scenes interviews.
I taped live shows for a music management company. Sometimes I had a camera crew of four, but most of the time it was only me as a one man camera crew. I learned a lot and saw a lot covering these shows at clubs all over Southern California.
Some artists make the mistake of having a friend or family member tape the show on any camcorder with nothing more than the infamous words, ‘just point and shoot’ as guidance. The performance captured is often grainy, out of focus, or you get dizzy from the zooms in and out.
You’ve just lost a powerful marketing tool when you didn’t have to. Be clear in what you want. It’s easier then ever to tape a show for next to nothing that looks good. I avoided getting into specific video equipment, software, and other non-essentials. This is all about the shoot. Now let’s get to it.
Tip #1: Plan. Planning the shoot yourself doesn’t cost anything but some footwork and energy. Who cares more about your career than you? Let whoever is running the show know you’re going to have your performance taped. This will keep your camera crew from being hassled, be it one person or more. Know the layout of the venue and get there early. Be realistic. If you have one person behind a camera do not expect them to be everywhere at once. Work with within your resources. The most important images to capture are of you on stage in the moment. Let your camera crew know how long you’re going to be in the spotlight. Nothing worse than running low on tape or battery power.
Whoever you have running the camera won't be a professional, but that doesn't mean you can't plan like one. Hand out a simple shot sheet telling them what you want. If you want tight mostly close-ups of yourself or wider shots with all the performers on stage let them know. They might not be able to get all of it, but they won’t waste tape on useless footage either.
Be positive that whoever is taping your show knows how to work the camera. We've all heard someone ask, 'What button do I push to record'. I would have them practice. It might seem stupid, but doing a walk through rehearsal of your show with them taping it will be a big help. You can shoot it in your living room, garage, or backyard. The key is to act like it's the stage and let your natural movements come out. It's like a director does when he has actors walk through a scene so he can plan where the camera needs to be. It's called blocking. Anything can happen in the moments on stage, but your camera crew will be ready to roll with you because you've planned.
Things are going to be very chaotic at the show. You will be focused on doing what you need to do and that's performing. If you take the time before the shoot to plan as much as possible will payoff huge when it's show time.

Tip #2: Two is better than one. Hustle to get a second camera for the shoot. Go online and look for college kids advertising themselves as videographers or filmmakers in your area. Visit the local colleges and post flyers. Sell them on how hot the show is going to be, the beautiful people, etc. Be straight away that you can’t pay them. But would they rather be at home or out taping a rising music force? They need the experience and resume filler, you need the extra camera.
If you find someone always provide them the videotape, $20 for gas, and your deepest thanks. Sometimes believe it or not your friends or family will bail on you. This backup camera person might be all you have to cover the show. If they agree early enough make sure you get them your shot sheet and outline of what you want just in case they do end up covering your ass. I worked for free in college sometimes when a show was supposed to be hot. Those were good times I had. No money, but I saw some amazing shows and mixed with some very cool people. Sell them on that.
If you come up short finding someone you don’t know to work for free, hit up everyone you know to lend you their camera, hopefully with them as a human tripod. I was doing a show hip hop show at the Santa Monica Pier and the crowd was going to be huge. I begged a friend to come with and bring her camera. She stood in the middle of the crowd with her camera and didn't move. She was my human tripod. I was able to move around more and get better shots because I knew she had the master of the show pretty well covered if I got in a pinch.

Tip #3: One person and their camera. If you only land one person to tape your show don’t trip. When the first lyric or sound from your performance explodes from the stage have the camera far back enough to capture you or the entire group. No matter if you’re all over the stage you will always be in frame and on camera. This will also allow the crowd to be taped in the foreground filling the frame with energy.
Make sure the camera is above the crowd. Not towering over the crowd, but enough where the performers on stage are clearly visible. Each venue is different, that’s why during your planning stage take a look at what your up against. Will you need a small step ladder? Will a chair work? Use this master shot to get a majority of your footage.
One thing I like to do is start back in this master then walk in to a closer shot mid-way from the stage, not zoom, walk. You captured the entire shows vibe from the back now you're moving in to make it more intimate. You don't need to get fancy here. You have to be steady.
I was working a show alone covering the background musicians. The headlining artist had their own three person camera crew.
They were all over the place and looked real professional laying on their backs, crouching, and striking all kinds of camera crew poses. I followed my master back and walk in formula. After the show these guys clowned me pretty hard about the way I taped the show.
They asked me if I got this, did I get that. One described in detail how he started on a extreme close-up of the guitar players pick while he was playing then zoomed out . A camera crew at a bar after a show always talk about the footage they got. I listened and actually felt I did a bad job covering the show compared to what these guys did.
Later I get a call from the music management company praising me on the footage I got. Apparently the other guys wanted to direct a music video and it showed in the footage they taped. All their trick shots and gimmicks were mostly unusable. The artists record label actually used most of the footage I shot that night for a promotional video. I was just their to cover the background musicians, but luckily my simple formula captured the whole show.
That's what you want to do. Capture your whole show. Trust me a mostly master shot won't get boring at all. The key is to use this footage later as a promotional video of you as an artist. It's not meant to be some slick MTV style music video with quick cuts and crazy shots.
Tip #4: Forget in camera effects. Avoid using any in camera effects. You will be stuck with them and can't remove them from the footage if they look bad. I would stick with shooting the show in the normal camera setting. Let the performance and venue speak for itself. Plus the in camera effects will make it look like a total home video.
Later on if you feel the need to add effects do it with some over the counter editing software.

Tip #5: Do not use zoom or whips. Start off by putting tape on the zoom button or control so it can't be used. Nothing viewers hate more than dizzying zooms. How often have you watched a home movie where people went zoom happy? I for one can't watch videos like that. Think of the reaction you will get when you send out your promotional video to a record label or to anyone you're contacting to further your music career.
If you want to move into a closer shot always slowly walk in to the subject. If the crowd makes it hard to do this cut the camera off and fight your way to the spot you need to be. Don't sweat turning the camera off. The footage you got would have been useless shots of the ceiling, floor, and body parts of the crowd. When you're in the best spot you can get fire up that camera and shoot away.
Don't whip the camera to some action on the stage then whip to something crazy that happens in the crowd. The footage will be all over the place and have less impact. The fight in the crowd might be pretty cool, but are you there to get footage of an artist
performing or taping a reality video? Stay focused. You can follow the action and adjust. Just make sure every move you make has a reason and is not over done.
The bottom line is to shoot in the performance in blocks. Get a master of the over all performance with closer still shots mixed in. Watch other promotional videos or the news and you'll see it's a series of locked down shots.
Tip #6: Wear headphones: Almost everyone has headphones already.If not they are inexpensive to buy. It's a must that you plug them into the camera when the show is being taped. The audio you capture when shooting a live show will not always be pristine, but it helps to know what audio you are getting.
Stay with using the cameras built in audio mic. You do not need to make the audio set up more complicated at this stage by adding an a external mic or plugging into the venues sound system. I can't stress it enough stick with the camera's built in mic for all your audio needs related to the show including behind the scenes interviews. People say whenever you can use an external mic and avoid the built in camera mic. For your situation of shooting a promotional video for next to nothing you'll be fine with the in camera mic.
If you get distortion or the audio is too loud where you're taping at you'll know by wearing the headphones. Then you can adjust and move your filming position. I am not audio expert or sound mixer. I use common sense and my ear to gauge the audio of the video I'm shooting. It seems to work.
Tip #7: Keep the camera steady. If you can absolutely buy or borrow a tripod for the camera you will be using. Shaky camera work will take away from the performance on tape. Nothing is better than footage that is well framed and steady. The beauty of a tripod is you can set your shot, lock off, and let the camera roll. A good rule of thumb is to hold shots for at least 20 seconds before moving the camera angle.
If you can't get a tripod lean against something to support yourself if possible. You can also lock your elbows close to your body with your eye firmly in the viewfinder to reduce camera shake. I have on more than one occasion been forced to turn myself into a human tripod. It beats the heck out holding the camera with one hand.
Tip #8: Dealing with stage lighting. I've never met stage lighting that I liked as a camera operator. In fact you will hate it. Mostly because you're the only one that will be concerned with the lighting. Everyone else in the place will give two shakes about your lighting issues.
It doesn't hurt to ask the lighting person to turn up the lights a little for the performance. Low moody light is good for the live crowd watching, but bad for your video.
I was taping a rap artist at a small club in Los Angeles. The house lights were turned down to almost nothing and the stage was lit with a few lights. I asked the lights be turned up a little and was told no. Another time the artist requested that the lights be turned up slightly while they performed and "presto" they made it happen. An artist always carries more weight than a grunt camera operator.
I will avoid going into a technical rant about gain levels etc. But I'm figuring if you're having a non-professional or fairly inexperienced person tape your show that will only add to confusion. I want to keep it to the basics that anyone can handle to improve the quality of footage being taped of the the show. If you have a more camera savvy person taping they will already know the deal on gain etc.
It's not a bad idea to buy a light for the camera. You get these at major electronic retailers for as cheap as $20. They can even be used off the camera in some situations. I was in a jam once near center stage and had to cradle the camera while sticking the light closer to the artist with my free hand. They're small size makes them great on the move. These small lights won't give you a huge light boost, but it will help.
If you can use the Auto-Exposure this is a great time to do it. Outdoors camera's adjust much better to lighting. Indoors you need to adjust to the lighting you're dealing with. This goes back to planning stage. If you were able to practice using the camera Auto-Focus will not be intimidating to you. Low light means you will have to open the eye of the camera up as much as possible. This should get you through.
Tip #9: Be low key. The crowd is unavoidable at shows. They will cross your in front of your camera when you're taping. They'll look into the camera and all the things we've seen people do when they know a camera is present. Try to be as low key as possible. Be the fly on the wall. You do not want the artists on stage or crowd distracted by you.
This is where it's to your advantage to not have a full blown professional camera crew coming into the venue like a bull in a china shop. People become keenly aware of cameras and act differently. You want the footage to be as natural as possible.
Start by turning off the red light on the camera when you hit record. Cover it with tape if you need to. I have found at live shows the light is distracting to those around you. Earlier I talked about getting a light for the camera. The same thing applies here. If you do not need to turn on the light don't.
When people see that camera light they cover their faces and other things. They're doing everything but acting natural when they see the light. Pick and choose the spots where your camera light needs to be used.
Tip #10: Always get a backstage interview. As soon as your done with your show take time to give an interview backstage to your camera person. You'll be pumped up and that will comes across on the video. You might even be able to get other artists to talk about your performance giving you more credibility, especially if they have a name already.
A real interview away from the phony studio setting or well rehearsed interview by some news person is much more interesting. Here you are fresh from performing backstage at some venue speaking with emotion about your music. You have to be your number one salesmen.
The editing of the footage is something else all together. With the information I've shared you will have better footage to work with in post-production. One last tip I can give is that if you do not have access to editing software to cut your footage into a promotional video look for college students or people looking to break into editing. Sometime they will do it for frre to have something to show and build their resume. Could be good for both of you. Best with everything.
Consignment The Movie
In With Thieves The Movie


Finding Music For Your Indie Movie
A majority of indie filmmakers, Sid Kali included, do not have the flush production budgets to hire a well known music supervisor or professional composer to score their movie. Let alone can we afford to license or pay royalties to top musicians to use their songs or tracks on the soundtrack. I had produced a urban action movie, Sid Kali Consignment, that had a very limited amount of money to spend on music. Turns out after some additional post-production expenses I had even less than expected.
Movies need music. There really is no way to argue against it. Good music adds impact, emotion, and mood to a film. Tartantino
has made amazing use of music in his films. Many viewers have commented that the music is like a character itself.
I was faced with the choices of putting the completion of Consignment on hold indefinitely until more money could be raised for the soundtrack or trying to find quality music that I could get for free or as close to free as possible. Not wanting to put the movie on hold I set out to shake some trees for music that moved me. It was a gamble I hoped would work.
I checked out some companies on the internet selling royalty free music in all types of genres from rock & roll to world beat for very affordable prices. Type 'royalty free music' into a search engine to listen and shop around. I listened to tons of sample tracks. Most didn't fit the feel of the urban action movie Consignment. A few tracks I did like were out my budget.
A cool thing I did discover is there are some filmmaker friendly sites that will allow you to download free original music to use in your movie. All they ask is that you properly credit the creators behind the music. Sonny Boo offers this on his website. I did not end up using the free downloads, but I think it's good karma they put it out there.
The anxiety and stress of not finding the right music was becoming a mental drain. Nothing worse than the thought of your movie not getting done. I decided to try a different approach to getting the soundtrack squared away. I was going to contact independent bands, artists, and musicians directly with the chance to get exposure on a independent films soundtrack. Indie artists from the music and movie arena collaborating sounded like a win-win.
There's many places to find independent artists and record labels looking to get their music heard. What better way than to be featured on a movie soundtrack? I religiously set aside hours everyday to listen to music from up and coming artists. After I had a narrowed down list of the tracks I wanted to use on Consignment I tracked down these artists and record labels contact information.
My independent music campaign was launched. I emailed, phoned, and faxed my pitch to the people on my list. I was excited about adding music I believed would add tremendously to the overall viewing experience of the movie. It was a tougher sell than I thought to get independent artists and record labels to contribute to an indie movie soundtrack.
My pitch was truthful about only offering credit for their music. My advice is not to BS people. Be upfront. I let them know this was a indie movie without big names or a Hollywood budget.
Here's the rundown of how it played out for me using this approach. I was able to land the music of two artists I felt was perfect. Another artist was interested, but was honest enough to voice their concerns about not knowing how the movie would look when it was done and decided not to contribute to the soundtrack. After Consignment was done I sent them a DVD. They liked it and agreed to compose an original track for my next movie for free.
Most of the record labels ignored my requests or said no money meant no go. I respect that. One record label representative took the time to speak with me at length and made a point that stuck with me. He basically said until you have a name or a movie you've done to show your work people will be skeptical about lending their music to your indie movie. There not against cross-promotion and exposure. There against being associated with terrible movie and bad exposure. That made a lot of sense.
With a few tracks secured that I liked I decided to go directly to the people to find the rest of the music. Consignment being a urban action movie I wanted some hot hip hop tracks. I started hitting websites that had hip hop forums where people could list links to their demos, post beats, and battle other hip hop artists. I posted open calls for artists to submit their tracks for an urban movie.
I got a huge response, but it was chaotic dealing with the amount of tracks that came in. Plus their were obvious copyright infringements and looping done by some contributers. Last thing you want is music on your movie that causes legal problems for your movies release when you sign on with a distributor. I wasn't making a bootleg underground movie to sell out of the trunk of my car. I was going for mainstream rental and retail outlets. I took the time to get all the releases, clearances, and paper work on the movie. I was going to do the same for the music.
After seeing my post I was contacted by the fellas at Jackin4Beats.Com about helping me out. They streamlined and organized the submission process. They posted calls for music on their website for free. Their efforts increased the quality of the submissions ten fold. They only forwarded me tracks that were free and clear to use on the soundtrack with no legal worries. All music clearance forms were signed on the dotted line.
The buzz was there. Next a rising independent music label specializing in West Coast hip hop wanted to be on the soundtrack. They headed into the studio with the synopsis of the movie and cut an original track with the same name as the movie. This song brought and hit hard. I used it on the opening and closing credits of the film. Then I got some tracks from some emerging East Coast rappers with a latin edge that put the soundtrack over the top. These talented artists music rounded out the soundtrack. They understood it's about exposure.
I wanted to touch on my experience and they way I got the movie soundtrack done. There's a lot of avenues for you to land the right music for your movie. Obviously the more money the more choices, but money doesn't have to cut you at the knees making you put bad music on your movie.
There's talented artists and upstart record labels in the same boat as you grinding it out to make in the entertainment business. Everyone is looking for a break. Sometimes you can get it together to make it work and sometimes you can't. Just keep fighting to get what you want. Never settle for music you hate for the sake of completing your movie. You will regret the end product. It won't be easy to secure music you love, but isn't your movie worth the effort? You're damn right it is.


The Key to My Mind, and Why I Write, part II
I learned to take famous and successful people off the
pedestal I had them on (or if you prefer, elevate myself
and everyone else, to their level) in part from a fellow
writer, one who's work I have admired and love for years.
His name is Jonny Lang and he is better known for his
bluesie voice than his writing, but he writes at least
most of his own songs.
I love music by artists. It seems like most music on the
radio is by performers who's primary interest is selling
you something. The words are bland and cliché. They sound
as if a computer working off Gallup Polls wrote them. This
music is like pornography; it can deliver some small
pleasure without demanding any input. John Stuart Mill
said people should be educated to enjoy the higher pleasures.
Music by artists is one of the higher pleasures, and demands
some input (education). Retail music is barbarian in its
simplicity. When the Visigoths were listening to Hits
106 radio, the Greeks were going to small outdoor concerts
to hear artists. Jonny Lang is an artist and fittingly I
saw him at a small outdoor concert in Austin. The concert
was incredible but that's not where I leaned about
successful people.
That was after the concert. We stood inline to meet
the band and get autographs. Now Jonny Lang is not
a huge name. He is not the Rolling Stones, and I know
that, but he was a thousand or so miles from home and
a thousand or so people paid money to see him play. He
has a big nice tour bus, one that you would not be
surprised to see Mic Jagger step out of, so he is a
successful musician. My party was at the end of the line
so when we got to him there was no pressure for us to
move on. He was a normal person physically, this did not
surprise me,flesh and blood, but he was really a normal guy.
He was the kind of guy that I could have had a class with
or met at church or the gym. We visited for 10 or 15 minutes.
He ask if we enjoyed the concert and we said we did.
We visited about music and told him he was very bold
to be so open with his Christian faith in a largely secular
arena. We visited about Austin and explained the rivalry
between the University of Texas and Texas A&M. We ask him
if he wanted to get a cup of coffee but he said he needed
to hit the road (he was opening for Steve Miller the next
day) so we said by and left. It wasn't that strange to ask
him if he wanted to get a cup of coffee and I would not have
been surprised if he had accepted. I don't know any of these
guys personally. For all I now C. S. Lewis might have broken
out in hives the day The Screwtape Letters was published, for
fear of rejection. The difference between them and me isn't
that they are demigods. Its that they didn't let the fact that
they weren't demigods keep them from their work. Hemmingway
and Lewis published their books and Lang has recorded 5 albums
to date. The Truth is I don't answer to Stranger and if he
doesn't understand my metaphors its his loss, and that's why
I'm sitting on my keister writing now.

Article written by Joseph Kraft.

phil fischer, phil fischer christian musician, christian musician