|
|
All the news now and in your digital future
first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback
Posted by DjKazz
|
first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback November 30, 2009 06:56PM |
hi guys, i'm karsten, i'm an american working as a dj/producer out here in beautiful bali, indonesia. this is my first post on lafcpug but i try to be helpful on other forums where i'm more knowledgeable (music production forums usually), so i'm hoping some of that good karma will transfer over here 
ok, so: i've got a rap project signed to a (THE) local major label in indonesia. we REALLY needed a video for our second single for national broadcast, but had 0 budget for it, so i thought "screw it, we'll make it ourselves". i've got a pd-150 and final cut pro, and i made, like, 2 promo videos for another project of mine 5 years ago, so off we went!
quick and easy vimeo version:
if you have the time, feel free to download a higher qulity version - some of my big concerns are about picture quality, and how i might improve it, and i'm not sure the vimeo conveys that:
22 mb version:
[rapidshare.com]
87 mb version:
[rapidshare.com]
honestly, i'm fairly proud of how well it turned out, considering what a complete noob i am. but...
questions:
1) in general, what can be done to improve this video? any suggestions? i've been reading other critiques on here and i like the way you guys give constructive criticism. lemme have it! the deadlines about 5 days away though, the singer (not the rapper) is back in jakarta, and the model cost an arm and a leg so further shooting is almost out of the question - i'm more looking for editing/post production advice to make what i've got so far look as professional as possible.
2) what do i need to prepare this for sending to various tv stations? (or more like, for my manager to send to various tv stations) everything here is PAL 4:3 as far as i know. i've got the broadcast safe plugin on every shot, and they've all got green checkmarks on em at this point, is there anything else i need to consider?
3) on a regualr 17" tv, this looks right. on my flatscreen hd, it looks stretched wide a bit. usually my ps3 upscales dvds to fit the hd screen just great, so what's up with that? maybe i'm imagining it? what can i do to make sure this plays correctly on all possible tv screens?
4) there was dirt or something on the lens the whole first day of the damn shoot. you can only see it on the outdoor shots. i tried doing a matte to remove it but the shots moved so much it just didn't work: thus the solar flares ( i'll be paying for the demo on the 1st btw
anyone have any other bright ideas for getting rid of dirt on a lens in the editing stage? the video looks WAY better with steadycam on half the shots (the bumpy car interiors in particular) but with spots/sunbursts flying around the screen it's just impossible to pull off so far.
that's probably enough questions for a first timer huh? thanks for your feedback!
-karsten
ps. i played every note of that song besides the vox (no loops or samples either), recorded and mixed it in my home studio, then directed the video (our head roadie was cameraman) and edited it all by myself. DIY baby!
ok, so: i've got a rap project signed to a (THE) local major label in indonesia. we REALLY needed a video for our second single for national broadcast, but had 0 budget for it, so i thought "screw it, we'll make it ourselves". i've got a pd-150 and final cut pro, and i made, like, 2 promo videos for another project of mine 5 years ago, so off we went!
quick and easy vimeo version:
if you have the time, feel free to download a higher qulity version - some of my big concerns are about picture quality, and how i might improve it, and i'm not sure the vimeo conveys that:
22 mb version:
[rapidshare.com]
87 mb version:
[rapidshare.com]
honestly, i'm fairly proud of how well it turned out, considering what a complete noob i am. but...
questions:
1) in general, what can be done to improve this video? any suggestions? i've been reading other critiques on here and i like the way you guys give constructive criticism. lemme have it! the deadlines about 5 days away though, the singer (not the rapper) is back in jakarta, and the model cost an arm and a leg so further shooting is almost out of the question - i'm more looking for editing/post production advice to make what i've got so far look as professional as possible.
2) what do i need to prepare this for sending to various tv stations? (or more like, for my manager to send to various tv stations) everything here is PAL 4:3 as far as i know. i've got the broadcast safe plugin on every shot, and they've all got green checkmarks on em at this point, is there anything else i need to consider?
3) on a regualr 17" tv, this looks right. on my flatscreen hd, it looks stretched wide a bit. usually my ps3 upscales dvds to fit the hd screen just great, so what's up with that? maybe i'm imagining it? what can i do to make sure this plays correctly on all possible tv screens?
4) there was dirt or something on the lens the whole first day of the damn shoot. you can only see it on the outdoor shots. i tried doing a matte to remove it but the shots moved so much it just didn't work: thus the solar flares ( i'll be paying for the demo on the 1st btw
anyone have any other bright ideas for getting rid of dirt on a lens in the editing stage? the video looks WAY better with steadycam on half the shots (the bumpy car interiors in particular) but with spots/sunbursts flying around the screen it's just impossible to pull off so far.
that's probably enough questions for a first timer huh? thanks for your feedback!
-karsten
ps. i played every note of that song besides the vox (no loops or samples either), recorded and mixed it in my home studio, then directed the video (our head roadie was cameraman) and edited it all by myself. DIY baby!
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 01, 2009 09:00AM |
thanks! i'll take that as constructive criticism - at least one person out there doesn't think it sucks out loud, it's good to know 
but don't hold back on the tough love! if it was my hundredth video, and i was working for you, what would you tell me to go back and fix doubletime before you fired my sorry ass for making a dumb mistake like that
it's supposed to go on national tv, so great for a first timer might not cut it - is it ready for prime time? (indonesia that is! not quite the same as prime time u.s. of a, but still)
but don't hold back on the tough love! if it was my hundredth video, and i was working for you, what would you tell me to go back and fix doubletime before you fired my sorry ass for making a dumb mistake like that
it's supposed to go on national tv, so great for a first timer might not cut it - is it ready for prime time? (indonesia that is! not quite the same as prime time u.s. of a, but still)
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 13, 2009 10:48AM |
Not bad at all for a first effort.
- Bad choice of opening shot. It's a drop-dead boring, dead-to-camera performance with no zest. I'd choose something more evocative. The beginning of a music video needs to seduce a viewer, spark interest. Open with the spoken-word thing as audio, but choose a more interesting shot -- such as anything from the couple's interaction later. Also, you don't actually have an establishing shot of the amusement park. It's not strictly necessary, but it will probably be a more visually appealing shot than the guy talking to camera in a boring way.
- The moments with the couple are pretty nice. I'd think of a way to spiff up the photography, though, since it looks underexposed and very flat, and the undersaturated look doesn't fit the rather spritely music and the actors' happy expressions.
- I don't think you shot quite enough footage. Too many long rambling takes of them lip-syncing to the song on the beach. Even with such a motif (I have a video with a performance segment like this, edited years ago: [www.derekmok.com]), you could have made that segment more interesting by shooting a lot more performance takes with coverage, so you can manipulate the visual rhythm more.
- The video can also benefit from more of an overarching structural logic. See the video above -- the choice of where we are in the story is not arbitrary. It helps tremendously to think of which verse fits which location, which locations can be used anywhere in the song, and how to build the video in each segment so that it goes somewhere, with peaks and valleys.
- That underground thing was a bizarre choice of locations...there's nothing to see, and it doesn't fit the song, which appears to be a romantic love thing.
- The phone idea at 2:06 was a very good idea. Wish it could have been built up more -- for example, by seeing the guy dial, and having wider shots of him so it ramps up to that moment. Also, why isn't the girl on the other side? That moment would have been great if you could have created a sense of connection so that he's not talking to thin air. Worse, that part is actually cross-cut with the guys...so he's whispering sweet nothings to his all-male crew.
- Nice image of the matching tattoos.
- Very weak ending. Endless lip-sync shots that aren't any better or worse than anything else in the video. No sense of closure, climactic emotion. Even the camera isn't more dramatic or interesting here.
- Way too much material on the performances (again, they're serviceable but very unremarkable), not enough on the romantic interactions. And the shooting on the girl parts is too afraid to get closer, so we don't get enough sense of what the lovers are like.
- A tip about shooting music performances. You could have milked a lot more angles, emotions and interesting moments by not shooting dead "I-camera" all the time. Having the performer look dead into camera doesn't create a sense of connection...it just makes him/her self-conscious. This is why 95 per cent of YouTube "singing" videos make the singer look like a deer in headlights. Use "I-camera" sparingly, and shoot a lot more angles that are "off axis". The visuals would be a lot richer that way.
www.derekmok.com
- Bad choice of opening shot. It's a drop-dead boring, dead-to-camera performance with no zest. I'd choose something more evocative. The beginning of a music video needs to seduce a viewer, spark interest. Open with the spoken-word thing as audio, but choose a more interesting shot -- such as anything from the couple's interaction later. Also, you don't actually have an establishing shot of the amusement park. It's not strictly necessary, but it will probably be a more visually appealing shot than the guy talking to camera in a boring way.
- The moments with the couple are pretty nice. I'd think of a way to spiff up the photography, though, since it looks underexposed and very flat, and the undersaturated look doesn't fit the rather spritely music and the actors' happy expressions.
- I don't think you shot quite enough footage. Too many long rambling takes of them lip-syncing to the song on the beach. Even with such a motif (I have a video with a performance segment like this, edited years ago: [www.derekmok.com]), you could have made that segment more interesting by shooting a lot more performance takes with coverage, so you can manipulate the visual rhythm more.
- The video can also benefit from more of an overarching structural logic. See the video above -- the choice of where we are in the story is not arbitrary. It helps tremendously to think of which verse fits which location, which locations can be used anywhere in the song, and how to build the video in each segment so that it goes somewhere, with peaks and valleys.
- That underground thing was a bizarre choice of locations...there's nothing to see, and it doesn't fit the song, which appears to be a romantic love thing.
- The phone idea at 2:06 was a very good idea. Wish it could have been built up more -- for example, by seeing the guy dial, and having wider shots of him so it ramps up to that moment. Also, why isn't the girl on the other side? That moment would have been great if you could have created a sense of connection so that he's not talking to thin air. Worse, that part is actually cross-cut with the guys...so he's whispering sweet nothings to his all-male crew.
- Nice image of the matching tattoos.
- Very weak ending. Endless lip-sync shots that aren't any better or worse than anything else in the video. No sense of closure, climactic emotion. Even the camera isn't more dramatic or interesting here.
- Way too much material on the performances (again, they're serviceable but very unremarkable), not enough on the romantic interactions. And the shooting on the girl parts is too afraid to get closer, so we don't get enough sense of what the lovers are like.
- A tip about shooting music performances. You could have milked a lot more angles, emotions and interesting moments by not shooting dead "I-camera" all the time. Having the performer look dead into camera doesn't create a sense of connection...it just makes him/her self-conscious. This is why 95 per cent of YouTube "singing" videos make the singer look like a deer in headlights. Use "I-camera" sparingly, and shoot a lot more angles that are "off axis". The visuals would be a lot richer that way.
www.derekmok.com
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 18, 2009 03:05PM |
Enthusiasm is good!
The story part is a bit weak, there are some things you can do to rework it, but definitely before that, ask yourself what is the story you want to tell the audience. Then work out the shots to build that- with a beginning, middle and end, and work to intercut that with the footage of the performance. Not sure if you have enough footage for the story part though, and you're the only person who can answer that.
A lot of the shots look like people trying to look cool in front of a camera, which makes it look quite amateurish. Tell a story, and impress with music. Use visual effects only to strengthen the story- eg. flashback to a sequence of stills to evoke memories, etc...
The finishing definitely needs work. You can try to bring out the colors of the lush beaches of Bali, and try to create a different color scheme for the flashback/story segment to build emotional tension.
www.strypesinpost.com
The story part is a bit weak, there are some things you can do to rework it, but definitely before that, ask yourself what is the story you want to tell the audience. Then work out the shots to build that- with a beginning, middle and end, and work to intercut that with the footage of the performance. Not sure if you have enough footage for the story part though, and you're the only person who can answer that.
A lot of the shots look like people trying to look cool in front of a camera, which makes it look quite amateurish. Tell a story, and impress with music. Use visual effects only to strengthen the story- eg. flashback to a sequence of stills to evoke memories, etc...
The finishing definitely needs work. You can try to bring out the colors of the lush beaches of Bali, and try to create a different color scheme for the flashback/story segment to build emotional tension.
www.strypesinpost.com
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 18, 2009 03:07PM |
Btw, nice video, Derek. I love the choice of colors. Not too sure about the vignetting though.
www.strypesinpost.com
www.strypesinpost.com
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 18, 2009 03:17PM |
> Not too sure about the vignetting though.
I didn't direct that one, so ask my friend Claudia! But here's a great part: There was no post-production filtering at all done on it. So the lush green stuff was actually done in-camera. I was very impressed with that. Plus, when I saw the narrative parts of footage, I told the director "This reminds me of In the Mood for Love," and she said, "That's what we were going for." Nice to have some old-fashioned cinematography work convey your look, rather than post-production filtering all the time.
www.derekmok.com
I didn't direct that one, so ask my friend Claudia! But here's a great part: There was no post-production filtering at all done on it. So the lush green stuff was actually done in-camera. I was very impressed with that. Plus, when I saw the narrative parts of footage, I told the director "This reminds me of In the Mood for Love," and she said, "That's what we were going for." Nice to have some old-fashioned cinematography work convey your look, rather than post-production filtering all the time.
www.derekmok.com
|
Re: first music video for tv broadcast, would love your feedback December 18, 2009 05:10PM |
I would ask if they want to blow up the shot to remove the vignetting. Looks like a loose adaptor. The choice of colors are great though. Usually I would request the camera guy to shoot neutral while keeping the look in mind, so I have more room to maneuver. But it works, so what the heck!
www.strypesinpost.com
www.strypesinpost.com
Sorry, you do not have permission to post/reply in this forum.
