Music Video

Craig Parkes · January 15th, 2008, 10:58 PM

Hey guys, just posting the latest music video I produced.

My Kingdom Falls by Slipping Tongue
Director: Rajneel Singh
DOP: Marc Mateo
Editors: Rajneel Singh, Craig Parkes
Producer: Craig Parkes
available on Youtube, hi res version will be available on Stage6 (DivX) shortly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs7YS-yHFF0

Drama footage was shot on an HVX (due to extreme budgetary constraints - this was a VERY low budget shoot, would have preferred something with a little more depth of field obviously).

Live footage was shot on a mix of HVX and DVX.

Edited on Intel Imac on Final Cut Pro, colour grade done with Nattress Plugins.

Hope you enjoy it.

Michael Pulcinella · January 18th, 2008, 09:12 AM

Nicely done. Top notch work!

Craig Parkes · January 19th, 2008, 06:25 PM

Cheers!

High def versions are available on Stage 6 (DivX player required)

http://www.stage6.com/Slipping-Tongue

Bill Spearman · January 19th, 2008, 09:56 PM

Nicely done! I am only an amateur, but watching it, the cuts were clean, made sense and timed well.

Andrew Kimery · January 20th, 2008, 12:36 AM

Nice video and nice band (do they have an album out?). Only a couple of things jumped out at me. The shots w/the singer and the candles seemed too bright/not moody enough and sometimes the singer made the acting a bit too "big". Like she has a stage background and is used to making exaggerated facial expressions so even the people in the back row know what's going on.

-A

Craig Parkes · January 20th, 2008, 02:17 AM

The band is a New Zealand band, they should have an album out this month, being self released locally, it should be going on iTunes shortly after.

The singers acting was meant to be a bit theatrical, the video is part of a series which all has a fairly 'theatrical' feel. She's also not an actress, but a singer, so obviously we are getting her to work a bit outside her forte by acting. We she think she did a stellar job none the less.

Jurgen Geevels · January 20th, 2008, 04:23 PM

great :)

how long have you been doing this and how did you get experience ?

Craig Parkes · January 20th, 2008, 05:26 PM

I've been producing projects since high school, so about 9 years now, where I also first did some editing (first on a online tape to tape vhs edit suite, then on Adobe Premiere).

After that I did a mixture of short courses, the first year of a Communications Degree that I decided wasn't for me, worked on various other peoples projects in a range of capacities (generally production assisting, offering general technical/practical advice to people who were more creatively orientated than I.)

I always decided I wanted to produce, so I focussed on that, found a good director who I have been mainly working with for about 7 years who was in a similiar boat (wanted to direct, had visions of feature films, but didn't know how to start small) and together we've plodded along. We put together a short film called Big Bad Wolves, based on a short story a friend wrote that was hilarious and just knew had to be filmed. That took up a couple of years of spare time all up (both working full time day jobs out of industry when we started), got a couple of local awards, gained us a bunch of contacts through industry just by the process of doing it and having to find competent people to work on it, and ultimately landed me and the director our current employment.

To be honest - all the skill and talent to make the project look great comes down to the amazing array of incredibly talented people who work on it - my level of experience pales compared to them (in fact, as a young producer I have had less on set experience than most of my crew on almost every job I've worked on).

All my job is, apart from doing a bit of the editing and shooting some of the shoddier band footage (and in this case the lion's share of the editing was done by the director, Rajneel Singh), is to be realistic about what the director wants and the dop needs and how long things are going to take, be practical about what we can do on a low budget, try and organize a time to shoot that is going to give us the most resources possible.

I read a lot of books on producing as well, this is really important.

Although, if I really think about it, the most useful basic experiences to prepare me for producing is stuff like being in scouts as a kid and having to organize camps and hikes, where you knew that there wasn't going to be anyone else there to help you and the good old motto - Be Prepared. That's all producing really is, being prepared so that you've got the right people on board and the right equipment to tell the story that needs to be told.

If you want a great product, and you want to learn heaps, find good crew. There really is no better way to do it - film making is a collaborative experience of the highest order.

If you want to direct, then my advice is find someone who wants to produce and become a team (good luck though, producing is a much maligned and misunderstood process). Having a partnership working on stuff is a much better way to learn, because whatever experience you can garner from doing entry level work on other peoples projects you can share and bring to the table on your own projects, and if one of you gets busy with life the other can generally take up the slack and work on the project stuff, and when one is depressed/despondent the other can kick them back on track.

January 15th, 2008, 10:58 PM	#1
Craig Parkes Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 444	Music Video - HVX, Final Cut Hey guys, just posting the latest music video I produced. My Kingdom Falls by Slipping Tongue Director: Rajneel Singh DOP: Marc Mateo Editors: Rajneel Singh, Craig Parkes Producer: Craig Parkes available on Youtube, hi res version will be available on Stage6 (DivX) shortly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs7YS-yHFF0 Drama footage was shot on an HVX (due to extreme budgetary constraints - this was a VERY low budget shoot, would have preferred something with a little more depth of field obviously). Live footage was shot on a mix of HVX and DVX. Edited on Intel Imac on Final Cut Pro, colour grade done with Nattress Plugins. Hope you enjoy it.

January 20th, 2008, 02:17 AM	#6
Craig Parkes Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 444	The band is a New Zealand band, they should have an album out this month, being self released locally, it should be going on iTunes shortly after. The singers acting was meant to be a bit theatrical, the video is part of a series which all has a fairly 'theatrical' feel. She's also not an actress, but a singer, so obviously we are getting her to work a bit outside her forte by acting. We she think she did a stellar job none the less. Last edited by Craig Parkes; January 20th, 2008 at 05:28 PM.

January 20th, 2008, 04:23 PM	#7
Jurgen Geevels Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 57	great :) how long have you been doing this and how did you get experience ? __________________ XM2, Manfrotto 055XDB 128Lp _Student Film_

January 18th, 2008, 09:12 AM	#2
Michael Pulcinella Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ridley Park, PA, USA Posts: 269	Nicely done. Top notch work!

January 19th, 2008, 06:25 PM	#3
Craig Parkes Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 444	Cheers! High def versions are available on Stage 6 (DivX player required) http://www.stage6.com/Slipping-Tongue

January 19th, 2008, 09:56 PM	#4
Bill Spearman Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 161	Nicely done! I am only an amateur, but watching it, the cuts were clean, made sense and timed well.

January 20th, 2008, 12:36 AM	#5
Andrew Kimery Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 352	Nice video and nice band (do they have an album out?). Only a couple of things jumped out at me. The shots w/the singer and the candles seemed too bright/not moody enough and sometimes the singer made the acting a bit too "big". Like she has a stage background and is used to making exaggerated facial expressions so even the people in the back row know what's going on. -A

January 20th, 2008, 05:26 PM	#8
Craig Parkes Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 444	I've been producing projects since high school, so about 9 years now, where I also first did some editing (first on a online tape to tape vhs edit suite, then on Adobe Premiere). After that I did a mixture of short courses, the first year of a Communications Degree that I decided wasn't for me, worked on various other peoples projects in a range of capacities (generally production assisting, offering general technical/practical advice to people who were more creatively orientated than I.) I always decided I wanted to produce, so I focussed on that, found a good director who I have been mainly working with for about 7 years who was in a similiar boat (wanted to direct, had visions of feature films, but didn't know how to start small) and together we've plodded along. We put together a short film called Big Bad Wolves, based on a short story a friend wrote that was hilarious and just knew had to be filmed. That took up a couple of years of spare time all up (both working full time day jobs out of industry when we started), got a couple of local awards, gained us a bunch of contacts through industry just by the process of doing it and having to find competent people to work on it, and ultimately landed me and the director our current employment. To be honest - all the skill and talent to make the project look great comes down to the amazing array of incredibly talented people who work on it - my level of experience pales compared to them (in fact, as a young producer I have had less on set experience than most of my crew on almost every job I've worked on). All my job is, apart from doing a bit of the editing and shooting some of the shoddier band footage (and in this case the lion's share of the editing was done by the director, Rajneel Singh), is to be realistic about what the director wants and the dop needs and how long things are going to take, be practical about what we can do on a low budget, try and organize a time to shoot that is going to give us the most resources possible. I read a lot of books on producing as well, this is really important. Although, if I really think about it, the most useful basic experiences to prepare me for producing is stuff like being in scouts as a kid and having to organize camps and hikes, where you knew that there wasn't going to be anyone else there to help you and the good old motto - Be Prepared. That's all producing really is, being prepared so that you've got the right people on board and the right equipment to tell the story that needs to be told. If you want a great product, and you want to learn heaps, find good crew. There really is no better way to do it - film making is a collaborative experience of the highest order. If you want to direct, then my advice is find someone who wants to produce and become a team (good luck though, producing is a much maligned and misunderstood process). Having a partnership working on stuff is a much better way to learn, because whatever experience you can garner from doing entry level work on other peoples projects you can share and bring to the table on your own projects, and if one of you gets busy with life the other can generally take up the slack and work on the project stuff, and when one is depressed/despondent the other can kick them back on track.