How to plan a music video? at DVinfo.net

Christian Hede Madsen · May 17th, 2006, 02:02 AM

I am thinking about making a music video, but I have some questions:

-How are you guys planning the actual shoot?
Are you making story-boards and saying: "Well from 01:14-01:18 we have this shot and from.... "
- How do you sync it all up?

Hope you cn help a newbie in music videos!

Steve House · May 17th, 2006, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christian Hede Madsen

I am thinking about making a music video, but I have some questions:

-How are you guys planning the actual shoot?
Are you making story-boards and saying: "Well from 01:14-01:18 we have this shot and from.... "
- How do you sync it all up?

Hope you cn help a newbie in music videos!

Plan your shots though be open to happy accidents. Do multiple takes of the band from idfferent angles, closeups etc. Pre-record the music and have the band mime playing as you play the recording on set. Note - the drummer has to really play in the shoot even if you don't use the sound, otherwise its obvious he's faking

Glenn Chan · May 17th, 2006, 07:27 PM

If this is your first time, a storyboard would be a good exercise.

Think about the entire music video in your head, visualizing all the shots. i.e. play your music video in your head.
Ok. Write that all down in a storyboard. There are various templates on the internet I believe.

From there, make a shot list. Or do a shot list beforehand. This is so you don't get confused when you shoot the music video out of order. Had you shot the video chronologically, you would find yourself moving the camera back to where it was earlier. Instead, you can just shoot all the shots for one camera setup and move on to the next setup.

It can also help to do:
--prop list
--equipment list
--scout the location, and do a sketch of its layout where the circuits are, what the background noise is like, where you think you can put your lights, light sources (incl. windows), etc.
--call sheet. With clear directions to the shoot location, phone #s, when people have to be on set.
attach a map to the location.

see http://www.ryerson.ca/rta/handbook/t..._paperwork.htm

Once you've done this once, you'll realize that some things you can do away with if you know what you're doing. i.e. storyboards sometimes you don't need.

2- REcord a special version of the song with 1-frame beeps at the beginning and at the end, with small pauses.
When you bring this into your editing application, you'll see 1-frame spikes indicating where these beeps are. It'll be easy to sync things up.
The beep can be something like 1khz tone. Make the beep as loud as possible (i.e. 0dB), and for one frame.

Put this special version into whatever you're using for playback... i.e. a CD in a boombox.

This doesn't work if you play specific parts of the song. So you can just sync things manually in post... use the camera's audio tracks as a guide.

Christian Hede Madsen · May 18th, 2006, 10:22 AM

Thank you very much:)

May 17th, 2006, 02:02 AM	#1
Christian Hede Madsen Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gudhjem Denmark Posts: 93	How to plan a music video? I am thinking about making a music video, but I have some questions: -How are you guys planning the actual shoot? Are you making story-boards and saying: "Well from 01:14-01:18 we have this shot and from.... " - How do you sync it all up? Hope you cn help a newbie in music videos!

May 17th, 2006, 07:27 PM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	If this is your first time, a storyboard would be a good exercise. Think about the entire music video in your head, visualizing all the shots. i.e. play your music video in your head. Ok. Write that all down in a storyboard. There are various templates on the internet I believe. From there, make a shot list. Or do a shot list beforehand. This is so you don't get confused when you shoot the music video out of order. Had you shot the video chronologically, you would find yourself moving the camera back to where it was earlier. Instead, you can just shoot all the shots for one camera setup and move on to the next setup. It can also help to do: --prop list --equipment list --scout the location, and do a sketch of its layout where the circuits are, what the background noise is like, where you think you can put your lights, light sources (incl. windows), etc. --call sheet. With clear directions to the shoot location, phone #s, when people have to be on set. attach a map to the location. see http://www.ryerson.ca/rta/handbook/t..._paperwork.htm Once you've done this once, you'll realize that some things you can do away with if you know what you're doing. i.e. storyboards sometimes you don't need. 2- REcord a special version of the song with 1-frame beeps at the beginning and at the end, with small pauses. When you bring this into your editing application, you'll see 1-frame spikes indicating where these beeps are. It'll be easy to sync things up. The beep can be something like 1khz tone. Make the beep as loud as possible (i.e. 0dB), and for one frame. Put this special version into whatever you're using for playback... i.e. a CD in a boombox. This doesn't work if you play specific parts of the song. So you can just sync things manually in post... use the camera's audio tracks as a guide.

May 18th, 2006, 10:22 AM	#4
Christian Hede Madsen Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gudhjem Denmark Posts: 93	Thank you very much:)