Performance videos are some of the most powerful ways to show people your live skills, and the impact your songs have in the audience. For that reason we separated 5 things for you to consider when creating these types of videos, as they will help you optimize your results and have a killer video to show off on social media afterwards.
1) CONSIDER THE SPACE
The space in which you’ll be performing will tell you everything you need to know in order to optimize your video. If it’s your first time at the venue, just stand facing the stage for a few minutes and look around you. Try to make sense of where the audience will be, as well as the musicians. Then, think of the safest locations to position your cameras. Ask the manager if these places are okay. If you can visit the venue prior to your performance, make sure to take some pictures so you can plan ahead.
2) CONSIDER IF YOU'RE SHOOTING ALONE OR WITH A CREW
If you’re shooting with a crew, or a couple of friends, you’ll have more freedom to position your cameras. If you’re shooting alone, make sure you choose a place where there’s not many people and that you can see from the stage.
3) CONSIDER LIGHTING
Lighting in music venues will be usually one of two ways. Either cool, or TERRIBLE. At least that’s the case in New York City. If you’re lucky, and they have some sort of stage light, great. Just use that and make sure to set up your exposure correctly so you don’t end up with a blown up footage, or a noisy underexposed footage. Check out the DIY Music Video Workshop for a complete filmmaking, lighting and editing workshop for musicians.
4) CONSIDER THE ANGLES
This will be extremely important to have a good result. Most musicians I know get this part wrong. When you place different cameras, you’re trying to create variety and dynamic in your shots, so if your cameras are placed right next to each other and at a similar angle, not only it WON’T create variety, but the editing will look really weird, like there’s a “jump” in between shots. So make sure you position them with enough distance from one another. A rule of thumb for 3 cameras is to have one centered camera with a wide angle, one lateral camera with mid range angle, and one close up angle on stage. If you have someone operating a camera, make sure you use them for the medium shot lateral one, so he/she can be moving from musician to musician.
5) CONSIDER THE SOUND
If there’s a sound operator at the venue, ask him/her for a backup of the audio performance so you don’t need to worry about it, and can work on post later. If you are making your own sound, make sure to position your recording device at a balanced space where you can hear the band evenly.
Conclusion:
Create performance videos. Period. Regardless if you’re rehearsing, performing, if you have a crew or a friend to film you, or if you’re alone, just film it. This can be an invaluable material to help promote your music on the internet, so don’t get caught up in insecurity or procrastination when it comes to doing that. Use the tips above to help your results and if you’re looking for deeper knowledge on music video creation, make sure to check out the DIY Music Video Workshop.
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Take care everyone! Talk soon!
Tchau!
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