The ShadowMusic Web Community

Hi
I am looking into the Possibilty Of having a Demo Music video Made for The Twylight shadows
Does anyone have any info On any Companies Or Individuals Who Do this.
Local to the cambs,Beds Area Would be Preferable

Regards
Jay

Hi Jay have a word with a local college or tech as there is usually somebody looking to hone their camera skill ,which could be beneficial to both of you hope this help.

Dave

Jay,

There are two quite distinct parts to making a demo music video - the shoot, and the edit. If you don't get the shoot right, then you'll never have the material to do a decent edit.

If this is a demo and you want to show all your band's skills to their best advantage, don't even think about recording a live show. When there are paying customers in front of you, you can't rely on the lighting, the sound, or the shot angles being ideal. Yes, the Shadows did it, but they had a big, big budget and even then the Final Tour was an amalgam of two shows.

The first step is to plan and 'storyboard' the shoot. Having chosen the music, you can then decide which shots from which angles will best show off your talents.

Next, record the music. By miming to a track you can concentrate on your visual performance without worrying about fluffs. Also you will need the track to be able to synchronise all the takes and part-takes when it comes to the edit.

Choose your location. It might be a theatre or club stage - it depends on the image that you are trying to put over. Have it lit propoerly - and that means lighting that is right for a video recording (not the same thing as lighting for a live show). If you want to simulate a show with an audience, get in friends who will be prepared to sit through retakes and applaud each time if necessary. For audience shots, pack them in closely in front of the camera to give the impression of a small part of a big crowd.

The first shot is the 'master' - a wide shot showing the whole band playing all of the music all the way through (miming to the track of course). Now you can shoot the 'cutaways' - closeups of singers, guitar players, drummer. If you need to remind yourselves of where you were standing or which hand was holding a microphone etc, you have the master shot for reference. Before each take, identify it by an announcement or a board showing the shot and the take number.

At the edit, the cutaways are synchronised to the master using the sound. There are more elaborate ways using time code, but sound syncing is remarkably quick and accurate when you are using the same track each time. Use your storyboard and script to assemble all the various takes.

Hope this helps - I'm really too far away (and too busy) to offer my services but the above should help when looking for someone local.

Ray

Jay,

Can I suggest these?

http://www.mediamerge.co.uk/

When I lived in Cambridge, I used to work with them (under a different name then) and Andrej and Isabelle know what they are doing. We made a music programme for the local cable station, which was OK, plus (after I had left) they made a promo vid for a local band. I'm not in any way involved with them now, haven't seen 'em for years, so I don't stand to gain anything from this recommendation, but as you are looking for a company in Cambs, just thought I'd mention it.

Tell 'em Chris says Hi.

Chris.

Hi
Thanks For the advice Jim, Well appreciated.
and thank you chris for the link.
This Venture is still in the Planning stage at the momment.
So any Help or comments are truly welcome.

Regards
Jay

Jay Bass wrote:Hi
Thanks For the advice Jim, Well appreciated.
Regards
Jay

Hi Jay

Jim ? Jim? Now, you're not confusing me with The Secrets lead guitarist are you?

To distinguish:
Jim Nugent owns well known makes of guitar and plays them properly
Ray Liffen owns wierd guitars that no-one's ever heard of and . . . . .

Ray