Narrative vs. Performance videos

[GregB]

Hi. If I were younger and good-looking, I'd be happy to do performance videos, miming to my finished tracks.  Other than interesting locations and camera setups, I reckon these would be a lot less hassle to film. Most of the effort would be in post, putting clips together, applying effects, etc.

As it is, I'm old. I don't know people who would act the performance or help me in a multi-cam shoot.  I therefore rely on 3rd-party clips (with clearances) and try and concoct a 'storyline' that suits the songs. 

 

I've completed 12 videos for my new album currently being released through CD-Baby.

 

 

The previous 30-track release "The Flat White Album" (2020) currently has 27 'final' music videos.  Five have made 'Selection" at various international Festivals, one made the Semifinals, another the Finals, and one was a Winner in its category.

I've been unable so far to imagine stories/images for three of the tracks.  Hopefully something will eventually come to mind.

 

 

I moved from Premiere Pro out of sheer frustration with Adobe's buggy apps and ever-increasingly expensive subscription-only model.  I bought Resolve 15 Studio at the end of 2019 and have produced 40 music videos while the software has moved through versions 16 and 17 at no additional cost.  Resolve renders were also a LOT faster than Premiere, using the GPU for everything ... videos render in approx 25% of the real running time.  

 

My budget has always been miniscule. the price for each video has averaged out to less than US$10.

 

Anyone wanting feedback on Resolve, my sources for clips/photos, my work process, etc. ... just ask.

 

Cheers,

Greg (Australia)

 

Videos getting recognition are in this album playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lSvxf-EEYUT3TAcJGc74bcyaIZ3Bg9AwM

• Track 01 - "The C-Bomb"
  Semifinalist - Sweden Film Awards.
  Finalist - London Best Music Video Awards
  Official Selection - Lift-Off Sessions
  Official Selection - International Music Video Awards (London)
  Official Selection - Music Video Awards (Munich)

 

• Track 25 - "Sunset"
  Winner -  PICASSO EINSTEIN BUDDHA International Film Festival
   
• Track 27 - "Let Go"
  Official Selection - Music Video Awards (Munich)  
   
• Track 29 - "Earthrise"
  Best Low Budget Video - London Best Music Video Awards
  Official Selection - Lift-Off Sessions
  Official Selection - International Music Video Awards (London)
  Official Selection - Music Video Awards (Munich)

 

Tracks 01 and 29 still mean the most to me, hence they tend to be what I submit the most to Festivals.

 

 

[john]

Good post.

 

Recruiting at local universities and colleges is a great way to put together a crew. Everything from actors, dancers, choreographers, directors, editors, lighting, sound and camera people can all be recruited, even to the point of having your song being one of their college projects.

 

Stock footage is a great gap filler, and you can compile pretty impressive complete videos, yet it is still a compromise. If you can find a way to work in some of your own footage it can really help sell it.

[GregB]

Hey John.

 

I actually joined a Filmmaking Group a few years back, before the music videos happened. As with most such things, it was me and two others who came up with the ideas, organized locations and equipment, did the shooting/editing, etc..  The remaining 50-odd folk were VERY good at talking.

It may be different in the US/UK/etc., but here in Oz it's next to impossible to get students involved in anything. Perhaps there are too many legal ramifications and too much effort for the institutions.

I've found nirvana in doing everything myself ... I've never let myself down so far!  

[john]

16 hours ago, GregB said:

Hey John.

 

I actually joined a Filmmaking Group a few years back, before the music videos happened. As with most such things, it was me and two others who came up with the ideas, organized locations and equipment, did the shooting/editing, etc..  The remaining 50-odd folk were VERY good at talking.

It may be different in the US/UK/etc., but here in Oz it's next to impossible to get students involved in anything. Perhaps there are too many legal ramifications and too much effort for the institutions.

I've found nirvana in doing everything myself ... I've never let myself down so far!  

It might be different with COVID. Here in the U.K. departments tend to be quite interested in real world projects. Official projects aside, students tend to build portfolios etc. They tend to be more engage if their ideas are to be used, so it can be a fine balance. Better if you think of it as a collaboration. Faculty notice boards and student unions can work, also in bars where arts students hang out. Targeting key personnel works best because if you can get one student on side, they are often better at herding other students. I totally take your point on dependability though.

 

Infind the same with music art, video.... whatever it is, a small core will be regular doers... then there are layer up on layer of talkers, get step by step further away from ever doing anything. I used to find that in my old job. I would be going home spending hours in the studio, hours coding and generating content for Songstuff, while my work colleagues spent their days complaining about working and their pay, etc, but went home and spent most nights watching TV, or pursuing fun only. Rarely did anyone actually do anything constructive.

 

Perhaps it is simply a universal truth as a default state. Transforming in to an active group takes incentive and inspiration and a lot of effort to build momentum.... and just like mechanics, it takes a lot to overcome inertia within the group.

 

With student groups, getting a director and choreographer on board are the two key roles, with you acting as the producer. That way you can more easily find people who really want to see their ideas become reality, ie they have their own motivation to see the video completed.

 

It’s not perfect or foolproof, but hey. 
 

It’s great that you are resourceful and skilled enough to do the whole thing yourself.

[GregB]

All good points.

Unfortunately, I'm less of a 'people person' than most ... a weakness I've learned to accept and simply move on.

[john]

No worries.

 

When creating stock based videos I try to build a narrative based around one or more of the models and tying up that narrative with the lyrics gives pretty satisfactory results. It’s not always easy to find sufficient clips. I noticed you use still along with movement of the camera to keep it interesting.

 

What companies have you used for stock footage?

[GregB]

artgrid.io started up towards the end of 2019 -- perfect timing for the album released in 2020.  VIDEO-ONLY, their points of difference from others stock sites which caused me to jump on board quickly:

• entry level "Junior" is US299pa (monthly available) gives full HD (4K available at higher cost)
• all submissions have AT LEAST 3 clips (many are 20+) with same location/subjects
• unlimited downloads (max 100/day)
• unlimited use (e.g. commercial is OK) in perpetuity once downloaded (even if no longer a member)
• no auto-payment/rejoin sucker-punch on annual yet access/membership remains active without download
• use only requires a reference to the site (but I always credit each videographer)
• new stuff appears every week
• high quality materials

 

I use other FREE video sites which also have good hi-res stills:

• pexels.com and pixabay.com
• mixkit.co used to be great, but has gone weird ... you can no longer tell at the preview what's free and what's not.

 

Lifetime member (around $30 when heavy discount ads appeared on Facebook) of hi-res STILLS-only sites:

• scop.io
• jumpstory.com

 

Just ask if you have any specific questions.

 

Greg