TERRIFIED! *I am shooting a music video and n

[Solaam]

Hey guys. Love the forum!

I'm getting ready to shoot a music video for a friend here in Atlanta. I've shot a couple of music videos and shorts on a Bolex and Eclair but never one with a DV camera.

I've shot some concert shows with the DVX that came out ok. I'll post some grabs and maybe clips later.

What I'm praying that I can get from you guys, is a laundry list of accessories for the DVX. I'll be purchasing one soon and will be experimenting with it before the shoot for different looks.

What I have access to right now is:

DVX
Mattebox
Few Filters

Is there any Home Depot lights that I can get for cheap? That and maybe a small lighting kit is all I can afford right now. Hopefully I can pull a McDermitt and utilize these cheap lighting tools.

Any suggestions guys?


Peace

[Barry_S]

I strongly recommend browsing through archived posts on the lighting forum as this topic has been discussed extensively. You might want to consider renting lights for the video and later buying decent lights. Worklights are inexpensive, but offer almost no control of light. If you don't have a tripod and a good pan head, I'd consider that your top priority.

[xort]

What did you use when you shot with the Bolex & Eclair?
As a practical matter, the biggest difference between film & DV is the contrast ratio. So, to offset that you need more fill light.

[Solaam]

[quote author=Barry_S link=board=news;num=1103129839;start=0#1 date=12/15/04 at 12:20:59]I strongly recommend browsing through archived posts on the lighting forum as this topic has been discussed extensively. *You might want to consider renting lights for the video and later buying decent lights. *Worklights are inexpensive, but offer almost no control of light. *If you don't have a tripod and a good pan head, I'd consider that your top priority.[/quote]

Yea, I've been searching through the archives. How far back should I go?

Thanks for the replies.

Peace

[Barry_S]

Well, I just saw a topic on page 4 that specifically discussed Home Depot Worklights. There are only 18 pages of topic headers, so I think it's worth the 5-10 minutes it takes to page through to the beginning looking for interesting posts. Add another hour for reading posts and you'd really be up to speed on low-budget lighting options.

[Erik Olson]

I second the recommendation that you rent your lights. Don't stress over purchasing kit for one project - you'll likely acquire gear you don't really need for the long-term or purchase inferior products to fit the budget.

When 1ks and zips rent for +/- $10 a head, why buy a bunch of low-end fixtures for hundreds? I'd call a couple A/V staging companies or lighting rental houses in your area and negotiate a rate based on your physical needs. You and your product will look a lot better for this decision!

Same for the camera - unless you're getting into the DVX as a long-term investment. If so, I'd make sure you have a white card for color balancing; sunshade or mattebox for light control; an assortment of appropriate filters - polarizer, ND.6, ProMist Black, grads et-cetera. A good set of sticks will set you back a bit - you might do better to rent a set in the interim - Vinten Vision or Sachtler Video series are nice, substantial sticks that will be great for smooth work or dutch shots.

Your budget and concept demands will dictate whether you should rent / purchase / build dollies, stabilisers and jibs.

Good luck!

[booggerg]

PLAN PLAN PLAN!!! plan all the shots and any cool shots that you think might fit the style of your video. Shot as much as you can.. I made the mistake of not planning much and i'm faced with the issue of not enough footage >

[Chayse_Irvin]

Just get creative with your lighting.

[Solaam]

Thanks guy for the tips. *

Kinda scared because this is for a close friend. *Its funny, I feel way more pressure doing projects for friends moreso than total strangers.

I'll call around to some staging houses like you guys suggested.

And I'll keep on reading. *And keep on planning. *
*I guess I'll need to storyboard everything. * >

I'm also probably about to order Barry's DVX book.

Any other tips? Thanks guys.

Peace

[CeroFrio]

Music videos and non-plot driven short films (aka REAL short films) are entirely about the visual.

For this reason, if you can't afford good lighting and accessories, you need to think what your visual alternatives are.

Some things you could do because of limited resources. Make the concept of the video something that almost requires bad technique/equipment:

1)A parody of Blair Witch if you have a good camera but bad lighting.

2)A parody of an infomercail or a Soap Opera if you have good lighting but bad camera and bland sets.


3)Recreating home video type situations gives you the excuse that "it's that way because it's the concept":

If you can have lots of extras: The band is playing a Wedding or little kid's Birthday (especailly good if their music is something that wouldn't be at a wedding or B-day)

If you have hardly any extras: The band is in Sasquatch/Yeti/UFO/Lochness Monster footage. Just get/make a harry suit or a model, and make sure the shot is grainy and comes in and out of focus.

4)Finally, you can just go nuts with post production editing stuff: Have colors bleed in and out, reverse, Fade several shots at a time into eachother. Get real artsy with it.



As Chayse said, be creative. But know what you're doing: The pitfall with these suggestions I listed is it seems easy. That's because it is, but you still have to make sure it's done well. Still use thirds, still keep it consistant, still have good acting, and all that. Also with music videos, if you have lypsinching and performance do one of two things: Either have them play through the song in its entirety in every shot you have. If time and tape are an issue, stick with storyboards and only get that 5-20 seconds that the shot requires. But do one or the other, because music videos (IMO) are ruined if the guitarist is playing a different chord or the singer's singing the verse during the chorus.