Tips on how to shoot an EPK
- Thread starter bididdy
- Start date
Both. Hopefully more interviewing than concert footage.
Speaking of which, Im planning to shoot some concert footage today...what should I be doing to get the absolute amount of lighting? Is it obligatory that I get an on-board camera light?
I'm not counting on getting the best audio as I wont have any shotgun mics avail, this will mostly be a trial shooting.
Speaking of which, Im planning to shoot some concert footage today...what should I be doing to get the absolute amount of lighting? Is it obligatory that I get an on-board camera light?
I'm not counting on getting the best audio as I wont have any shotgun mics avail, this will mostly be a trial shooting.
Rush
DVXuser Sponsor
You don't have to worry about onboard lighting on stage, since the stage lights will be bright enough (sometimes with some gain). When behind the stage though, you will need some form of lighting, since most of those areas are kept fairly dark until you get into a green room or meeting area.
Random thoughts for EPK:
As far as interviewing, get you hands on a wireless mic and wire your artist, so when you are walking around, you can get crystal audio. That is crucial. Also have a shotgun, and mix both together, so that when he gets closer to the camera the audience feels that he is actually getting closer and more personal.
On-camera light is a great idea if all the interviews are in dark bars and clubs. For daylight stuff, just try to face your artist towards a window, and shoot into the room, rather than open the iris all the way and blow out a bright window behind him.
Remind the artist that the camera is the audience, and dialogue to the audience should face the camera as much as possible.
Get lots of B-roll, shots of the artist walking around, talking to people, thinking, writing. Get shots of just his hand, part of his face, tilts from his shirt to his face, feet walking, sitting in his car, etc... Lots of random stuff that can be mixed with some of the music later on.
If you are not toting a tripod, when you sit to interview, lay back in the chair and rest the camera on your chest to get it as steady as possible. Sometime a monopod preserves the spontaneity of an EPK but is still more compact for chasing people all day.
I'll post more if I think of more.
Random thoughts for EPK:
As far as interviewing, get you hands on a wireless mic and wire your artist, so when you are walking around, you can get crystal audio. That is crucial. Also have a shotgun, and mix both together, so that when he gets closer to the camera the audience feels that he is actually getting closer and more personal.
On-camera light is a great idea if all the interviews are in dark bars and clubs. For daylight stuff, just try to face your artist towards a window, and shoot into the room, rather than open the iris all the way and blow out a bright window behind him.
Remind the artist that the camera is the audience, and dialogue to the audience should face the camera as much as possible.
Get lots of B-roll, shots of the artist walking around, talking to people, thinking, writing. Get shots of just his hand, part of his face, tilts from his shirt to his face, feet walking, sitting in his car, etc... Lots of random stuff that can be mixed with some of the music later on.
If you are not toting a tripod, when you sit to interview, lay back in the chair and rest the camera on your chest to get it as steady as possible. Sometime a monopod preserves the spontaneity of an EPK but is still more compact for chasing people all day.
I'll post more if I think of more.
ryan brown
lOwEr CaSe Member
There's a nice EPK done for the band "Tegan and Sara" on DVXuser "Transmission2's" homepage.
Here's a link
-brown
Here's a link
-brown
AllAroundFilmLV
Well-known member
Whats an EPK?
SomewhereinLA
Well-known member
Rush has excellent advices... B roll is very important, the editor and the producer will love you for it... As far as the tripod, It reminded me of what a very experienced news photographer used to say:"The world is a tripod"... If you look around you, there is always something you can lean on / stand on / rest on with your camera to stabilize your shot.
I'll add a couple more things to Rush's advice. Whenever it's possible, try to do a location reconnaissance, find out the route from the green room to the stage, figure out how you are going to move your camera in tight spots, etc... If you can, get a spotter.
If you see very dark areas, talk to the lighting department, explain what you are going to be doing and some of the concerns you might have, they might be willing to help you out by setting up a couple of extra lights (as long as it doesn't affect the stage and/or security guidelines)
I'll add a couple more things to Rush's advice. Whenever it's possible, try to do a location reconnaissance, find out the route from the green room to the stage, figure out how you are going to move your camera in tight spots, etc... If you can, get a spotter.
If you see very dark areas, talk to the lighting department, explain what you are going to be doing and some of the concerns you might have, they might be willing to help you out by setting up a couple of extra lights (as long as it doesn't affect the stage and/or security guidelines)