stills from a quick music video shoot

M

mrWr0ng

Well-known member
Shot a music video Sunday night, which was pretty tough. We started late (not my fault), one of the main members of the group showed up about halfway through, and we were shooting in a huge club with only a couple of omnis and totas, but I felt really good about the whole thing. I used my steadicam for the first time as well as used a jib that was rented and it was my first music video in HD, so I was pretty psyched about the whole thing.

Here are some stills:

BS_VideoStill01.jpg

BS_VideoStill02.jpg

BS_VideoStill03.jpg

BS_VideoStill05.jpg

BS_VideoStill07.jpg

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I'm pretty bored by rap videos. I don't think I'd ever agree to direct a rap or hip hop video, but that's also because I think that music is total crap. A few exceptions (I like Eminem a lot, and I like Fort Minor).
 
sorry to disappoint, but i wasn't the director on this, i was the DP. We were told to set up in a club and film them doing the song live as part of the song. If it was my call I'd go in a different direction, but it wasn't, but I would appreciate feedback on the composition.
 
I like still number 2 and still number four. It could be the fov ~ im not sure.

Rap video or not, it was a chance to work.. and thats what its all about!
I hope they are happy with your work.
 
Why is it that every-time someone posts a rap video or hip-hop video asking for a critique on the technical aspects of the video/frame someone feels the need to express their discontent for the genre ?

If I posted a still from a action movie I was working on asking for lighting suggestions my thread wouldn't get riddled with "man i'm sick of action movies"posts. Why is that ? Maybe it's because at the end of the day whether you like the genre or not has no bearing on whether or not the technical aspects were executed correctly.

Sadly not everyone has the ability to tell a client that I don't want to work on your project because the end product isn't my cup of tea. I doubt that anybody here would tell Mercedes that they wouldn't be involved in shooting their commercial because they prefer BMW as a car manufacturer
 
For my technical Critique:

Overall I like the lighting design especially the colors. It really has a club vibe to it. In some of the grabs however the lighting seems a little to harsh and close to overexposing. For instance the 1st , 2nd and last one. Some more diffusion on the lights would have helped.

Good Job
 
Hey 4MAT, nice camera moves on your video -- how did you accomplish the 360 degree take at around 00:50 sec?
 
Jonathan

I think that was an ignorant comment. "i think rap is crap" There is music i dont like but i would never trash it because its not my favorite. Try being a little more respectful the next time you give such a harsh comment.

Mr Wrong i like your shots
 
Sorry, suggestion noted but denied. I have the right to say what I want about anything I don't like. I didn't say rap is no good for anyone, I said I think it's crap. For me. Doesn't mean I think everyone should hate it, just means I don't care for it and I'm certainly sick of the same old songs over and over. There was a time when rap was pretty good, when it was original, and now it's stale.
 
JonathanLB said:
I'm pretty bored by rap videos. I don't think I'd ever agree to direct a rap or hip hop video, but that's also because I think that music is total crap.
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i don't know what's more stupid, slagging off the whole genre itself or declaring you'd turn down work because of personal tastes.

rap is such a massive genre with so many subtle variations and shades....... of course there's gonna be good and bad rap, just like with any other genre.... i can't believe i'm pointing out something so stupidly obvious.....

rap/hip-hop is hugely important in popular music, it's equivalent to jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll in terms of being a new mode of expression.

listen, i'm no more excited about another paint-by-numbers 'bling tits n asses' rap video than the next guy; just as i'm no more excited about another paint-by-numbers 'fast cuts tight jeans fast shutter' (or whatever) pop-rock video (think avril lavigne).

the thing i love about rap videos is they are as unique as rap itself, having their own history and conventions. like any genre there is a whole world of different ways to work with these conventions to create something wonderful.

don't lump a whole genre in with it's worst examples.

and don't respond to someone's request for honest appraisal with 'i don't like blah blah blah to begin with.'

sorry, but you really pissed me off.
 
oh... not that i'm out to make enemies or anything but i just realised i can't let this go either since i just gave jonathanlb a piece of my mind.....

MalcolmOng said:
Nice stills but...Oh man i hope its not another typical rap video...
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may i just say that, malcolm, your film 'count down' could be categorised, based on the banner image (and considering you based your judgement solely on mr wr0ng's stills), as 'another typical action movie.'

seriously... i know that sounds personal and petty but.... i am reminded of an old saying about glass houses and stones.
 
Well i guess i was a bit out of line by not keeping my comment restricted to the technical aspects that he wanted critiqued. Although I did like the stills - I just decided to throw my (highly subjective) 2 cents in regarding the genre.

And yeah, unfortunately you're probably right about my banner, and the related film. But hey, everyone needs to start somewhere. Ah damn i just remembered - regardless of the genre, those stills that were originally posted are still good, and reading the original post again, he soudned like it was a great learning experience, which will come in useful in whatever he does later on. Glad that the shoot turned out well in the end, and sorry to cause any offense
 
4mat said:
I take a different approach with rap videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVu76QLjkWQ
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You made this!!!!!!!

I LOVE that video!



And everyone else, .... Well, behave dammit! ;)

Hip hop isnt everyones cup of tea, but i think the stuff thats "stale" is the commercially driven stuff thats gets too much attention from MTV. Theres alot of hip hop that isnt well known that just as relevant as the day it was invented in the bronx in the 70's.
 
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Thanks for the feedback you guys. SilverWolf, i feel you on the diffusion thing. I generally like overexposing, but this one was very tough - the stage was in a big open room with all these people around, so I set up the omnis, put on a gel and just spotted them as much as I could in the hopes that the light would at least make it across the room. It was tough, but I do think it worked. I didn't want to throw light everywhere, I just wanted it to be specifically where it needed to be, that way the whole place wouldn't get bright, while the guys who are supposed to be lit would almost blow out.

The DJ for the group emailed me today telling me how much he liked the footage, so really that's all that matters. I work on a lot of projects that I don't think are great (this isn't one of them, I think the song was pretty dope and while it's not the most creative thing in the world, I just wanted to make sure it looks good), but but I keep that opinion to myself. I'm being paid to make what the client wants, not to produce my own personal vision. If someone wants to pay me to shoot grass growing, then I'll shoot some damn grass and keep my mouth shut, and when I have the money and connections to make my own projects (which is the whole point), then I'll go at it how I want and let people judge me based on what I want to say to the world.
 
I personally think that it's a bit noisy. Usually rap videos are very clean, but the grain here I feel is a bit distracting. Maybe it's because it's a still frame, but I feel that it could be a bit cleaner in terms of picture.

The lighting is not bad, but some of the people look REALLY washed out due to certain lights being overbearing on a numerous amount of people.

But that's just my opinion.
 
TimurCivan said:
You made this!!!!!!!

I LOVE that video!

QUOTE]

Thanks Tim it was my first attemt at a music video a few years ago.
Anybody wanting to know about the 360 matrixy thing it was done with the revision plugin twixtor. Just got the tallent too freeze while i steadicam'd around them. the slomo sections are at about 1000fps thanks to twixtor.
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