Unofficial music videos

Nomadic, okay, I'll try it.

I'll search and see what I find. How am I supposed to approach it, though?

Do I send the artist an e-mail saying I'm interested of making a video for this and this song? Should they pay me for it? Because it's gonna cost money, obviously. I don't mind not getting paid, but should the budget come from my own pocket?

The very idea of approaching a band and say: "Hey, you wanna pay a couple hundreds of dollars to let me make you a video?" seems strange to me. Why would they? They don't know me. all i have in my "reel" is a short film.

That was part of the idea behind making an unofficial video. Because then, if I want to make an official video for someone, I can at least show them I'm capable of doing that.

And also, if you make a video for someone, aren't THEY the ones picking the song?
 
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for all of you toronto directors.. dont you all utilize factor? isnt that free money for cancon?
 
lynos.. what bands you like? give me a list of 10 bands and I'll show you how you can make a video for them for a couple hundred dollars.. seriously.. not huge bands, but indie bands that are signed to a label..
 
Hey Chapel -

We get it...you're better than the rest of us for your moral and ethical fortitude. In fact, you're probably the only one in this industry! =P

But I think what Nomadic said does make sense. Kind of reminds me of those fan films that people pour tons of money into. I enjoy watching them, but every second of viewing, I always think about how that money can be spent on "original" subject matter (even though it might not be as entertaining)

While the goal is to have the band (or label) fund the video, it's fairly common to self-finance it. Also, self-financing can give you leverage for complete creative control of the concept (how's THAT for alliteration! - English class works!) And once you have a few of those under your belt, then you have something to show other bands to prove you can do it.
 
If being content to obey the law makes me an exception in this business, then that's a pretty sad state of affairs, isn't it? And no, I don't think I'm better than anyone else. I suspect most people in this business DO abide by both the law and their contracts.

Lynos, I'm confused..... You would do a spec music video using music from a famous band/song, and you'd pay for that out of your own pocket so you'd have something to show what you can do. But if you're doing the exact same thing for an unknown indie band, then you expect THEM to pay for it??? I don't understand.

I did my first music video for an indie band, and I did it for free -- so I'd have something I could show as an example of my work. The fact that it was all done legally and above board means there is no problem whatsoever with the video being on YouTube (the band put it there) or on my website. Now I have something to show, and I can start booking paying work on other music videos.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
If being content to obey the law makes me an exception in this business, then that's a pretty sad state of affairs, isn't it? And no, I don't think I'm better than anyone else. I suspect most people in this business DO abide by both the law and their contracts.
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Chill out, homes....it was a joke.
 
DVXguy said:
lynos.. what bands you like? give me a list of 10 bands and I'll show you how you can make a video for them for a couple hundred dollars.. seriously.. not huge bands, but indie bands that are signed to a label..
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DVXGuy is right about this -- there's no reason why you can't make a good, creative, interesting and unique music video for most any band and any song for a few hundred dollars, if you know what you're doing. Don't try to go for expensive locations, hundreds or thousands of extras, etc. Remember the video that went viral for the band (whose name I can't remember) who performed the whole video doing a choreographed treadmill routine? Be original, be creative, have fun -- and keep your money in your wallet.
 
Lynos said:
Nomadic, okay, I'll try it.

I'll search and see what I find. How am I supposed to approach it, though?

Do I send the artist an e-mail saying I'm interested of making a video for this and this song? Should they pay me for it? Because it's gonna cost money, obviously. I don't mind not getting paid, but should the budget come from my own pocket?

The very idea of approaching a band and say: "Hey, you wanna pay a couple hundreds of dollars to let me make you a video?" seems strange to me. Why would they? They don't know me. all i have in my "reel" is a short film.

That was part of the idea behind making an unofficial video. Because then, if I want to make an official video for someone, I can at least show them I'm capable of doing that.

And also, if you make a video for someone, aren't THEY the ones picking the song?
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You can do what I did. Decide right now that the production cost of your first music video is going to come out of your pocket.

Find a GOOD local indie band who has a GREAT original song. Tell them you'll shoot them a simple music video for FREE, if they'll let you use the finished video to promote yourself and your services. Many will jump at the chance.

You're paying the bills on this one, so be visionary, be inventive, be creative, be fun -- and be cheap! But give them a quality product.

Then use that finished video as your calling card when you approach other bands about doing videos for them. You'll have a decent idea of what it cost you to make that video, so you'll have some feel for what to quote them for a price to do something similar for theirs. If they want more, charge more.

Right now I'm in talks with an Elvis impersonator who plays Vegas, Europe and Japan. He wants a music video that will have the look and feel of videos of Elvis' live shows. Multiple cameras, lights, expert sound, and a concert hall filled with rabid, screaming fans. We're quoting accordingly. If we get the gig, it should be a lot of fun!
 
Lynos said:
Nomadic, okay, I'll try it.

I'll search and see what I find. How am I supposed to approach it, though?
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What I've done in the past is just sent them a message saying I really liked there music and would love to shoot a music video with you guys...a little background in yourself at that point doesn't hurt.

Sometimes they will just ignore the message, but usually you'll get responses back and they are usually always curious to hear your ideas. Between bouncing messages back and forth you'll come to a consensus of what song they'll want to do, and if you think you want to do it. As for the budget, talk about it with the band when you get to a point where it doesn't seem awkward. If you have a 4-5 person band, you can usually get them to put in 800-1000 .... and if you put in your own money, they usually will see your not doing it for the money, and sometimes throw in a little more.

I think its important to keep open communication between you and the bands, don't make yourself look like a used car sales man.

And in a more jokingly matter, but kinda serious, I've told bands that if they get signed, to let me know when they are going to shoot a video, so I can submit a treatment too.
 
NOMADIC said:
And in a more jokingly matter, but kinda serious, I've told bands that if they get signed, to let me know when they are going to shoot a video, so I can submit a treatment too.
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definitely dont agree with this.. There is absolutely no benefit in doing a music video for a local unsigned band. Unless you feel like you need to learn your craft. If you're confident in your abilities NEVER do a music video for a local band.
 
DVXguy said:
definitely dont agree with this.. There is absolutely no benefit in doing a music video for a local unsigned band. Unless you feel like you need to learn your craft. If you're confident in your abilities NEVER do a music video for a local band.
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haha, what? ...I shot a music video for a band that was a pretty good unsigned band, after shooting the video the band got attention from major labels and had showcases with sony, atlantic and capitol. ...from that video I've got work on other projects

It doesn't matter how confident you maybe in your own work, any major label, major band or even indie labels are NEVER as confident in you.... you've gotta start some where.

but hey, if your saying I can submit treatments for bands on universal, let me know!
 
NOMADIC said:
haha, what? ...I shot a music video for a band that was a pretty good unsigned band, after shooting the video the band got attention from major labels and had showcases with sony, atlantic and capitol. ...from that video I've got work on other projects

It doesn't matter how confident you maybe in your own work, any major label, major band or even indie labels are NEVER as confident in you.... you've gotta start some where.

but hey, if your saying I can submit treatments for bands on universal, let me know!
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I agree with you, and have to say I totally disagree with the idea that you shouldn't do videos for local bands. Of course you should, especially in L.A., where local bands are often very very talented, and closer to being signed than anywhere else. They didn't move to L.A. or start in L.A. and get a good deal of attention for no reason. They are there to make it. Sure, their odds may still suck, but they're better than a local band in Texas or something.

The point of early music video work is to make great work, NOT to make a music video for a signed band nobody has heard of either. So I'm sorry but I have to disagree with that. Bands care about how good your work is, not just who you did your last video for. At the highest level, which isn't what we're talking about, obviously they care if your last video was for The Killers and they want to be like The Killers or something, but on a more reasonable level they care that your work is really good, in their opinions, and represents what they are going for artistically.

Plus, if it's so easy to do a video for a signed band, I'd love to know how. I am in L.A., it's not easy, it's damn near impossible even if you're offering for free, which I am on my next video. If it's that easy, show me the record labels out there who are dying to let me do a video for one of their signed bands right now. Then I'll agree it's a great idea. Until then, it's just talk, and not very helpful talk to be honest. Get out there, make great work for great bands, signed or unsigned, doesn't matter.
 
you're doing a free or inexpensive video. The main reason for this is to lead to bigger paying gigs. Well doing it for an unsigned band means that you'll be promoting it yourself on your reel and website. A signed band would normally have a promotional team that will send the video to MTV, FUSE, MUCH MUSIC.. They'll set up a feature on myspace and purevolume. This is where the value comes in.
Jonathan/Nomadic.. put up a link to your reel.. name some signed bands you like. I'll specifically tell you how to go about it..
 
JonathanLB said:
Of course you should, especially in L.A., where local bands are often very very talented, and closer to being signed than anywhere else. They didn't move to L.A. or start in L.A. and get a good deal of attention for no reason. They are there to make it. Sure, their odds may still suck, but they're better than a local band in Texas or something.
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haha, funny thing about that, the band was from a detroit suburb .. personally, I think alot of local music in LA is terrible. Everyone is jaded, and thinks they know everything because they were the tech roadies assistant for the opening band on the second half of some tour.


If you wanna check out the band, http://www.myspace.com/whichwayishome
 
I agree DVXguy, if you do a music video for a signed band of course you have more chance of that video getting out there, which is fantastic, all I was trying to indicate is that I haven't found any easy way to go about doing that. But certainly if you can enlighten me, heck, I'll be all ears!

Anyway, here's my last video: http://www.shutzi.com/rockchild

The other video I have was just fixed and I think the online version is out of date; we went back to re-color correct it and I think it improved a lot, but the version online has three shots that are not colored properly. So I have to upload that when I get back to L.A.
 
jonathan.. looks cool.. good color correction, especially on the daylight shots, will make a big difference. my only suggestion, is to maybe not get so narrative with your video. The best videos are the ones that are visually appealing and dont make you think about how the characters are feeling. Look at a michel Gondry video. He takes something visually interesting and plays off it the whole video. Spike jonze or Israel Anthem (who did mute math video). Those videos are also sometimes the easiest videos to do on a lower budget. Just takes a good idea.
As far as shooting for a signed band, just let me know.. The Miltia Group always look for stuff like this.. They just told me they want a video for the band lovedrug. The bronx needs a video on decaydance.
Cruise these label's websites.. See what's coming out then pitch those specific bands. No One here has mentioned what band they'd realistically like to shoot. If you had one, I could probably help you.
 
I am definitely into working with rock bands in general, not so much hip hop or rap acts, because I don't really understand the culture or appreciate the music much, so for me to do a music video I think for those types of musics I don't believe I could do them justice really. That's why I like to stick with probably pop and rock.

I disagree with what you're saying about music videos personally, the kind of stuff you suggest doesn't interest me -- I'm not here to do what everyone else wants to do. My videos should make you think, you should have to watch it 10 times and dissect it if you really want to appreciate it fully, but on the basic level it should be visually appealing and fun enough to entertain you even if you don't want to go to that next level. If there's not a story of value in something, what's the point? Just to be "cool"? That says something but it's not enough, in my opinion, and an example of shoddy filmmaking in general. There has to at least be something unique there, more than just cool, it has to communicate some theme, however small, or some message. I was a philosophy major in college, I didn't come down here to just make things that are visually good, I came here to express ideas and inject messages into what I was doing, even if sometimes those are so small that most people won't notice. I doubt that most people will notice in Winded the symbolism and messages, because you have to really be focusing on that, and to be honest most people when they see music videos are sort of doing so with their brains turned off, but I like to think that some people are going to look more carefully and that's what interests me.

To me it's a lot like the Star Wars films. On the surface, you have a lot of people with average intelligence levels going, "Yah! The effects rock, I love the visuals, the action is so cool!" And that's all they really appreciate. But at least for those people, the movies offer something that makes them really entertained. Then for those of us who want to delve deeper, the movies have numerous philosophical, religious, and political messages, not to mention mythological symbolism, that has been examined and reflected upon over the past few decades. I wrote an essay in a published book (Finding the Force of the Star Wars Franchise: Fans, Merchandise & Critics) on Star Wars and religion, for instance, so there's always more there to examine if you want but it's not necessary to appreciate the films on some level, at least. I hope to make my work the same way, where on the surface you can enjoy it on a basic level, but there's more hidden beneath.

So do you think the best shot is sending record label's e-mails or letters about their bands, trying to do a video for one of them?

I guess in this instance I probably am not going to bother much because my time table for getting the next two videos done is too limited, I don't have 4-5 months to make this happen, honestly, I have 2-3 months tops. I see what I'm doing as a commercial venture and the size of the bands I'm working with is not really a point of concern to be honest.

In the future, I'd love to work with signed bands, but I won't do it for free. They'll have to pay me for my time or I won't be interested.
 
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