"Born Too Late" Music Video

[idodstudios]

Just got done shooting a music video this past weekend. It was the first video I did completely by myself and was a little stressed.

This was a "no budget" deal, but his manager did a great job calling in favors for locations and props.

The song is called "Born Too Late" and the concept shows him in his living room daydreaming about what it would have been like to be some of the greats. Those daydreams are shown as vintage films on a TV in the room and then cut to full screen of those scenes. He mentions Elvis, Johnny Cash and John Lennon in the song so we had 4 locations, one for The Beatles, one for Elvis, one for Johnny Cash and one for him in his living room.

The living room was extremely small so I had to use a fisheye. I wish I had a wide angle because I didn't want it to be that apparent. But now I'm starting to like the look.

I should have the video done in the next week, but here are some screenshots:

 

[Eljoninjo]

The B&W pictures make me want to see the video! especially the last one shot from behind, its looks very nice. Looking forward to it!!

cheers
Joel

 

[idodstudios]

I still need to work with it a bit - tweak color correction and fine tune some edits, but I'd appreciate any feedback. Here's the link (THIS LINK WILL MOST LIKELY CHANGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE)

www.mascarimotion.com/brettmitchell.mov

The artist is Brett Mitchell
http://www.brettmitchellmusic.com

 

[suspectx]

I think the video works really well, the only thing I would suggest is that you (don't hate me) should re-shoot the performance in the house. Everything looks great in the video except that particular part, it loses it's production value and it takes you out of the video. The shots of the TV are great, they work. I'd maybe suggest that you shoot this stuff without the fisheye lens with a look more like this:

http://aruell.com/

Go to the recent link and take a look at those photos and if you could get your look flat and centered like those pictures I really think the production value will skyrocket. Maybe shoot different parts of the song in different parts of the house or with different backgrounds, all keeping this type of style. The shot with the artist in the forground and the TV in the background is great, it's just that fisheye lens that doesn't work and you might need different types of wardrobe.

Also at the beginning of the video when the TV is turned on you can see an exit sign while the band is performing, if you could paint that out somehow it'd help you out a lot and retain the look of that time period. During the black and white stuff you could experiment with different types of filters or film scratches or even add a TV matte around the video to make it look like its still coming from your TV. Anyway, these are just suggestions. Other than that I think you've got a great video, especially for the budget.

Nathan Fackrell
the F A C K R E L L B R O T H E R S
www.thefackrellbrothers.com
www.thevaultla.com

 

[idodstudios]

Yeah, the house stuff was in his living room. His album is entitled Small House and he wrote the whole album in that room. I loved the character of it, but it was really really tiny - hence the "Small House" title. I didn't really want to go fisheye with it, but it was the only way to get anything in frame. After the fact, I think it kind of adds to the quirkiness and almost looks like you're looking out from the TV. I was also limited on how to light, since there wasn't any room. I dig the aruell.com stuff. I wish I had a wide angle and not a fisheye.

You're right on the exit sign. For the final I definitely want to paint it out, but first I want to get the edit finalized.

I do want to add some noise and filters to the B&W stuff.


Thanks for the feedback and I'll definitely take it into consideration, for the final cut.

 

[Phil Maker]

I agree about the house stuff. The setting's a bit ugly. I would have him just walking through the city, maybe down Hollywood Blvd, with his guitar. Just keep him and the camera moving. Maybe do one long reverse dolly with a smooth shooter. Good job though.

 

[idodstudios]

we shot in Michigan so outside wasn't really an option. We've been dumped on with snow. I wanted to have him leave the house, walk through streets with his guitar case, then stand outside a concert venue - start performing on the street as people are walking out. Then do a split screen with him as one of the characters (Elvis) in B&W walking out after a show, nod to himself and walk off.

 

[idodstudios]

Here's the YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXrcLxcXkWs

 

[sonic freak]

It's a good video. the song is recorded and played well. seems like you had a better idea than the living room so that's cool. one thing I thought was that you didn't need to have such a wide angle in there. just because it's small doesn't mean you have to go wide.

and another thing, he was so much more compelling as the other characters. more like someone I'd pay money to go see. his 'real' character looked more like the guy I'd pay to do my drywall. It's not a bad idea to have a cool image as a musician. I'm not saying he's boring or anything, just that because the other characters were so dressed up, that doesn't mean you have to be dressed down as yourself. In fact, I would actually 'buy it' more if he was dressed up because all those people he sang about were his influences it seems, and how insanely cool were Lennon, Cash & Elvis??

Good job.