OTHER: First promotional video for a band

[Basilskite]

Hi guys! This is the first video I've directed for my friends' band. It took over a month because there were so many members, all of whom had busy schedules. I have never learned so much in such a short time period in my entire life! Here it is:

Link to band's music is here:
http://somethingabouthorses.bandcamp.com/

 

[Basilskite]

Equipment that I've used included a Canon T2i, two tripods and a diy slider that I made for $30, which was loosely based on this design:

I used aluminum tubes instead of broom sticks. It also looked much nicer, trust me haha. I wasn't aware of the existence of ND filters until towards the end of the shoot, which I employed in the lake/gun/book scene. Would've been a great help as you can see in some of the scenes.

 

[Basilskite]

Lessons that I have learned:

There were many things that I would've done differently. I had just gotten my T2i before post-production, so I recklessly decided that I would learn as I went. One of the things that I didn't take into account was how much footage I was going to end up with due to certain scenes being slowed down. I ended up with much more material than I needed to fit into the 2:44 of narration audio, which led to cutting some attractive shots and the awkward pacing.

Scouting and blocking the location ahead of time would've helped greatly. Some sessions were rushed due to poor planning, a couple shoots had to be redesigned because of unforeseen difficulties that could not be avoided.

Working with animals was annoying due to unpredictability/lack of control. I'm referring to the cat scene. Luckily, this cat was ancient, so she was relatively manageable.

I'll post some more when I can think of some. Let me know what you all think!

 

[jghenderson]

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Pretty BA for the most part.

A few gripes:

Some of the oustside shots were overexposed.

The masks for the most part worked extremely well, but a few times I think it looked cheap. Don't know why, but it bothered me when the cheerios fell out of the horses mouth, almost as if it took me out of the moment, obviously being a guy in a mask.

The footage of the band in the beginning was much less interesting than the footage of the horse guy, but I understand you probably have to show the band if it's a promo for them...


Best part by far, the very last shot. The way the head comes up, the insanely creepy stare, you absolutely nailed that shot.


Good work!

 

[Basilskite]

I thoroughly enjoyed that. Pretty BA for the most part.

A few gripes:

Some of the oustside shots were overexposed.

Thank you for the response, jghnderson!

Yes, the overexposed shots bother me very much as well. As I had said, I wish I had gotten/known about the ND filter before I started production

The masks for the most part worked extremely well, but a few times I think it looked cheap. Don't know why, but it bothered me when the cheerios fell out of the horses mouth, almost as if it took me out of the moment, obviously being a guy in a mask.

I know what you mean. I feel that although it does break the suspension of disbelief a bit, I feel that it adds to the quirky humour that we were going for with this video. I thought the cheerios shot was one of the best! I'm surprised that someone would feel this way about that shot. Very interesting.

The footage of the band in the beginning was much less interesting than the footage of the horse guy, but I understand you probably have to show the band if it's a promo for them...

The beginning footage was the one shoot that my director of photography wasn't present, and it clearly shows haha. By the way, each scene has a different member wearing the mask. Was that not apparent?

Best part by far, the very last shot. The way the head comes up, the insanely creepy stare, you absolutely nailed that shot.


Good work!

That's my favorite as well! Thank you!