Lucas Ferreira Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Hi dudes, I've been a long time reader here and this is my first proper comment. Recently me and my colleague set up a production company for narrative projects and our first project was a music video. We tried to offer a band we know (signed to an independent label) something different, with a plotline of a cagefighter to cut back to back to them playing in an abandoned industrial location we've rented for the day. We asked for a decent budget of £800, which in the end left about £100 for me and £100 for my producer/ 1st AD. It was just us two on the crew. They think we've ripped them off. They're not being grumpy, just generally dissatisfied with the end result. So I was wondering if I could get some feedback from the GH2 community and see if you guys think we've charged too much for this: https://vimeo.com/48942536 Video details/ camera settings in the vimeo description Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Hi, I don't think you have ripped them off. If you had taken the money and not delivered a video then that would be my definition of ripping them off. At the end of the day you have delivered a product. And well done it's a lot of hard work involved. However I think the problem you have here is you have perhaps promised the moon and been unable to deliver it in terms of look and style. Please don't be offended just trying to help. So much of filmmaking is subjective. The video is very amateurish for many different reasons. Bands want a calling card and they're not happy with the product. Can you tweak it to suit them. What would they like done. Is 800 a lot of money? Yet again that's subjective. Giving back the money would only end up making them feel justified not liking the product. And you guys would feel pretty worthless for all your hard work. However its clear you are still just starting out so it's a bit of a catch 22. You have a lot to learn yet want to make money. Nothing wrong with that. I think as you are just starting out you should re-edit the video without charging extra. Try using a lot more affects. You need to make it grittier. Try viewing it in black and white or sepia. Try adding other filters to dirty the picture up. It looks far too much like standard video. Try adding more edits perhaps of the band. Just play around more. I know it's time consuming but you might stumble across a look you really like. Get a list of what the band don't like and see if you can tweak the video. Put it down to learning. I used to make music videos and always had 3 things going on i.e. the band shot in two different locations and a story line. I found it more interesting to an audience. I love this quote 'Repetition is the Mother of Skill'. Just keep on doing what you do. You will find your style and look. All the Best, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Ferreira Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Thanks for the feedback! :) This isn't exactly the first edit though, I've done a few different edits, different speeds/ pacing and effects ( old film damage, vhs type damage, lens flares, light leaks etc ) -they just don't like any of it. I think what they really want is for the edit to be really fast, like a Bourne movie. Problem is I haven't shot as much footage as I should have for a five piece band, so I'm wondering how can I adapt my footage for that... to be honest I want to keep working on it until I feel they're satisfied with it, I just don't have the time at the moment :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernesto Mantaras Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 I don't see anything particularly bad about the footage you got. In fact, you have some shots and cuts that have a lot of energy and follow the music very well, but it starts a bit off, I think. Some hits and explosions in the music should be intensified by strong compositions, strong shots and possibly cuts. At first it's slow. For instance, right after the intro the theme explodes, and you match that with the singer starting to move his head, and then you cut into the fighter running. Perhaps a cut to the fighter insted of the singer shoving his head would have a better effect. And like that one there are other cuts that seem off to me. But as the video progresses so does the pacing of the editing. On the other hand, I think the first shots of the band laughing and doing stuff go against the mood of the whole video. If I were you I would replace them with more abstract shots. In fact, I would hide the musicians until the song explodes (right after the intro,perhaps). You know, not show their faces until the singer starts doing his work, for example. And the story shots that are first presented lack strength. More detail shots and certainly more cuts would help. A faster pace for the first fast part of the song (in between the slow intro and the first verse). Lastly (and this is what I felt, but please try not to take harshly, I don't mean to offend you) the "side story" seemed kinda lame to me. Like there's no real conflict, or there's nothing really important at stake. Just a silly overreaction from the girl and an immature illussion from the fighter. I mean, the song has a lot of energy, and I feel that the conflict in the story should be more dramatic perhaps, more grounded and more mundane. Darker, if you may, with more at stake. That being said, it seems to me they're asking more than what they paid for. They should have their feet more to the ground. Especially considering you only got [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]£100 out of this. Hardly a fair pay. If you can do some more abstract shots and re shoot with the actors doing some tighter shots and detail shots, and change the pace of the editing in some parts I think you'll already have a much better product. But be sure to get rid of the laughing and smiling band at the beginning and also the "Mango Jack Films" in the end pulls you away from the mood the song has created, it's kinda violent and kills the experience (maybe I'm being too picky, but oh well). Perhaps just wait a few seconds before showing off your name and have it be more discreet. People will still read it and you'll save them from a violent draw from the mood you set them in. Oh, and another thing I forgot, the drummer gets a lot of shadows in his shot. Try to avoid that in the future. Best luck and best regards![/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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