my music video of a political nature

[EBodious]

hey all

i just finished and posted my first attempt at video production. it is a rather political song i wrote last year. i convinced my band, otter, to record live and film a few takes just after xmas. i am rather pleased with the results. please go check it out:



i don't know, however, if it is ok to post something that is blatantly political though. is there a correct forum for that? it is a recording.....

[EBodious]

this is a shameless, self-promoting bump!

thanks to all who have given my video a view. comments/thoughts are welcome. new views from new folks are too!!

[jnuts1]

meh

[hbarcat]

You're right, it is a blatantly political video and it certainly violates the rules here at TB. The reason the "no politics" rule is here is because posting blatantly political views is inheretnly divisive and it promotes arguments and bad feelings among members.

If I were you, I would delete it before it gets deleted for you.

[Deluge Of Sound]

I dug it.

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

You're right, it is a blatantly political video and it certainly violates the rules here at TB. The reason the "no politics" rule is here is because posting blatantly political views is inheretnly divisive and it promotes arguments and bad feelings among members.

If I were you, I would delete it before it gets deleted for you.

whoops.

so is it not possible to post a recording if the song is political? i don't wanna discuss politics. i do wanna discuss the music and the video production, since it was my first attempt ( at video). most of my music has politics hiding it in it somewhere (that is a lot of what music is for me).

is there a forum here at tb that i can appropriately post this link to?

thanks

[FormerGuitarist]

Although I think if a band focuses on politics, I tend to respect something that makes you think or is more clever/overt. That aside,
Utilize better lighting for your "live" shots. Shadowy can be cool, but some of your shots are just too low of exposure. With low budget stuff I use those shop lights that clip on or desktop lamps.
Include more clips of players rather than your singer. Some close ups/cool angles of bass, guitar, drums.
Also, I would make a version without the ultra cheesy still images. IMO when your lyrics are blatantly obvious, you don't need the footage to match. Between the angle of the singer's shots, his odd look, and the cheesy graphics it seems like something I would see Beavis and Butthead watching.

[bassteban]

Extremely watered-down RATM. Mild Annoyance With The Machine?

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by FormerGuitarist

Although I think if a band focuses on politics, I tend to respect something that makes you think or is more clever/overt. That aside,
Utilize better lighting for your "live" shots. Shadowy can be cool, but some of your shots are just too low of exposure. With low budget stuff I use those shop lights that clip on or desktop lamps.
Include more clips of players rather than your singer. Some close ups/cool angles of bass, guitar, drums.
Also, I would make a version without the ultra cheesy still images. IMO when your lyrics are blatantly obvious, you don't need the footage to match. Between the angle of the singer's shots, his odd look, and the cheesy graphics it seems like something I would see Beavis and Butthead watching.

lighting was most definately a problem. we did the recording all on a whim. three audio takes live (took the best one, flubs and all) and then grabbed two camcorders and taped us running thru it three more times. we didn't have an extra camera operator. only when i got home and put all the tape into my laptop did i find it was all really dark. i went back and recorded the singer (with a clip on shop light) and what props we could find.

i guess it was supposed to be down and dirty, then i got to the editting process, that was slow and tedious. i tried to make a story with what i had, which struck me as an interesting process. the graphics, for me, were meant to be a fun blow out.

thanks for your thoughts.

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by bassteban

Extremely watered-down RATM. Mild Annoyance With The Machine?

us midwesterners try not to be too offensive...

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

You're right, it is a blatantly political video and it certainly violates the rules here at TB. The reason the "no politics" rule is here is because posting blatantly political views is inheretnly divisive and it promotes arguments and bad feelings among members.

If I were you, I would delete it before it gets deleted for you.

Wow.... someone's a wet blanket.

As far as the video goes, you must admit that it overall looks amateurish - like it was done entirely with the programs that come with your new imac. I would have at least used a studio song, as the recorded drums sound terrible, and the mix is very off. I like the song, but the recording's not very good. I can hear the possibility in the song. It just needs to be recorded properly with some production, and it could be slammin!

That said, it's something, and it got me to at least look at and acknowledge your band. Also, it cost you next to nothing. You could have spent thousands and get it professionally done, just to have the end product turn out crappier then this video.

Also, a so-so product is way better then having no product at all. Kudos for actually having something out there!

[EBodious]

Originally Posted by Ubersheist

Wow.... someone's a wet blanket.

As far as the video goes, you must admit that it overall looks amateurish - like it was done entirely with the programs that come with your new imac. I would have at least used a studio song, as the recorded drums sound terrible, and the mix is very off. I like the song, but the recording's not very good. I can hear the possibility in the song. It just needs to be recorded properly with some production, and it could be slammin!

That said, it's something, and it got me to at least look at and acknowledge your band. Also, it cost you next to nothing. You could have spent thousands and get it professionally done, just to have the end product turn out crappier then this video.

Also, a so-so product is way better then having no product at all. Kudos for actually having something out there!

fair enough. it really was a "get this out there before inauguration day" kind of project. compared to pro level work i am sure it looks lo-grade. we are currently recording music properly, but if i had insisted on full studio treatment for this song, we'd still be tracking (jobs, families, etc)!

we started performing the song live last summer knowing it was destined to be a "novelty" song. it's was almost dated as soon as it was created. i did write it though, and appreciate that you like the song hiding inside.

i guess it all comes down to expectation. we never wanted to hold it up to professional work. i guess i didn't make that clear. we wanted it out there and went with a lo-fi attitude and got that. i posted it here cause i have never put any of my music up on tb.

btw, i used an older version of vegas. i don't think iMovie could have offered me as many parameters. if you take the transitions for granted, i'll take that as a complimnet that they are smooth.

thanks for listening and commenting. some studio recorded tunes that turned out well on our myspace page are "sonar" and "the arch."

[2x4strgkramers]

Good effort. Not my personal taste but i could see it being sucessful in some genres of what used to be termed college radio. I would submit it and see what type of replys you get back.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by EBodious

fair enough. it really was a "get this out there before inauguration day" kind of project. compared to pro level work i am sure it looks lo-grade. we are currently recording music properly, but if i had insisted on full studio treatment for this song, we'd still be tracking (jobs, families, etc)!

we started performing the song live last summer knowing it was destined to be a "novelty" song. it's was almost dated as soon as it was created. i did write it though, and appreciate that you like the song hiding inside.

i guess it all comes down to expectation. we never wanted to hold it up to professional work. i guess i didn't make that clear. we wanted it out there and went with a lo-fi attitude and got that. i posted it here cause i have never put any of my music up on tb.

btw, i used an older version of vegas. i don't think iMovie could have offered me as many parameters. if you take the transitions for granted, i'll take that as a complimnet that they are smooth.

thanks for listening and commenting. some studio recorded tunes that turned out well on our myspace page are "sonar" and "the arch."

I guess I didn't stress my point enough... It's a GOOD thing that it's out there, and I still think it's pretty cool - not pro level, but pretty cool all on its own.

Also, I didn't realize that you had your myspace page at the end. You guys have some cool stuff, and need to make that more present and accessible.

So, I suggest everyone reading this click on http://www.myspace.com/otterband and give 'em a listen!

I gotta run out the door, but I'll add you guys the next time I'm on myspace!

[EBodious]

ubersheist, way to go above and beyond. i appreciate the kind words and the plug. i guess that link should be in my sig. now when am i gonna get to that?!?!

so how is sacramento doing? i was a gtr player in the rock scene there in the 90's.

i am gonna go check out your site....

[Josh Ryan]

People in this very thread pointed out that there are no politics allowed here at TB.