Any tips on getting good 'live' video?

sleeplessknight · #1 05-01-2011, 12:54 PM

I've seen a LOT of bands do the ol' "Sit static camera on tripod, record from one angle all night" technique. Sometimes, if we're lucky, they'll have an audio track off the soundboard that they mix in so we don't have to listen to a poor mix from an off-brand camera microphone. I was wondering, do you guys have any good tips for spiffing up otherwise dull video? Any techniques, etc?

I ask because I'm thinking of borrowing 3-4 GoPro HDs or similar for my funk band's next gig, and setting them up at various interesting angles for a set (in addition to recording the band off the 'board). After the gig, I was going to try popping the videos into my Mac and slicing/dicing/syncing to try and get 3-5 minutes of "reasonably cool looking" band video. However, as someone who's only ever putzed around in the various consumer-level video stuff available for Mac, I've got no idea what kind of mess I'm about to be getting myself into

If y'all have been there before, I'd love any advice you could give, and it'd be REALLY cool if you could post your video so I can see what you ended up going with.

Many thanks in advance!

prd004 · #2 05-01-2011, 01:02 PM

Get a good/loud stick count. It'll be your "mark" to sync up the different camera's and the recorded audio track.

bluewine · #3 05-01-2011, 02:04 PM

We did a video shoot at one of our gigs, 5 guys with cameras.

As usual, I didn't know much about it. All I know is we ended up with a mess.

Next time we will higher pros.

Marko5657 · #4 05-01-2011, 04:47 PM

Make sure to get the dance floor, especially if you’re going to use this for a promo pack.

sleeplessknight · #5 05-01-2011, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewine

We did a video shoot at one of our gigs, 5 guys with cameras.

As usual, I didn't know much about it. All I know is we ended up with a mess.

Next time we will higher pros.

Heh, awesome. I have that sinking feeling that tells me we're going that same route. There's a reason I reach for a bass instead of a video camera to scratch that creative itch :-p

Anyone know any good video people in the Boston, MA area?

jeffbrown · #6 05-01-2011, 07:12 PM

Any chance you have *any* $$ to throw at this? Previous comment about hiring "pros" is spot on, if you want something to show at anything more than family gatherings.

The analogy of pro bands vs. not-pro bands is worth thinking about.

Since you are in the BOS area, try schools. Seriously, you might find some student(s) who would love to hone their chops on a band/music video. Chances are they would be relatively inexpensive if not outright free. Try to see previous examples of their work, however. Two or more cameras are more than twice as good as one. Also, if one camera can be mobile - handheld - instead of a static shot on a tripod, you can mix up the angles a bit. Quality editing software is cheap enough these days, and Premier or Final Cut are easy enough to find, so lots of producers are editing on laptops, as you tried to do....

Try to go into this with specific goals in mind, i.e., a certain song or songs, what exactly you want to see/spotlight, etc. Preproduction and communication with the producer is priceless in terms of time, price, and quality of final product.

Lastly, there are a quite a few independent producer/editor/cameraguys & gals in the BOS area. I used to be one of them. Google is your friend...

Good luck and have fun!

bluewine · #7 05-01-2011, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffbrown

Since you are in the BOS area, try schools. Seriously, you might find some student(s) who would love to hone their chops on a band/music video. Chances are they would be relatively inexpensive if not outright free.

Great idea, and these students have their hands on really good equipment.

Pilgrim · #8 05-01-2011, 07:29 PM

I've been a video producer for decades, and although shooting music videos isn't my background, I've shot some documentaries.

If I had two cameras I'd keep one on a wide shot of the band, and I'd connect a decent stereo mic to that camera, preferably from a spot about 15-20 feet in front of the band and elevated. I'd tell the other camera to get the close-ups and cutaways, but keep rolling so the two were close to in sync and the difference would be consistent, making editing easier. I'd want sound on both but the soundtrack would come from the wide shot camera.

I'd use the wide shot as the main video and audio source, figure the offset on the second camera and do insert edits with the close-ups and cutaways the second camera provided.

AfroCubanFunkMa · #9 05-01-2011, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleeplessknight

Anyone know any good video people in the Boston, MA area?

PM coming Lee.. total pro cat, also a bass player.. no it's not me

QORC · #10 05-02-2011, 06:02 AM

We had a pro do it -- the sound, he couldn't control - he took it off the board and only two channels.

but the cameras? He used SIX HD cameras from various angles -- all at once.

It allowed him to edit later. I think the video came out good.

DwaynieAD · #11 05-02-2011, 06:22 AM

my band has discovered that room acoustics plays a major roll in the sound of your video.. our last show had such great acoustics we could almost rip the mp3s off of the video and use them as demos

makaky · #12 05-02-2011, 06:35 AM

Heres a couple of tricks

Use as many cameras as you can.

5 mins before the show, start to record on all cameras.

NEVER press stop before the gig is over,for all cameras. Its gonna be alot easier to edit with multicams.

Now for the syncro, use a standard photo cam and use the flash when all cameras are record enable

Voilà

coreyfyfe · #13 05-02-2011, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleeplessknight

Anyone know any good video people in the Boston, MA area?

Yes. We have some friends who do video stuff. They've done a few of my coverband's gigs. The first time was with a few cameras, just taking sound with the cameras to get the shots right, the second time we did sound from the board - separate out into a second mixer so we could set up a headphone mix just for the video (maxed out our main mixer's outputs for IEMs). It turned out the best camera was a little hand-held video/still kind (not sure of the brand) because it took the best video in low light so they got a few more to do more angles at the second gig. I can try to find out what the camera was if you'd like.

I'll PM you a link to some of the early video and their contact.

pklima · #14 05-02-2011, 11:45 AM

Two more things come to mind, in addition to what's already been mentioned.

One, light, and lots of it. Make sure the stage is lit brightly, ideally a lot brighter than you'd want it to if you weren't shooting video.

Two, if you can film the same song at a few different gigs and then assemble the video from all of those, that's a nice way to add variety. If you can't do multiple gigs then at least do multiple cameras.

jive1 · #15 05-02-2011, 12:37 PM

Tip for getting a good live video?
Have lots of money.

Around here the top bands that are doing casuals have videos that cost them over 10K.

The issue is that low light video, like photography usually takes more expensive equipment. If you can find someone who can do it for you on the cheap, consider yourself blessed.

If you're not looking for a DVD quality HD video, you can get away with less. Basically, the larger you want the video to display, the more expensive it will be. If you don't have access to multiple cameras, you can zoom and crop within video editing software to make it look like multiple angles. But, there will be some loss in quality. However, a small web video won't suffer as much loss in quality as 1080p HD video.

Oddly though, for my variety band, we did a staged video with multiple angles. We recently started using a single angle live video, and for some reason it's been getting us more gigs.

chuck norriss · #16 05-02-2011, 12:44 PM

If you can get your hands on an Edirol those are great too. That is, if your priority is the sound quality. Then you mix the Edirol (or other recording device) track w what youcaptured from the board. Comes out nice.

Canon S95's & Canon digi SLR's have good vid capability, as do most recent SLR's which are available to rent from a pro camera shop. That could save you $$$ from the pro videographer route. I'm not sure if S95's are available for rent.

chuck norriss · #17 05-02-2011, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pklima

Two more things come to mind, in addition to what's already been mentioned.

One, light, and lots of it. Make sure the stage is lit brightly, ideally a lot brighter than you'd want it to if you weren't shooting video.

Two, if you can film the same song at a few different gigs and then assemble the video from all of those, that's a nice way to add variety. If you can't do multiple gigs then at least do multiple cameras.

I agree. As they say in photography, lighting is everything. It might be nice to have one of your GoPros on the stage behind the drummer as well, looking down on the band.

longfinger · #18 05-02-2011, 11:13 PM

I think the best tip to get a good live video is to have a dedicated + trained person take the video for you! A person, controlling the camera focus, exposure, zoom, and shot can make the visual so much more interesting than tripod shots, even of 2 or 3 cameras edited together.

If you have a stationary 'full band' shot, with nice mics recording into the camera with the audio levels manually set (not auto levels), to compliment the main hand operated camera, you can get an exciting video for a low price. (Only 1 guy working, 2 cameras.) Even modest gear can get solid results if the cameraman knows when and why to over ride the camera auto setting and go manual.

Also, for a live video, I think too many camera angles and quick edits easily becomes distraction that takes away from the musical performance.

gustobassman · #19 05-05-2011, 12:27 PM

i agree with everybody about hiring someone who knows what they are doing. my girlfriend has been shooting sports for tv stations for about 15 years as a side gig. she has done some video of some of my bands (with some success more than others) and you definitely need more than one camera. she usually uses a still cam from the back and then does up front from the pit or the stage or sidestage. these can be then edited with the moving camera getting the stage shots as well as the whole band using the still cam. she also just got a Sony PRO HD1000 so that helps too

one tip for a live performance-- if the crowd is light, AVOID SHOOTING THE CROWD. if the people are loud, you can still make it seem "packed" by creative shooting around the front of the stage. a good shooter will know this already though. go for a pro.