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Live Video or Staged Video for Promo Purposes

jive1

jive1

Commercial User
Jan 16, 2003
12,525
4,060
55
Alexandria,VA
www.jivesound.com
Disclosures
Owner/Retailer: Jive Sound
#1
Just wanted to get some input. Our band is going to do another video, and the guys want to do a live video this time, as opposed to a staged one. Our last video was staged, and we'd like to do better with this one.

For our staged video, we pre-recorded the tracks in the studio and then lip synced the performance for the video. Lots of the top bands around here do this, especially the corporate and wedding bands.
One one hand, I like the staged video since I would have more ability to edit the audio and video afterward. On the other hand, it doesn't capture the energy of the show, and takes more production time. The live video would capture more of our energy, and would take a little less production time, but we'd have to make sure we have the mix down close to perfect when we record, since I will less have options for post-production.

Some guys in the band think that a live video will sell the band better since it captures our energy and ability to perform live without the studio magic that may make it seem like we're covering up our mistakes. They also rather perform live than in the studio. On the other hand, the sound quality isn't as good with a live video.

Here's a Link Removed from this band, both live and staged, that will give you an idea of what the band does.

The goal of the video is to sell the band, so I'm wondering what other TBers use and their experiences/results from it. All input is appreciated.
 
#5
crijan said:
Perhaps you could multi-track record the live performance, mix and master it, and then sync it up with the video? That's what I've had a couple of bands do recently.
Click to expand...

I've thought about that, and I have a couple of issues with it. Mainly, the effort on my part.

Doing something like that would require me to do more setup in terms of mics and such, and it would require me to dismantle parts of my studio to bring it to the video location. We will be renting the video location by the hour, so something easy to set up is preferrable from a cost stand point. Also, we'd be recording about 7-8 channels simultaneously, and I'm worried about latency.

The other issue would be isolating the channels. I will still get bleed from the other instruments in the vocal mics, which make it harder for me to mix down. I could do things to improve it, but I don't know how "live" the band is going to look with a drum shield, a bunch of mics everywhere, and other studio isolation techniques.

In some ways, I get the best of both worlds by doing this, but I also have to deal with the worst of both.

Decisions, decisions.....

It would be whole lot easier if I just had oodles of money and could pay someone to do it all.
 
#6
With technology these days, 7-8 shouldn't induce any noticeable latency. And if you're really worried about it, you can always split it up and record three/four to one place and three/four to another (two computers, or multitrack recorders, etc).

On top of that, don't worry so much about all of the trivial sound isolation. The idea of a live shoot is to get some of the atmosphere and ambient noises that can't be recreated by inorganic means in the studio. Occasional bleeding between mics is annoying, but can be removed or covered to the extent that it wouldn't be noticeable.
 
#8
FunkMetalBass said:
On top of that, don't worry so much about all of the trivial sound isolation. The idea of a live shoot is to get some of the atmosphere and ambient noises that can't be recreated by inorganic means in the studio. Occasional bleeding between mics is annoying, but can be removed or covered to the extent that it wouldn't be noticeable.
Click to expand...

Interesting point. I guess it couldn't hurt to add some ambience to take away some of the sterility of a studio recording.
 
#9
Will a video sell a band?

We have been filing applications for the summer festivals and they only want basic press kits.

I am not sure they have the time or if watching a video is a part of their decision or selrction process.
 
#11
crijan said:
A video is important for a wedding band or a show band where the look or act is as much a part as the music.
Click to expand...


Gald you mentioned that, I battle with some TBers over this issue.

Here is what I'm getting at.

When is the look and image of any working band not important?

I guess for those that are happy to play on the floor in the corner of Joe's Tavern with no aspiration to do anything else maybe "look" is not important.
 
#12
crijan said:
A video is important for a wedding band or a show band where the look or act is as much a part as the music.
Click to expand...

And for any gig where big bucks are involved. If you're only paying $100 for a band, you can get by without knowing too much about them. But, if you're paying $1000, you'll want to know as much as possible about the band before shelling out big wads of cash.
 
#16
bluewine said:
Are there people care about Live Music, thats a new one for me:(
Click to expand...

I hear you Bro. It's not what it used to be out here anymore either, but it's still a heck of a lot better than what I saw in Wisconsin the few times I've visited there. I never got to any of the big cities though.

BTW, best of luck with your new project.
 
#17
frankly we did both.

only the staged one is posted -- the other one is being mixed. Both came out great and they are very different.


Our produced one is found on this page

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

by the way, I lived in the DC area for many years. I found the music scene there...well...devoid!! There were so few good places for bands to play. I remember that we were SO HAPPY to get to play Ned Devine's in Herndon att the end. Now, I would think of it as being a pretty poor club. But heck, I always had fun.

I left there in 2005. Hope it has improved.
 
#20
I have been recently thinking about doing a video, to hopefully get better success booking into new venues. And I have determined the thing a lot of bands miss is:

jive1 said:
The goal of the video is to sell the band
Click to expand...

Is it? Are you really selling the band, or are you selling the crowd the band brings and/or the experience the band provides for their patrons? If the video is primarily used to secure bookings, then it doesn't matter if the booking guy likes "the band" NEARLY as much as he likes what they see going on in the room while the band is playing. Plenty of folks dancing and having fun and buying alcohol. Therefore I have asked friends to try to record some snippets of video when they see us, with that aspect in mind - getting the band in the shot but the real focus being a seemingly packed house having a good time. This is not the MTV approach but a business-to-business approach.

(this strategy would be less effective for wedding bands where you're pitching directly to the consumer)
 

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