How do you make your video look like a real music video? Read for more details

Bigoj wrote on 9/12/2003, 9:41 AM
I've worked on a music video and i'm trying to make the colour look more like a music video on t.v, cuz it looks like itz a home video, not da quality, but the colour (eg. Wen itz more yellow, bluish), is der any special effect or I gotta go manually, thatz using light colours with my camera when shooting?

Comments

craftech wrote on 9/12/2003, 9:59 AM
If I am translating correctly, you are asking how to set your camera to look more like film. What kind of camera do you have?

John
Jsnkc wrote on 9/12/2003, 10:24 AM
How did you light your video when you shot it in the first place. If you didn't light it properly and professionally then your videos will never look even close to the ones on MTV. Lighting is one of the first things you should do even before you set up your camera. You need at least 3 lights a backlight, ket light and a fill light. Then you can set up your camera and shoot like a pro. I'd suggest hitting a local video equipment store to see if they rent out light kits for a day, it's usually a lot cheaper than buying them.


Here's a little article I found that might help:


How to Light a Scene for Digital Video


rmack350 wrote on 9/12/2003, 12:00 PM
Man,

You're asking to fill a bathtub with a tea spoon.

"low budget" videos I've worked on have had a five or ten ton lighting truck, a good sized grip and electric crew (5-12 total), and an art department with their own truck and crew. Also someone to herd the talent and make sure they showed up.

These were shot in 35 or sometimes 16mm and they looked great.

You're talking "No budget" music video. Still, you can do it. You've got to be very creative with your shots and accept DV for what it is-a low res, low latitude, color impaired medium.

"Three point lighting" is just the start. Another way to look at it is lighting the talent and lighting the space the talent is in. Lighting the talent is easy. Lighting the world around them is hard because this is what you need to make look interesting without stealing the focus from the talent.

One of the things to consider is lighting a big enough bubble of space around the talent so that they have room to move without gaining a half stop of exposure. That either means bigger lights farther away or more lights covering the space they want to move in. (of course you can also light little bubbles of space and the talent can move in and out of them)

Typically, the band seems to spec out the video. Sometimes they just approve a high concept but often, especially in Rap and Hip-Hop, they tell you what they want. I find that Rap and hip-hop invariably want the same things: Cars, Houses, Posse, Girls, Pools, Parties, Fun Times for 30 or more, Cash, Dominoes, Pit Bulls, Malt liquor spit at the camera, Playas bein Playas...Social Status stuff. You find that bands usually want the same things and somehow you've got to make it different and appealing.

Where I'm heading with this is that you're going to have to fill the void in your skill and budget with creativity. Shoot a lot, and shoot lots of tests. Eventually you build up a repertoire of good ideas.

And always ask for a budget. It takes money to make a movie.

Rob Mack