Tips for Shooting 1st Music Video

[Guest beanpat]

I've been a beginner with film for about 6 months now, and I agree....

if you dove into doing this show with film, I guarantee you'd screw

it up, I've been there. Too much to know for a guy to just start

shootin' film on a whim and guessin f-stops, speed of film..and why,

speed of camera, etc...

I started on DVX100A, GO FROM THERE!

Video is a walk in the park compared to film. But it looks less than

half as good!!!

 

So I'll share my experiences and failings with ya so you can have a

place to start:

If at all possible, (and again, moods in regard to lighting is all on a

personal taste and method, there's no rule);however, you'll find yourself

on safe ground if you aim for f-stopping around 5.6 - 8. So if you're

DVX is set on 24p, and you're only gettin 1 f-stop out of the shot, you'd

better get some lights up and start blastin em in order to get up to a

doable f-stop to work with in the editing phase.

For sake of money, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy 4 of those

1000watt light stands that have 2 lights on them. Then position lights

in the room to where your eliminating harsh shadows on sides of faces

and so forth. One KEY in decent lighting,......diffuse them. Go to

Walmart and get a buttload of white tissue paper, and put a layer or

two over (in front) of the lights and doing that will soften the light.

This ALONE will increase the quality and appearance of your subject,

however, sometimes you want a direct hard light...so, there again,

like everyone else said, "this takes lots and lots of time to perfect."

Next thing is also KEY to the way your footage will appear videoish and

cheap.......make yourself a steadicam for the DVX, and then practice

with for getting smoothness. You've just increased your footage

quality another 15% if you do it well.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam

 

Again, all this info will only get you a very beginner/intermediate quality

production, so don't expect it to even come close to what you see

on tv. But you've got to start somewhere.

Learn about colors with light!!! Huge!!!

Learn about f-stops and aperature with lenses if you haven't already!!!

and just go from there man'

 

HOPE THIS HELPS! good luck,

christian

please don't set that tissue paper on fire though. anything near 1000w will melt or burn anything closer that a foot or so.

[Daniel Rheaume]

First off, I'm glad that you are taking this seriously, that you have the same desire as the rest of us to learn our trade. What I said before stands, though - there is no quick, easy way. If you have projects that you need to shoot, hire a DP, and learn from them. Eventually, you'll know enough to do it yourself.

This is a quite laughable statement. Generations of painters, photographers and cinematographers managed to produce beautiful images before anyone had ever heard of CGI. Do you honestly believe that the art of lighting can be reduced to a mathematical equation? Show me the formula that Storaro used to light Apocalypse Now, or that Willis used in The Godfather, or Conrad Hall or Jordan Cronenweth.... Please, get real...

 

Stuart,

I don't attest to know anything about the lighting of "apocalpse now". I don't attest to know how to light any type of film. I never said that people had to know about CG to get a good lighting effect. All that I'm trying to say is, it feels like this board is becoming more and more a place where failed and accomplished cinematographers beat up on aspiring cinematographers because of their own insecurities and or inability to pull off a miracle. That is my opinion. I believe the most important thing is to keep people encouraged and inspired. THAT is how you get lighting effects like Apocalypse Now. I'm beginning to think that if Storaro were a beginning cinematographer, and he asked a question on this board, he'd be eaten alive...and maybe never achieve what he did.

 

Alright, now to the meat. I do not think you can just whip out some magical mathematical formula to get a good lighting effect. I made it very clear that it requires good judgement and experience. However, do you really think that light just "appears" and that it just happens to reflect in certain ways...but is never predictable? My point about CG is that the fundemental properties of light can be modeled on a computer because of the fact that we know the formulas to recreate them. Every single painting or film follows a set of natural laws. The lighting formulas will change, but they are there.

 

So, to paraphrase, No I don't think some formula will make you a Storaro, But I believe 100% that you can learn general principals and physical laws that will guide you in the right direction. Do you think that the worlds best cinematographers can get great shots just because they are experienced? I'll bet you can find someone with years of experience who still can't get good shots. Whether they have learned the laws of light from a book, or from their own experimentation, a skilled cinematographer know the laws. Not to say you can't break general rules...

 

My whole point in all of this is to say that there is hope for someone trying to do something for himself. It may not turn out great the first time, but I guarantee you that neither did Storaro's stuff. You are not required to read or respond to any of these posts. This is a NEWBE forum. This place is for encouragement and real help. This place is not for discouragement.

 

-Daniel

 

Man, did you guys read the sub heading on this forum group? It says, Newbies will get honest "Helpful" answers. I sympathize with the original poster. Some of you have done nothing to actually help the guy.

 

I come from a 20+ year Broadcasting career with NBC and post houses here in Central Ohio. I can say the folks in the video forums I know would have been more gracious to a new person on the block. Video ain't film. There may be less art, but there's a lot more math.

 

I would like to think we would have offered the person a few books on the ideas and principles involved in modern video production and technique. Heck, we might have even actually answered the guys question.

 

I realize how abrasive and annoying it can be to get some young kid at your heels asking about everything you do and why you do it but man, you guys are rough. Since this area of the forums is specifically for answering noob questions...

 

My 2 cents. If folks can't ask the basics in this forum, then where? Heck, I was going to ask a few ignorant questions too but I think I'll hold off a while.

 

I would like to point the original poster to http://www.DVInfo.net/conf where I am quite a regular. He will be welcomed with his questions there.

 

So anyway, I see some of you have a few suggestions for our friend. I suggest he hit Google for the basics of 3 point and Rembrandt lighting for a start. Learn what a 2K, soft box, C-Stands, Flags, china ball, are and start from there. Especially lear 3-point lighting and Rembrandt. Remember there are starting points and few hard rules. Lighting is subjective, like the text of the script. They change as times change to what makes the most sense for the situation they are used in.

 

Good luck.

 

Sean

 

Hey Sean,

I agree with you 100%!

You've pretty much summed up what I've been feeling too.

It's a shame I didn't put it quite as well as you in the infancy of this topic.

Anyways, Thanks for your post!

-Daniel

[Wendell_Greene]

Man, did you guys read the sub heading on this forum group? It says, Newbies will get honest "Helpful" answers. I sympathize with the original poster. Some of you have done nothing to actually help the guy.

 

 

The original question pertained to "what lighting techniques he could use to light a club that would make it look like a modern hip hop/R&B music video" and "how they could obtain an intermediate level of expertise in music video lighting."

 

 

In order to get the high end glossy look of urban music videos set in a club, you need to hire an experience DP who is very experienced at lighting hip hop/ R&B music videos. Check the DP credits on a Hype Williams, Lil X, Benny Boom, Paul Hunter, Francis Lawrence, Dave Meyers, Chris Robinson, Marc Klasfeld, Jessey Terrero, et al, music video and you'll see the usual suspects employed.

 

 

Most clubs are huge, even cavernous, so even if you're only in the VIP section of the club, you're still going to have to give the DP more than a couple of 2ks and tweenies to light it to look right. You're talking lots of power, lots of lights [HMI, Tungsten, Kinos, Xenon, Decapods, etc] and enough Grip and Electrics on the crew to set everything in place and get it going. DP's lighting is as only as good as what they're lighting, so you need to have great art direction in the design and decor of the club. You accent that by means of the artist's wardrobe. You have to shoot on film. preferably Super 35mm. And then, you need to have it transferred by a really excellent colorist. No dis to the DVX100, it's a great tool, but you're never going to get the look of Nelly's "Hot in Herre" or Dre's "Next Episode" shooting with one.

 

 

To answer the second question is also simple. Before you reach the intermediate level of lighting, you must have a basic, or beginner's understanding of light. So that means learning about cinematography. There are several books listed on this site that will give you that like David Mullen's book CINEMATOGRAPHY. Then you take what you've learned and you practice. You continue to read and watch films and videos, ask questions of more experienced cinematographers. You keep lighting, you make mistakes, you learn from your mistakes. You light again. You shoot video and you shoot film.

 

How long it takes to obtain an intermediate level of expertise in music video lighting depends on the individual but in my opinion it takes years. It's one thing to know the basics, and to be able to identify the lighting fixtures, and quite another thing to be able to know how to use them in a way to achieve the exact look you want. Once again, most of the people who are DPs on the videos you mentioned have been lighting for years.

 

I wish you well on your projects and in learning about lighting. However, on both an aestethic and cultural level, I want you to consider a question that ironically, was asked by noted hip hop music video Director, Lil X: [also known as X] "Do we really need another hip hop video that takes place in a club?"

 

:)