archived-videos Stock Footage music video (Ghost Estate)

JoshL

JoshL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtPr1RfoDZ8

So I'm a music guy, and not a visual person. At all. But one of the main sources of discovery for new music by the kids these days (who really ought to get off my lawn) is youtube. Eventually we'd like some real music videos, but until then, it's more important to get something up there. We can't effectively do the "slideshow-style" video since a) we just started this band in September and b) we're both insanely camera shy. We could have done the "album cover/still" style video that seems to be popular on youtube, but that's sort of lame, and I wanted to do something at LEAST a little better than that.

So I spent a week trawling free stock footage sites, downloaded a ton of clips, got an old copy of Vegas from a friend and pieced together this pseudo-video. Again, not a video person, so I'm sure it could be a thousand times better (and still nowhere near a "real" video, of course). But I don't even know what I could/should be learning to make it better. I still have four more songs to give a similar treatment to...what should I be trying to do/learning? I don't kid myself that this sort of thing will ever be great, but that doesn't mean I don't want to do the best I can!

Oh, and feedback on the song is also welcome and appreciated :-) (I'm particularly proud of the guitar solo at the end)
 
Upvote 0
The song is really awesome. :)

The video is really boring. :(

Tbh, it was more a series of unrelated clips strung together. It didn't tell a story, or follow the music's story, or even plain ol' showcase the performers. All of which you mention in the blurb about it, too.

I'm a music guy, and not a visual person. At all
Click to expand...

So why not hire someone to design/shoot the video for you? If you're on an ultra-lo budget, I bet you can still find someone who'll shoot & direct it for next to nuthin'. Let the visual people do their thing, and let the musicians do their thing. :yes:
 
Josh

If you want, I will shoot a video for you (as well as edit) free of charge once the snow melts here. You and I can talk sometime about your vision.
 
DeJager said:
If you want, I will shoot a video for you (as well as edit) free of charge once the snow melts here. You and I can talk sometime about your vision.
Click to expand...

I will definitely take you up on that...as is clear, I don't really have a vision, as such! :lol:

I am definitely in favor of letting all you visual people hold up that end...just trying to get the music out there right now. Glad you liked the song!

To compare and contrast the last two songs that were sent to me, youtube-wise (causing me to go out and buy cds):
http://youtu.be/0_ZCil_-sVM
http://youtu.be/GhRNN8BIZxE
My intent was to be marginally more interesting than that, until I can get some real videos. The question is, is the stock footage helping or hurting? Should I just put the tracks to a still of the album cover? Or is there a way I can take this idea and do it a bit better?

Anyway, thanks for listening!
 
Will chime in once I'm back from a few errands. :yes:

** yikes! long list of errands and then Boardwalk Empire on DVD **

to the question of slideshow videos... if there's a particular song I'm wanting to hear, let's say an old Genesis classic, I typically do a quick YT search and immediately find dozens of videos online, some of which are the real deal and some are fan "slideshow" videos and some with lyrics. With all of them I get to hear the song, which was the main reason I did the search in the first place, so I can hit play then go back to what I was doing and just listen. If I choose to watch the music video, I'm certainly not going to watch the fan slideshow video, only the real deal. But the fact that the SONG can be found on YouTube is really what mattered.

So I think it's better to have your song searchable on YouTube with a slideshow video than not to have it on YouTube at all.

Now, about music videos... I'm of the mindset that not every song needs/demands/warrants a music video, although some musicians (producers, managers) might bristle at this thought. I've only done 5 music videos (working on #6 at the moment) so it's not like I have years and years and dozens of samples to show, but with the handful of projects I've taken on, there was typically much deliberation and discussion with the band about which song I was most appropriate for a music video AS WELL AS which song spoke to me most from a filmmaking angle. Whether or not I was head over heels for the song itself, it had to speak to me in some way/shape/form in order for my wheels to get turning. There had to be that spark, where a concept, or concepts, appeared and whatever concept I was bringing to the table was practical, produceable, and was something they could get behind as well.

Josh, our collaborations together with TSOTSS and Sheryl's Keyosk were the perfect marriage of music and image, only with our process it was image first, music second! Nonetheless, you were sort of doing the visual equivalent of making a music video, in that the images came first and you had to find a way to translate those images into music, which is no easy task and the results were IMO spot on. And I know your music was in Caveat Emptor, but those tracks had already been produced, although they fit perfectly for the piece.

Anyhow, the point I'm trying to make, and I don't think I'm even trying to make a point, just ramble and talk as if we were hanging out. :) is that Ghost Estate should be on YouTube, either in a traditional music video form or just as a slideshow, because a bazillion people in the world can stumble across it and give it a listen and possibly learn more about Ghost Estate and click over to your websites and such. I rather like the thumbnail image of the silhouetted trees and if that's all the "video" was, even that would be fine. It's about getting your music out there.

Could your tracks be the foundation of a cool music video? Most definitely. In fact I'd love to see what DeJager comes up with. I've listened to your songs before and if I am ever struck with a concept spark that's worth extrapolating on, I'll certainly let you know!

Cheers,

Jeff
 
Last edited:
Thanks for digging this up, and for the discussion! Man, two years ago. I've since decided that "album cover art" was fine for getting the songs on youtube, though a friend has a concept for one of our newer songs, Selkie, so we should be shooting a proper video in the spring.

I agree with you Jeff, artistically, that not every song needs to have a video. I'm not a visual person myself, and there are only a couple songs I've done that I've had good ideas for videos. That said, most people ARE visual people and a music video is a great way to grab attention. So I guess the two sides of the coin are "I like videos, it would be neat to have one and a great promotional tool" and "I'm not good at having ideas for videos, and not enough cash right now to pay for a proper one" But, again, I think my friend's idea for Selkie will be really good, and gets the song.

Your music video work is fantastic. And our collaborations were great fun...TSOTSS is still one of my favorite films I've worked on!
 
Sure man, if your friend has a concept that you're happy with, by all means move forward with that! Any way you can get your good work out there is worth pursuing. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top