Posts Tagged "behind the scenes"
Aoede-LA Recording 2010: Behind the Scenes of Affair with the Muse
Just finished putting together a behind the scenes video of LA Recording for Affair with the Muse for you! Check it out for studio footage and song previews!
Aoede’s 7 Tips to Save Your Next Music Video
Aoede’s 7 Tips to Save Your Next Music Video 
Considering making an original music video?
You may want to check out the 7 tips below to save you time, money and added stress. I just completed my first music video, “I Lost, You Win,” after more than three years of investment where I learned these lessons directly… the hard way. I’m now working on my second video and vowed to avoid the same pitfalls by following these lessons. Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes!
1. Always have signed contracts no matter what.
2. Do a lot of research on those you hire.
3. Be realistic- about the money, time, skill, manpower, equipment, location, direction, leadership it will take to realize a vision.
4. Assume that things can always can go wrong and have a Plan B, C, D.
5. Go in person to scout locations.
6. Don’t spend 90% of your budget on equipment and crew.
7. Know how to let go. Be willing to simply admit something didn’t work and move on.
1 . Always have signed contracts no matter what 
In the beginning, it is usually such a love fest between you and the the very people you want to hire to help realize your vision. They get it! They throw scripts at you that you fall in love with! They talk about the great locations they have in mind for the perfect 2-day shoot; the stellar crew that could execute it within your budget; the perfect girl to star opposite you; all the festivals and opportunities just waiting for you to submit the video; all the great exposure you’ll get; and they are EXCITED about putting your music to moving pictures. It’s like the romance stage of a relationship when everything is beautiful: his annoying quirks are still charming, and he doesn’t even smell or comment on your morning breath yet. That’s exactly the time to do the contract…before the romance stage turns into the domestic stage or worse… If it is low budget ($2,000 or under) like mine, having a written agreement that spells each provision out is essential. There are even templates for contracts you can find online that you can modify to meet your needs as appropriate. The key is for both parties to agree on acceptable language, and sign the contract, before any work has been done on the project. At least you are both protected in the event unforeseen circumstances occur (see my blog posts on “I Lost, You Win-the video that just wasn’t meant to be” for more on that!). (Note: I am not an attorney; please don’t construe any of this as legal advice!)
Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”… it’s a wrap
Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”… the video that just wasn’t meant to be… It’s a Wrap!
LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY
Lets just review a few “lessons learned.” (Click for Aoede’s 7 Tips to Save Your Next Music Video!)
1. Always have signed contracts no matter what.
2. Do a lot of research on those you hire.
3. Be realistic- about the money, time, skill, manpower, equipment, location, direction, leadership it will take to realize a vision.
4. Assume that things can always can go wrong and have a Plan B, C, D.
5. Go in person to scout locations.
6. Don’t spend 90% of your budget on equipment and crew.
7. Know how to let go. Be willing to simply admit something didn’t work and move on.
I could go on. I’ll just say that I realized after the shoot and even now how ambitious the video really was; how many shots were required and what it took to get each shot in changing, unknown conditions. I didn’t have the expertise to know this. Apparently, neither did those with whom I worked.
In January of 2008, I was told via email that there wasn’t enough footage to complete a music video and that more footage would have to be shot at my expense, and preferably with someone else at the helm. I recall planning to have had a completed and edited music video Jan 30th so it would be ready for my release of Push and Pull in the Spring. In April 2008, I was still waiting on raw, unedited footage that couldn’t even complete our 3 minute music video… and had to demand to receive it to get some response.
I kept thinking that if I had had the raw footage earlier, I could have hired someone else to complete the video and been ready for our release…
Behind the Scenes of “I Lost, You Win”: The Video That Just Wasn’t Meant to be… the drama continues
It was now Sunday, and unlike Saturday morning’s excitement, I was simply filled with anticipation for getting there, getting the needed shots “in the can” and staying warm as long as possible…
We had nixed the idea of getting any band footage on Sunday after realizing that without John said footage was kind of pointless, and we still had more shots to get during the day to realize the vision of the girl and the wedding dress…
So what else could go wrong?
LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!
You would have thought that by now everything would have gone smoothly on Day 2, having figured out the lay of the land and working out the kinks on Day 1? Me too!
Behind the Scenes of I Lost, You Win: The Video That Just Wasn’t Meant to be…
Putting together the behind the scenes footage for “I Lost, You Win” immediately transported me back in time to the location of the initial shoot: Nicasio, California. Nicasio is north of San Francisco and in unincorporated Marin County, and that was half the fun… and all the battle.
It was late D
ecember 2007, just before the holidays, and I awoke Saturday morning bursting with excitement to have a crew of folks to help realize my vision of making my first music video for my (as of then unreleased) single, “I Lost, You Win,” from my newly mixed, first full length album, Push and Pull (2008).
My partner in crime and life, Dave, and I had seen some of the video footage of the location and had an idea of the script and scenes. It was simple enough on paper, and involved filming under a cool oak tree, a girl, me-starring as a muse figure, a wedding dress lit up in the tree, and band footage. I think the central theme implied by the script could be the struggle between staying a child and becoming an adult.
So what could possibly go wrong?
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
Each of the crew and cast drove out to where the written directions said to go…this included among others, my now sister-in-law, Helen, who had volunteered to help with costumes; my drummer, John Walden equipped with full drums in his truck; Dave with gear, food, and umpteen other essentials in his truck; me in my small and sporty Honda Del Sol; and other assorted crew and cast. Having followed the directions best we could, we nonetheless all found our separate cars strangely turning into the same parking lot behind a church miles away from said location…none of us could find the location! Thanks to cell phone coverage in one spot, we reunited with our bandleader at the church, and all followed her through the foggy and soggy hills, and to the turn we had all missed, climbing a steep and twisty road…it was nearing 3 pm by this point!
The first point were told to stop was at the bottom of a steep hill, adjacent to a washed out, jagged and crumbling dirt road that couldn’t support vehicles. Foot soldiers were ordered to scope it out and find the idyllic location: the beloved oak tree.
view of location (left dark to indicate just how dark it was-lights in background indicate location)
When we finally stopped at the top of said hill, evident when we had to use, check and re-check emergency brakes and curb wheels, we were informed that the location was about ¼ mile down a winding foot path, that would take us to our beloved tree…a foot path that could not support any of our trucks orcars that we assumed would drive us directly to the location where we could unload …
The property and scenery were beautiful, picturesque and a perfect backdrop for the shoot… but how would we get us? all our gear? John’s drum set? to this idyllic spot?
BUY Aoede’s NEW ALBUM Skeletons of the Muse!
Join My Email List & FREE DOWNLOAD!
Aoede Radio
Aoede’s Story
Aoede Video
Global Rhythmz!!
Aoede Gallery