Solo acoustic videos - Opinions?

[PaddyGordon]

Marc Rooney - Old Fold Up - YouTube
Set the compression on the guitar wrong on this one (too fast).


Alex Wayt - She - YouTube
No effects used on this at all. Room was fantastic. Camera is a bit noisy but will re-record this during the day.


Selina Autumn - The Wrong Kind - YouTube
She wanted her mic out of view, I've still to EQ her voice to add some low end.


Other than what I've said below each video, how are they?


Equipment used:
15" MBP 2.2Ghz i7
4GB Ram
Logic Pro

Apogee Duet

Shure SM27
Shure SM58


Canon EOS 60d - Sigma 70-300 f4-6.3

 

[danbs10]

They all sound pretty wicked to me my friend.

When recording these videos did you have the mic and mixers connected directly to the camcorder or did you record the audio separately?
If so then how do you sync the audio and video?

Thanks

 

[PaddyGordon]

Record audio with the camera's mic

Also record it through an interface with the 2 other mics and mix it in logic.

Sync the audio in final cut pro x then mute the camera's audio.

 

[XLR]

Some excellent musicians there. The thing I most like about the vids is that they convey the personalities of the performers without any part of the production side of things getting in the way. It's very intimate and realistic. (I'm listening in a treated room with KRK V6 monitors.) Sure, you could tweak one thing or another with the audio but, really, you've already nailed it. For each tune you made what was good sound and look great, and what was less good (the guitarist backing Alex Wayt, for instance)still come across very well. Fine work.

 

[rayc]

There's some noise or something happening when Marc 1st starts singing. There after it's cool stuff.
Is that room or reverb noise when Alex slaps? Cool stuff from him too.
With Selina he guitar is VERY bright in comparison to her vocal & I'm not keen on the odd lap slap. She didn't want the mic in sight? Lucky she didn't banish the guitarist too!
You've done a sterling job thus far. When tweaking further rememeber the aim: keep it real!

 

[Clam Soup]

Alex Wayt - She - YouTube[/url]
No effects used on this at all. Room was fantastic. Camera is a bit noisy but will re-record this during the day.

I liked the acoustics for the guitars, but the vocal sounds too chambered. If you could trim some of the natural reverb off of this voice, it would sound way better to me.

 

[Clam Soup]

Selina's video is great.... might back the guitar down a smidge, but I actually like the brightness of it. - just a wee bit forward in my ears with that powerfull strum.

I'd tie her hands up. The clapping is definately better saved for the stage and the audience on this one. If you could find a drummer to cover the percussion instead of the slapping, I'd really love the shit out of this. Even congas might do gthe trick to retain the acoustic origins.

Love that woman's voice! Wish I could pull off singing without the mic in my face too. It is a distraction.

 

[Chili]

I watched She and The Wrong Kind. Both songs are fantastic and the performers are top notch.

Loved the lighting in both. Very warm and gives the viewer the impression that you're in an intimate session and maybe are lucky enough to be the only one in the audience to catch these great performances.

As for video composition, and I'm no expert but, She and The Wrong Kind represent the two opposite extremes. In She, there is one handheld camera and it is panning back and forth and shaking around, sometimes jerking about. The camera operator misses cues from the songs and is late to capture something like a guitar solo. Two cameras or multiple takes would work so much better. Maybe consider purchasing a steadicam type camera mount for smoother motion. (I bought one from Balvanz and it works pretty good. It takes some practice but makes a big difference.) Having said that, I think the handheld angle worked well with the song. Adds to the intimacy of the venue. I just think you need to switch to different angles and maybe a steady shot with a tripod. At least the camera operator didn't use too much zoom.

In The Wrong Kind, just the opposite, one steady shot. Period. Here you're relying on the song to completely carry the video. It's a good song, but you don't watch videos just for the song. When you hit parts of the song that repeat (and a good song will have repeating sections!) you would want to change it up a bit with a different angle or distance. A shot of the audience enjoying the performance would be cool. And if you wanted to add a spot of comic relief, you could have one person in the audience, like a 7 yr old girl holding a clipboard and at the end of the song, she says, "Next!"

Eh, anyways, I'm no expert and sometimes I talk too much. Really great songs. Thanks for sharing.

 

[PaddyGordon]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.



Done some videos last week, and they look and sound much better, used a 50mm lens as opposed to the 70-300mm I was using before hand, so it's more steady.

Someone was saying about being late with the panning.
I deliberately don't listen to their acoustic arrangement of the songs first, so I don't know what's happening, and I'll try to film what I'm looking at.
To give the illusion to the listener that they're in the room with the band, trying to go for the intimate feel.

They're releasing a far better song on Monday, I'll post that when I'm allowed also

 

[PaddyGordon]

The song I was referring to in my last post if anyone's interested!