Reflection on Music Video Study Day - Top tips from Pete and Jake

Today, Pete Fraser, the creator of petesmediablog and Jake, a professional music video director and editor, editing the likes of Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls and many others. Pete had a lot of tips to give us, like how to choose the right song and how to keep our blog up to date. Here are the tips he gave us:
Plan for everything:

• make a storyboard
• people, places, costume
• talk to group members regularly
• make sure performers know the words and have rehearsed
• use timeline sheets to mark where the verses, chorus' and key instrumental parts are

Know your equipment:

• test shots and try effects
• check the 'quirks' of the camera
• must have a tripod
• experiment on final cut before the main thing
• make music audible on camera, so you can sync the music straight away.

The Shoot

• shoot the performance with different setups 10 times
• plenty of cutaways
• experiment with extra angles and lighting changes
• lots of close ups - artists, instruments
• enthuse your performers
• shoot more than you will need

The Edit

• sync up performances first
• get the whole picture rather than tiny detail
• cut and cut and cut again
• aim for a dynamic piece of work
• do effects last
• upload a rough cut to blog and get feedback

Choosing a Song

• avoid famous artists/songs
• think about sub genre
• strong visual idea/concept
• aim for 3 minutes or under
• needs lyrics for performance
• listen to advice

Also, Jake mentioned 'salt and pepper' moments, once you have finished the final edit, this means look for specific phrases or accented hits, where you can then use your skills to make it more effective.

All of these tips have been extremely helpful, especially coming from people that know the business professionally, and this will make me think about what shots to use and also other important things to then make our video look as professional as possible.