How To Create A Simple Music Video.

There are times when even simplicity can be stripped down to a simpler form. Is that too simple?

I work with many independent musicians to create music videos. Some want to create a linear storyline while others want an abstract visual. I enjoy both challenges however to create a music video down to it's most basic form, well let's just say this there is one question I always ask myself. "What can be taken out?" See most people want to keep adding on and adding on to try to make something better. In fact it works just the opposite. We've all heard the expression "Less is more.". The hardest thing is to create a simple yet strong visual solution.

Steve Messina of Blow Up Hollywood and I have been working together since the inception of his band close to 10 years now. Over that time I've learned about the kind of visuals he prefers. When Steve contacted me about creating a video of just him performing in his apartment my mind started solving all the obstacles. The apartment environment how to stage it so it is visually appealing, lighting, am I gonna need multiple cameras and sound quality. These are concerns to tackle and the best solution is to simplify.

Here's how I created the music video of Steve covering The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony".

Lighting
A single Lowell Pro-light 250 watt
Placed up high to the right of the subject. The key is to feather the light off the of the subject's face towards the floor. Reason, I did not want to see the couch and to make the video have a darker vibe.

Camera
The Nikon P7000. That's right a point and shoot digital camera. Why did I use this camera when I could have used my broadcast quality Nikon D800 instead? The first thing the Nikon P7000 is light making it highly mobile. Two I like the subtle exposure adjustments that automatically are created by the camera itself.


J Rig
This is an articulated arm to use as a steadicam. When you hold the camera directly you get more shake. The J Rig actually helps to reduce shake by steadying the camera because your hands are not holding the camera directly. This example shows a Go Pro on the J Rig with Nikon P7000. I did not use the Go Pro for this video. However if you want to see what a music video looks like with the full J Rig in action go to this video I made for Risa Binder.

Sound
Of course having quality sound for a musician is super important. The microphone in the shot was just not there for visual purposes but fully functional. Gordon Davies is an excellent audio engineer. Davies mixed the track after the session and provided me with the audio that I synced to the video using Final Cut Pro X Synchronizing Clip feature.

 

Want to do a music video?
Let's create.
Contact me.

 

 

Invictus Wordpress Template - How to Add a Photo

This is a quick tutorial for Invictus Wordpress template to show how to add a photo.

Spencer Gordon provides not only photography and video services he also creates websites using Wordpress. Part of the website service is also training the user to manage and maintain their own website. Spencer gives clear and easy to follow tutorials. Contact Spencer for more details about creating your website today.

Creating Stop Motion Animation Video with Aperture

Creating stop motion animation video with Aperture is fun and easy. "But Aperture is a digital asset management program not a video editing program." you might say. Well you're right however the slideshow feature in Aperture is a simple yet powerful tool that I used to create a stop motion animation music video. How do like them apples?

"The slideshow feature is key."

See… the slideshow feature of Aperture allows you to adjust individual images for almost any specific time you set to show a frame or group of frames. This is perfect for timing the frames of the video so the stop motion animation will move with the beat of the music. Transitions can also be used between frames which will give a different feel and effect to your video.

"Make some popcorn and check out the presentation."

Wanna learn the details...? Watch the Keynote presentation below.


Stop Motion Animation Music Video Using Aperture Presentation from Spencer Gordon on Vimeo.

Or watch the actual presentation from the New York Apple SOHO Theatre it's in two parts. Yea YouTube only let's me upload 15mins at a time.

Part 1


Part 2


Contact Spencer for any of your photography or video needs.

He's a visual solutions specialist.

Photographer's Rights by Jon Arnold

[caption id="attachment_356" align="aligncenter" width="590" caption="What is your wish?"][/caption]
Original Article by Jon Arnold on Camera Sim.

"No Photography Allowed" | A look at photographers rights | CameraSim.

Battle at the Alamo

Last week I visited the Alamo in San Antonio Texas. When I took a picture inside one of the old buildings, I was immediately reprimanded by a docent who told me that photography was not allowed. I asked what would happen if I chose to ignore that rule, and he said he’d call security and have me forcibly removed from the premises. Sheesh. Take a pill, dude.

A paranoid store owner

A couple months ago, I was walking downtown in Palm Springs California, where I saw a fellow pedestrian admiring some dishes displayed inside a storefront window. He took out his camera, snapped a photo, and the shop door flew open. “Hey! My dishes are copyrighted, and you can’t take pictures of them!” said the man who I assumed to be the storeowner. The flustered pedestrian apologized and quickly put away his camera.

Overzealous security guards

A couple years ago, while strolling downtown Indianapolis Indiana, and taking shots of building exteriors, I was stopped by a security guard who demanded to know who I was, what I was doing, and then informed me that he needed to inspect my photos. Though he didn’t use these words, I very much felt “detained” and “released.”

One more: A few years ago, I was taking photos of some friends as we walked through a shopping mall. Not only was I stopped and questioned by security, they told me I had to delete the photos I had been taking. Not knowing I had a choice, I naively complied.

Utter madness

Now, let those stories sink in for a second: Forcible removals from public places. Harassment from store owners. Detention by security guards. Intimidation to delete one’s data.

And for what? Causing a disturbance? Endangering the public? Damaging property?

Nope. Just taking a photo.

Taking…a photo. (No matter how many times I repeat it to myself, I can’t make it make sense.)

So what does the law say?

I’m no legal expert, but the internet research I’ve done so far on this topic reveals the following:

The shop owner who scolded the guy for taking photos of his precious plates was completely out of line. No one – not storeowners or even the police – can prevent you from taking photos of whatever you want from a public place. Regarding the storeowner’s copyright cry, yes, there are laws against publishing photos of copyrighted works, not taking photos for private use.
The security guard who stopped me while I was taking photos of downtown Indianapolis was just doing his job by being paranoid. But he wasn’t a police officer, so I had no legal obligation to give him any information, to let him detained me, or show my photos to him.
The security guard at the mall also had no right to detain me, and certainly no right to make me delete my photos (apparently, even the police need a court order to do that.) Even though a shopping mall is private property, it’s open to the public so most private property rules go out the window. The photos I took that day were nothing special, but I am still filled with regret for letting a mall cop bend me over like that.
I’m not sure about the Alamo situation, and museums in general seem to be a big “grey area.” Are they private or public property? Do they have a legal right to ban photography? I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.
Photographers’ rights can unfortunately be a murky and contentious issue, and I recognize that common sense and decency play as big of a role as any law. Anyone can take photos of kids at a public playground without getting their parents’ permission, for example. Illegal? No. Creepy? Yes…don’t do it.

Educate yourself

My point here, dear reader, is that you educate yourself on what you can and can’t do with your camera. Not every battle is worth fighting, but how you exercise or forgo your civil liberties should be an informed choice that you make, not a rent-a-cop.

What about you? Have you ever been unfairly harassed for taking photos? What about all you folks from outside the US?…what are the photography laws in your country?

Further reading:

www.krages.com/phoright.htm
content.photojojo.com/tips/legal-rights-of-photographers/
www.bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/photography_law_rights.html

MobileMe: How to save your MobileMe Gallery photos and movies

Have you been storing your original images on your MobileMe account? You did not back up your images and are now scrambling to figure out how to save all those precious images? You can download your photos and movies from MobileMe. Not to worry I got your back

About MobileMe and all your albums you have stored there I did a little research since you and I are in the same "Digital Boat". As you already may know you can not move your MobileMe albums to iCloud. However you can sync the albums back into your iPhoto or Aperture Library. Start now because as of June 30th, 2012 MobileMe will go offline. I suggest doing this in stages as some of you may have an extensive library of images.

Apple's MobileMe Sync to iPhoto or Aperture instructions are below.

MobileMe: How to save your MobileMe Gallery photos and movies.

Tips on backing up your digital media.

Back Up Your Media - LaCie Drives - Spencer Gordon - NY Photographer.

Need help with your digital workflow? Contact me I can help.

Kick Butt Color Correcting Lighting Tip

Here is a color correcting lighting tip for the photographers and filmmakers of today's generation. Have you ever heard of Kelvin? No not Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes... silly goose. Kelvin is a measurement of the color temperature of light. For instance daylight in the photography / film world is 5500k, which is considered neutral in color temperature. Tungsten lights on the other hand are 3200k, so if your camera is set for daylight your image will look quite warm in color. Now obviously you can just change the white balance setting on your camera to compensate. However what if you are combining natural light 5500k and tungsten 3200k? If you are anything like me and want to avoid as much post production as possible. I like to get the image as close as possible in camera.

Here's what you do.... you add a FULL CTB to your tungsten light. CTB.... what is this guy talking about? CTB stands for Color Temperature Blue, so if your light is orange / warm in color to get it back to neutral you need to add blue. This FULL CTB converts the tungsten light back to a daylight balanced light source. Note that the FULL CTB will block 1 stop worth of light, so adjust accordingly. To see a light and compensation conversion chart CLICK HERE.

If you want to go full out on how to correct for other non-tungsten lights you may want to buy a color meter. Depending on your level and how detailed you want to get with your light color temperature control. Beware color meters are pricey. Not to worry most lights these days have the color temperature rating assigned to that particular light. So it won't be to hard to figure out what you need to correct the light for your assignment.

Tripod Pt 3 - How it works.

This episode Spencer will go over how a tripod works and it's set up. Also in this episode is a quick tip about using the camera's self timer to avoid getting camera shake in your images

If you missed Tripod Pt 2 click here.

Tripod Pt 2 - Which one is right for you?

This episode Spencer will go over which tripod is right for you. Spencer will give a quick "blocking in" photo tip for still life shooters as well as 3 tripod recommendations.

If you missed Tripod Pt. 1 click here.

Tripod Pt. 1 - What & Why

The basics about a tripod, what is it and why would you want to use a tripod.
Directed and filmed by Spencer Gordon www.spencergordon.com