Okay. So I have been spent the last couple weeks studying how to better produce videos at home. Like most things, once you get into the details, it quickly becomes a rabbit hole. But I like rabbit holes. This has been no different. I've been having fun.
After my last post, I put together a list of songs to make acoustic videos for, based on what people have requested through social media, then I jumped on one immediately – Small Hands. For the recording, I just used a stereo pair of small diaphragm condensers in XY about 3 feet away (for those who like to know the technical), and filmed it with the video mode on my point-and-shoot camera. But when I sat down to edit the footage, the deficiency of the camera really jumped out. It can only shoot in 30p, has trouble holding focus in low-light, and I couldn't tell how blurry the footage was from the LCD on the back. I think I would have done better using my phone, in hindsight. So I intentionally downgraded it further (I often subscribe to that practice – if it doesn't look great, might as well make it look even worse and run with it), shot some b-roll as best I could, and cobbled together an edit. Here's the result:
I was fine with the performance, but I wasn't very happy with the image quality. I don't mind things being lo-fi – my tastes lean that way more than they don't – but I like it to be a choice. Like with recording, I can record things at a more “professional” sounding level than I often do, but I am much more into what's effective for a mood than sounding technically nice. So I decided to take some of my tour income and invest in a better camera. Something that could shoot 4k, handle low-light, and would also work for photos, since I will also be doing my own head shots and press photos for the foreseeable future. And honestly? This is something I have been itching to do for a long time. I make all my music at home, but video is something I have always had to hire out for. Both for the equipment, but also for the knowledge. I usually edit all of my music videos, so I'm comfortable with the software, but the camera itself is something I don't know much about. And my attempts at getting into photography never lasted more than a month, mostly because of time. But these days, I am swimming in time, and I like to be busy. So I am digging in. I've been reading all about lenses, lighting, best practices, color-grading, and all that fun stuff. And since I learn best with applied practice, I am giving myself certain goals with each video. I really want to use this strange time as a time to push myself, and to grow as an artist beyond what I already know. I've been calling it pandemic home school.
So here is the second video, with the new camera, for the song “Doorways.”
I haven't played that song in a really long time. I honestly avoid it. All the long notes at my break in the loud section are a gamble for touring. If I am having an off day vocally, or even just a little phlegm that particular evening, I will butcher it. But I like playing it when I can, and it's a song that I have always been happy with. I remember wanting to write something about when you first realize you aren't a child anymore, but not finding a satisfying delivery at first. Then I finally just jotted down all the things I no longer believed in, and I finished the song 20 minutes later.
But as another challenge to go with this video, I decided to illustrate a lot of the lines. Visual art is what first got me into art at all. I drew all the time as a kid, well into high school, and I wanted to be an illustrator. While I still doodle here and there, especially on tour, this is the first undertaking in a while that had me really drawing. As in, sketching things out first, then redrawing them once I found something I liked. And as a longtime fan of art from Edward Gorey and the comic “Cerebus”, I have always loved meticulous pen work and have stolen a lot from them. I spent a week drawing for this, about 8 hours a day. And it was really nice. There is something lovely about putting on a record and drawing all day. I can't remember the last time I did it with any freequency. I have ordered a bunch of micron pens again, and I am going to do a few more videos with artwork, I think.
Here are photos of all the drawings, if you'd like to see them in better detail:
And if you like this alternate version of the song, I am going to film a tutorial on how to play it this way while it is still fresh. And luckily, that is a lot less work. I can have it up shortly.
Beyond these acoustic videos and tutorials (still very open to suggestions, by the way), I have some other projects in the pipeline. But I would like to start writing blog posts more more frequently, so I will keep these more at one subject at a time.
More soon, and I hope everyone is healthy and well.