This is the story of the making of a music video called “Music To My Eyes”. This “making of” video uses an alternative sound track that was prepared as part of the extensive preparatory phase. Amongst other differences, it features a bowed electric double bass that never made it to the final video.
The original title of the project was “Synaesthesia”, and it was intended to convey the intimacy that surrounds musical performance. The video was constructed without the band members ever playing together.
The preparatory sessions were extensive. We had to decide which instruments were sufficiently visually interesting to be able to convey the texture of the music (keyboards were eliminated early). We had to find a way to film the instruments so that each note that was played could be seen. And we had to find a way to synchronise the recording of the instruments in a situation where we could not rely on direct camera sound.
A crew was assembled, consisting of three camera operators, and each camera was set up to capture each musical performance. So, all performances were filmed from three angles.
We wanted to overlay the instruments visually so that the illusion of a group performance could be created. So, the venue had to blacked out, hence all the dark drapes. The set had to be dressed anew every day, and the shoot took several days.
The drums (played by Angus McCurrach) were captured first, without any other musicians being present. The audio takes were then assembled into a basic shape, then matched with the appropriate video take. Sometimes a video take would not be useable for one reason or another, and so an alternative audio take had to be used. A balance had to be struck.
Next, we shot and recorded the bass. The only guideline our bass player Dave Reilly had for the more ambient parts was a looped chord (which you hear at the very start of the video) which played on a small MP3 player through earphones. For the rhythmic section the drums had already been edited, and Dave could hear that as he played his part.
By the time Davie Frame (our trombone player) came to do his part, the rhythmic part had drums and bass. But for the more ambient parts all Davie could hear was the chord.
The guitar was done in the same way. For the rhythmic part all I could hear was the bass and drums. The interplay between the guitar and trombone was assembled in the editing room.
Rating: User: periurban 2007-01-19T21:27:41.14Z
Tags:
photo-montage | instrumental | |