After several years of not going to concerts, it’s now a priority for my personal and professional life. The more I attend live music events, the more I see how much it connects to my work in video production.
For many years, time and money didn’t align which made it difficult for me to go to concerts. Throw in COVID-19 and it was even harder. Now that concerts are back on, I’ve made attending them a major part of my life. What’s even better is now I can experience live music and gain these valuable insights that have significantly influenced my approach to video production:
Timing and pacing impacts your story
Concerts are a journey. From the opening act to the encore, each moment is meticulously crafted to tell a story and evoke emotions. And concert-goers know that timing and pacing impacts everything.
A well-paced concert keeps people engaged throughout the show. There's a balance between high-energy songs and slower, more intimate moments. Each song is intentionally placed within the show to provide a specific purpose or evoke an emotion whether it’s for shock, awe, or sadness.
Storytelling and timing are just as crucial in video production. Whether you're creating a short film, a music video, or a corporate video, the narrative should be compelling and coherent, engaging your audience from start to finish. The rhythm of cuts, the length of shots, and the overall flow of the video can make or break the viewer's experience. Learning to pace your video effectively ensures that your audience remains captivated.
Know your limitations and how to work with them
Attending more live events: Great. Realizing at the gates that you didn’t follow all of the attendance guidelines: Not so great. Approaching the gates to enter the venue, I remember that I have my regular purse and not a small clear bag required by most venues. It’s a situation that often leads to me figuring out how to fit items in my pockets or ask a staff member if the venue has lockers where I can leave my belongings.
Having experienced this too many times at concerts and sporting events, I’m now in the habit of remembering to check venue rules before I enter and recently added a small clear bag for concerts to my shopping list.
I often run into the same issues in video production. Arranging a place to film interviewees at my company’s building can be challenging. Certain spaces might be rented for an event, a company may be onsite to clean our windows or fix our air conditioning, or I may get a request to not film in a certain spot because of its aesthetics. Juggling these different needs and wants can be very tricky due to each spaces’ restrictions and requirements. Over the years, I’ve learned it’s crucial to connect with a venue’s facilities and events team to make sure you can get the support you need when figuring out the best solution.
Running into limitations doesn’t stop during filming. It can also happen when posting a video to online platforms. When it comes to the online world, not every option is possible. Every platform has its restrictions about what kind of content you share, how it’s uploaded, and if you choose to run it as an ad. Understanding what you can and cannot do ahead of time can save you a lot of stress before you ask the post-production team to do something that isn’t allowed on a specific platform.
Define your must-haves
There are certain things required at every concert to make it a quality experience for the audience. Depending on the performer, the concert may require spectacular lighting setups, synchronized dance moves, and video content on screens. Depending on the show, there are specific elements that the concert requires before it begins.
And, as any concert-goer and performer knows, the one thing that can significantly impact the experience no matter the show is audio quality. Clear, well-balanced sound allows the audience to fully appreciate the performance.
The same principle applies to video production. Before you ever start filming, you have to know what’s essential for your production. Whether you need to set up the lighting to dramatically alter the look and feel of your footage or get a particular sound byte during an interview, knowing your must-haves for the look, feel, and message of the final video should be determined prior to any capture.
And similar to concerts, sound should be a top priority for video. High-quality audio is essential, whether it's dialogue, music, or sound effects as it’s proven that people will stop watching your video if it has bad sound. Investing in good audio equipment and paying attention to sound design can elevate your video from good to great.
Be ready to adapt for the unexpected
One of the most challenging things about a concert is parking. Finding parking when you arrive isn’t always easy and finding your car when you’re ready to leave can be even more difficult. That’s what I experienced at an Incubus concert. Although there was signage on lamp posts, many attendees, including myself, realized they were all the same and were not used to differentiate areas within the parking.
Everyone continued to wander through the parking lot, listening to each other tap the buttons on their keys hoping for their car alarms to sound off.
It’s not just parking that can present unexpected situations at concerts. Live performances are unpredictable, and the best concert crews know how to adapt on the fly. Technical glitches, unexpected weather, or last-minute changes are part of the game.
When Brandon Boyd announced he was healing from an injury, I wasn’t disappointed to see him sitting down at a concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre. His voice had the same energy that I hear on every Incubus song. The band even came out for an encore as the crowd cheered, proving that no matter what you can get results.
Brandon’s flexibility and willingness to adapt is also invaluable to have when working on a video production. Being able to think on your feet and adapt to changing circumstances can save a shoot and keep the project on track.
Having worked as a producer on small creative teams, I know this is also true professionally. As the point person for managing relationships with freelance videographers, I’ve had many last-minute unexpected issues come up. When filming an interview with two people at a local art gallery, the videographer forgot to bring a second microphone. Instead of losing our cool, we researched and found a local Best Buy where he could purchase a lavalier mic to plug into his phone. While I went over the questions with the interviewees, he went to purchase the mic.
With every photo and video project I work on, I’m constantly brainstorming ways to resolve unexpected complications and use many different tools to get the job done.
Understand each person’s role and contribution
Behind every successful concert is a team of professionals working in sync—from the musicians to the sound engineers, lighting technicians, and stage crew. The passion, energy, and commitment each person brings to their role can elevate the entire concert experience. That’s why it’s important to acknowledge there is more to a concert than the performers. Even though the performers are the ones we see on the stage, there are many more behind-the-scenes that make their vision a reality.
This level of collaboration and coordination is an essential part of video production as well. There’s more to the interviewees and the branding when it comes to a finished, polished video. From Production Assistants (PAs) to the Director of Photography (DP) to the Editor, everyone plays an important role in making a video you’ve conceptualized into an actual video.
As a producer, I enjoy learning about each of their roles, even if I’m not the one carrying out their responsibilities. It helps put myself in their shoes so that I can better understand how to work with a team, communicate more effectively, and ensure everyone is on the same page to make the production process smoother and the final product better. This understanding can also inspire your team, enhance your creativity, and ultimately result in a more engaging and impactful final product.
Concerts have a unique way of blending art, technology, and human connection, creating experiences that linger long after the final note has faded. By applying the lessons learned from these live performances, you can elevate your video production skills and create content that resonates deeply with your audience. So, the next time you attend a concert, take a moment to appreciate not just the music, but also the mastery behind the production. You might just find some inspiration for your next video project.
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