music

There are 34 posts filed in music (this is page 5 of 5).

My First “Music Video”

A friend of mine in Seattle recently released a new EP and asked me to shoot a simple music video for one of his songs. I use quotation marks in the title of this blog post because while this is technically a “video,” and there is technically “music” played during it, I didn’t really do any editing and the video doesn’t tell a story, as conventional music videos do.

On that note: not to sound all sour grapes-like, but I do think that the new world of music we find ourselves in demands a different set of aesthetics when shooting music videos. Giant record companies can still spend millions making music videos for their big-name stars, but that’s a brand-building exercise and not necessarily something they hope to recoup their costs on. Nowadays, you have a a musical landscape that consist of thousands of DIY-ers, such as myself and yespser, the person in the video above. I think trying to play the same game as the big boys will only result in something that looks like a cheap also-ran. Instead, my goal is to figure out what looks good using the camera equipment I have and play to those strengths, rather than adhering to an outdated format.

All that being said, I was quite pleased with how this video (the first of four we already shot and that are already “in the can”). The video was shot using a handheld Canon 5D Mark II (50mm f/1.4 lens). Sound was recorded live separately using a digital recorder that is just off screen, then synced up later in post.

I’ve decided that 2013 is the year I’m going to learn some of the basics of videography and non-linear editing. Keep an eye on this space for more details as I undertake this journey.

Someone Like You

The WSJ breaks down exactly why Adele’s “Someone Like You” is such an effective tear-jerker (there are scientific reasons!):

Twenty years ago, the British psychologist John Sloboda conducted a simple experiment. He asked music lovers to identify passages of songs that reliably set off a physical reaction, such as tears or goose bumps. Participants identified 20 tear-triggering passages, and when Dr. Sloboda analyzed their properties, a trend emerged: 18 contained a musical device called an “appoggiatura.” […]

“Someone Like You,” which Adele wrote with Dan Wilson, is sprinkled with ornamental notes similar to appoggiaturas. In addition, during the chorus, Adele slightly modulates her pitch at the end of long notes right before the accompaniment goes to a new harmony, creating mini-roller coasters of tension and resolution, said Dr. Guhn.