Instruction manual

Find and talk with an editing facility before shooting, so you’ll know what tape
format to shoot with. An edit system will have 2 VCRs - a Playback VCR for the Source
tape, and an Edit/Record VCR that records each edit. It’s common for each VCR to use
the same videotape format.
VHS and Super-VHS editing systems are most common. Some systems can edit
from a VHS Source VCR to a Super-VHS or 3/4” tape VCR. If you’ll shoot with a
regular VHS camcorder, find an edit facility that has a VHS Source VCR. For better
quality, find a Super-VHS editing system, and shoot with a Super-VHS-C or Industrial
Super-VHS camcorder.
Editing systems are available for the 8-mm videotape formats, but they might be
hard to find. If you'll shoot with a digital camcorder or regular 8-mm tape, it’s possible to
transfer the footage to a VHS or Super-VHS tape for editing. However, it’s usually best
to shoot with the same type of videotape that will be used in the Source VCR.
The Easiest Approach: Tape many random shots of the band members and edit without
syncing-up the visuals to the vocals and music. A lot of music videos have been shot and
edited this way. In this case, choose your shots very carefully. Shoot the musicians for a
few seconds at various locations, doing various things.
For example: The band rehearsing in a basement, playing on stage at a club, at
home watching TV, acting zany while walking down a sidewalk, the lead singer sleeping
on a front porch swing, the drummer being chased across a field by a golf cart, the bassist
making faces at a parrot in a pet store window, and so on. They can even change clothes
from scene to scene.
To make it fast-paced, and interesting to watch, plan on one edit approximately
every 4 seconds. For a 4-minute song, that’s 60 shots... and 60 edits. If you shoot at 6
different locations, that’s only 10 shots at each one. During the shoot, tape about 10
seconds of footage for each shot. During editing, select the best 4 seconds of each shot.
And it’s possible to use the same shot more than once. Now, 4 seconds is just an
example. Your shots and edits may be shorter or longer. The key here is to maintain
proper pacing.
To Edit The Visuals In Sync With Vocals And Music: The band will have to Instrument
and Lip Sync several times to an audio recording of the song. This will allow the
Camcorder Operator to shoot from different positions and/or locations. Unfortunately, the
talent can’t play live, because the speed of the song would vary each time. During
editing, it is of the utmost importance to have access to several different camera angles of
the song being “performed” at exactly the same speed each time. The majority of the
music videos that we see on TV are shot this way.
SOURCE FOOTAGE - Videotaped scenes, shot with a camcorder. The videotape used
to record the Source footage is referred to as a Source tape.
TAKE - During the shoot, each attempt at shooting a scene is called a Take. The first
attempt is Take 1, the second attempt is Take 2, and so on. Sometimes, only one Take per
camera position is necessary.