Music should be heard. It should be seen too.
Music videos, live films, artist content and documentaries, made with the music at the centre.
It starts with a song.
Sometimes the artist already knows exactly what they want.
Sometimes they have half an idea and a lot of “you know what I mean?”
Either way, I like getting involved early and figuring out what the film could be. That might mean building a story around a song, working out how to make a performance interesting, filming a gig, or following an artist and seeing where the story takes us.
We start with the song, a conversation and usually quite a bit of coffee!
Music video
I like music videos that give you something the song alone can’t.
No two songs need the same video.
Sometimes the starting point is a fully formed idea. Sometimes it’s a conversation, a lyric, a location or something the artist has been kicking around in their head for years.
I like finding the visual idea that belongs to the song and figuring out how to make it work without throwing a load of unnecessary stuff at it.
But I’m also thinking about what happens afterwards. Where is it going to live? How will people discover it? What will it look like when it’s cut down for social? And where does it fit into the wider release campaign?
That’s where my marketing background comes in. I’m not making a film in isolation and handing it back to you.
I’m thinking about the bigger picture while I’m making it.
These two videos took very different approaches, but both had that bigger picture in mind.
Live and concert film
The gig doesn’t have to end when the lights come up.
Much more than just filming a gig.
There’s something about seeing an artist live that you just don’t get from a studio recording, and a good live film should capture some of that feeling rather than simply document what happened.
I shoot live performances and concerts with the finished film in mind, but I’m also thinking about everything else we can get from the day. Performance clips, social content, interviews, backstage footage and those little moments that give people a feel for the artist beyond the stage.
So you’re not just left with a recording of the gig. You’ve got a library of content that can keep the performance working for you long after everyone’s gone home.
And, as with everything I film, I’m thinking about where that content is going and what it’s actually there to do.
Artist content
It's not all about the music you know.
Let's find out more about you.
There’s a lot more to telling an artist’s story than making a three-minute music film or concert video.
Interviews, behind-the-scenes, performance clips, EPKs, studio footage and all the other bits of content that help people get to know the person behind the music.
I can help work out what’s actually worth making, then produce, shoot and edit it.
And because I’m thinking about the release as a whole, I’m also thinking about where each piece will go and what job it needs to do.
The aim is to build a useful bank of content around the artist, rather than waking up on Tuesday morning wondering what on earth to post.