IN[FOCUS]

One of the historically awful things our industry has been known for in the past is using bad music. It’s right up there with slow-motion and cheesy graphics. I think even today, there are remnants of that and the evidence is when a bride asks if she can pick her own music!

A few years ago, our English friends Coldplay arrived and we all breathed a sigh of relief and began using their music. But then Coldplay became cheesy. And now it’s a race to be the first one to use the newest Bruno Mars or One Republic single in your SDE – kind of staking ‘claim’ to that song (I honestly can’t get that whistle tune out of my head – you know the one). There’s also another looming problem which is the record companies. I believe it was Jason Magbanua who received a letter from Warner Brother’s lawyers for using a Jason Mraz song in one of his edits.

I can remember a forum discussion a few years ago. Someone – a new-comer to the forum just getting started in this world of event filmmaking – put up an edit using the famous (in our circles) Amy Seeley song ‘Gravel Lines‘ (which most will agree is from the first StillMotion piece that really got people’s attention). I can recall someone saying – ‘Don’t use that song – that’s StillMotion’s territory. Now – that’s not exactly true – but the song was pretty unique and instantly people thought of SM when the song began to play. Using one of ‘their songs’ made this new film seem almost not relevant or worth watching just because it used an iconic song…

People started to realize – we need music that people like. Let’s try licensing it. I personally put in a call back then to Universal Music inquiring about using a popular song at the time.  The response I got was if you want to use our music – you’ll be paying upwards of $4,000 for single DVD home use. “You want to use it online??” they asked, “Well… you can start by giving us the title to your home and we’ll go from there”.

So you can’t use cheesy music (and please don’t). You can’t use popular recorded music (at least online anyways) for fear of either law suit, bankruptcy or simply just not standing out from the crowd. And you can’t use a song that you’ve heard someone else in our industry use (well – that is another discussion for another day – but you get where i’m going). You’ve got to use some form of music!

In 2010, StillMotion launched a new business that aimed to solve all of your problems for just $99. The deal was that the artist would get 50% of the fee and the website would take the other 50% for all of the admin side of things.  WithEtiquette.com was (and still is) a great resource for us in the wedding filmmaking world. When they launched – they had a catalog of about 30 or 40 songs. You pay them – they pay the artist – you get to use the song and everyone is happy! WE is still growing and adding to their catalog – which is probably the only downside to the website (size of catalog). 

In 2011, TheMusicBed.com a royalty-free music site was launched with a massive catalog of resources for production music for not only the wedding world – but also for the non-profit and church video production world – but their songs are just $49 each. I happen to like TMB for a few reasons other than the obvious financial difference.  The website is very easy to use and has all kinds of ways to find new music. They have categorized each song by style, length, mood and intended application.  There is a ‘wish list’ feature that allows you to add a song that you may use another time. They also do a very good job of recommending new music and keeping the site fresh. Every time I log in there is a new artist on the homepage. I also really liked that they sent us a hand-written card in the mail inviting us to use their website and I have also had emails and calls from the site’s owners thanking me for the business.  Maybe I’m old-fashioned – but I kind of like that. Anyways – two thumbs up for the TheMusicBed.com.

We used a song for a Same Day Edit this past summer by an artist we found on TMB named Luke Huch. I sent him an email just letting him know we found and used his music through the website. From that little email – Luke  wrote us back and even blogged our SDE on his site and we’ve connected several times through email about possibly filming a concert of his one day.  Another cool little reason to hook up with a website like TMB.

And if that wasn’t enough – Vimeo.com just announced that they now have a Music Store – boasting over 45,000 tracks.  The cool thing about the vimeo store is you can license music for your own personal projects for just $1.99!  (It’s $98 for commercial use songs).

My conclusion is that finding good music is hard work. It does take time – but it’s worth it to do it the right way.  $50 or even $100 to use a song and knowing the artist actually gets a large (often 50%) cut of that fee is a good feeling deep down. Music is a very important part of any film and I hope this will help you make music an important part of yours moving forward.

Andrew Sorlie

Andrew and Emily Sorlie are the owners of Honey & Dear, a successful Toronto, Canada - based wedding cinematography company. They attended their first [In]Focus conference in Austin, Texas in 2010, and it radically changed the direction of their company. With the knowledge and experience they gained, the Sorlies rebranded their now-flourishing business from Sorlie Arts to Honey & Dear. Together, they have filmed more than 80 weddings all over the world including Australia, Dominican Republic, Singapore & Canada.

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There has been a lot of information going around lately about the ins and outs as well as legalities of music licensing. Specifically, using copyrighted music in wedding videos that are only viewed online through UGC networks (Facebook, Vimeo, Youtube, blogs, personal or business websites).

Some of it’s true. Some of it…not so much. All of it is good conversation. What we’d like to talk about and clarify are a few of the misconceptions, some info regarding the music industry and our opinions on the whole deal.

First, let’s talk licensing. If you are editing a video to a song, no matter what, you need permission to use that song. Most of the time, that permission comes in the form of a license. There are many different types of licenses out there. For streaming videos, what you need is both a master/synch license.

Why do you need licenses? Why can’t you just use the song you downloaded from iTunes?

Short answer is, iTunes doesn’t sell (or own) the license to use the songs in that way. Neither do performance royalty companies like ASCAP or BMI. Long answer has to do with money.

But before you grumble about the filthy, greedy record industry and how they are ripping everyone off and have loads of money and they don’t need the wedding industries money too, let’s talk about the artist. Because by using music illegally, that’s who you’re ultimately hurting.

Before the influx of digital sales ( iTunes, Amazon mp3, CdBaby, etc…) artists sold CDs (or tapes, records, 8 tracks, what have you, depending on how far back you want to go), and they toured. This is how they made money – they sold full albums and received a percentage of that price and they toured where they were paid for playing, sold merch, etc…

Then came the single track digital buying era, which is great for consumers. It allows us to purchase a single track, download it immediately, and listen to exactly what we want within seconds. People are still buying full digital albums, but not nearly as much anymore. Let us put it into more perspective for you:

For an average artist (not Coldplay or U2 or another top 40 artist) to make just over $1000 US dollars a month (minimum wage), they need to sell:

• 1,160 CD albums if the artist is involved in a high end royalty deal  OR

• About 4,000 CDs with a low end royalty deal   OR

• 1,200 full album downloads from iTunes (or similar)   OR

• About 2,000 single mp3 sales per month from iTunes   OR

• 1.5 – 4 MILLION plays per month on a streaming site such as Spotify or Last.fm 

And that’s just for minimum wage, FOR ONE PERSON. If you have a band of four, multiply those numbers. (click here to read the article from which I took these numbers )

All of that to say, this industry is not easy money for the average artist. Of course they have their tours, merch sales, percentage of ticket sales. etc…but, and this brings us to the actual point of this post, with album and song sales bringing in less income, artists need some other way to bring in money.

Thus, licensing.

Licensing is one of the only other ways recording artists get paid for the work they do. By licensing a song, you are telling not only the artist that you like and respect their work, but you are telling everyone who sees your project that you respect other artists. As a photographer, if you were driving down the road and you saw a billboard with one of your images on it, what would you think? As a videographer, if you’re watching television and see a clip from something that you shot on a commercial, what would you think?

Just like you, recording artists are putting their time, talent and effort into making something extraordinary and, just like you, they would like compensation for some of their work.

So what’s the importance of licensing?

At the end of the day, it’s about respect. Respecting other artists. Respecting work. And yes, even respecting the law. We can’t make anyone license songs. We don’t want to make people license songs. What we can do is educate. We believe the educated person will make the educated choice.

And, lastly, very briefly regarding choosing music and the differences between royalty free and licensing actual tracks from real bands:

You know your footage. You know the feel of the day (you were there). You , hopefully, know you’re bride and groom. And you, hopefully, realize that Justin Bieber song they want in the video is going to be something they regret in 10, 20 50 years (or in 6 months). You don’t want them to think of anything else when watching your video (their video). You want to create a special connection between the images, the day and the music. And you want it to last. That’s why we typically encourage videographers to reach outside of the top 40 charts to find inspiration.

On the other hand, this is a business and the customer is “always” (we know that’s not true) right. Sometimes you really do have to go with what they want. But you at least need to be aware of how far the affects of your decision might reach. Keep in mind they are hiring you for your excellence and within that is your ability to know what will be best and most lasting. You are the professional. 

Daniel Mccarthy

Daniel McCarthy is a Founder and Co-Owner of The Music Bed. He was the Creative Director for an Advertising Agency in Fort Worth Texas from 2004 - 2009 and left to start a Photography/Videography Studio at the beginning of 2010. He co-founded The Music Bed in 2011 with business partner, Nic Carfa.

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In the last few years many of us have transitioned from “long form” documentary style edits, with extended sequences, to “short form” cinematic style edits which are dependent upon strong storytelling. Because we rely so heavily on capturing ( not good but) GREAT audio to make short form films, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a time in our industry’s history when proficient interview techniques have been more important. Unfortunately, much like our industry’s overall image with the general public, guest interviews have gotten a reputation as being “cheesy” over the years, and to some extent, I can understand that image. For instance, if you’ve ever been a guest at a wedding, and  some rookie videographer does what I call “jamming a cam” in your face asking you to “say something to the bride and groom,” don’t you want to run for cover?

In the spirit of the “What you need to know…” series today I want to offer you some basic advice on how to improve your interview skills. If you need inspiration or guidance on creating great wedding film stories, check out Bill Gaff’s of Human Story Films 2010 presentation from In[Focus] in Austin about finding stories, and Konrad Czystowski’s of Fresh Sox recent live stream on the In[Focus] blog about building stories. Very different filmmakers, with very different styles, but both are extremely good at getting people to share.

PEOPLE GET NERVOUS WHEN YOU POINT A CAMERA AT THEM

Here’s an objection to interviews I hear a lot – “But people are nervous when they’re on camera!” Yes most people are. One key technique is to have them look slightly off camera. What I usually do is frame my shot (using that rule of thirds), and then position myself slightly to the left or right of the camera so the interviewee isn’t looking at the lens; they’re looking at me. Let them know false starts and stumbles can be edited out. Also, using a lavaliere mic instead of a hand held mic may help some people to relax. Lavs also help you avoid “chest thumpers” and keep folks who use their hands when they talk from waving the mic all over the place.

The second thing I do is assure the person that they don’t have to think of anything to say, they just have to answer my questions. Your goal is to have conversations where you simply talk to people and they talk to you. When people are comfortable talking to someone they are more likely to relax and reveal what they know along with their personal thoughts and feelings.

The third step is to ask questions which directly involve the interviewee, not just the bride and groom. How do they know the couple? What was she like in college? The first time Sara introduced you to Cameron did YOU have an inkling this was the guy? People like to talk about themselves. Once they’re comfortably talking about themselves and their own perspectives, it’s easier to get them onto the subject you’d like to pursue on behalf of your bride and groom.

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

While talking to people, be careful to structure your questions so that they can’t elicit a one-word response. “How do you know the bride” is really for your own reference, so you know which direction to take your interview. “You’ve been best friends since Kindergarten? Wow! Tell me what Amy was like as a little girl…” Now my maid of honor is telling me how Amy has always been the tomboy in their little group of friends. Then I talk to the mother of the bride “Chloe tells me Amy was a tomboy growing up, how did she get from tomboy to Monique Lhuillier?” Now I’ve got great audio to use underneath the bride getting ready which gives me some real insight into who she is and how she ended up in that designer dress.

Here are some guidelines:

• Don’t ask “yes” or “no” questions.
• Keep the questions brief.
• Ask one question at a time.
• Try not to interrupt.
• Don’t rush to fill the silence – your subject may not be finished speaking.
• Don’t be afraid to keep rolling a little longer on interviews. Often people will say something wonderful once their focus isn’t on answering your initial question.

GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME

We always try to adjust our shooting schedule should the opportunity arise to get some great soundbites.  Try thinking of it this way, when you see television reporters on the capitol steps trying to get some politician to make a comment on camera about a current event, does it turn out well?  Do they get a thoughtful well-structured response? Probably not, because those reporters are kind of like that wedding video guy who just jams a cam in someone’s face asking them to congratulate the bride and groom.  It’s in the reporter’s interest to set up an interview in advance. So schedule time for interviews! Rob and I prefer to schedule them for a day other than the wedding. We’re not stressed trying to fit everything in, and people are generally more relaxed and willing to talk because they’re not overcome with the hustle and bustle of the wedding day. Usually, we just tell our couples we need time to do interviews, and in the past our brides have set up things like pool parties or backyard barbecues so we can get the time we need with their family and friends.

On the actual wedding day, take advantage of the downtime –like when the bride is late coming back from the hairdresser. That’s a good time to see if you can’t scout out a spot where you could talk to the bridesmaids and her parents. Preferably without a blaring television or radio in the background!

There are so many directions you can take this once you feel comfortable with conducting interviews. I love hearing a father talk about his daughter as a little girl as part of the audio for a father/daughter dance.  Can you refute the wisdom of grandparents who have been married for 50 years when they offer advice on a happy marriage? I promise you, it’s addictive. And rewarding. And hands down, the thing our couples talk about the most when they call to thank us for their wedding film.

{To see a sample of an interview worked into a wedding film check out Jana + Brent on our website.}

Joanna Banks-Morgan

Joanna Banks-Morgan of Diva Productions has spent most of her 43 years in newsrooms or on sets. The daughter of a journalist and an actor, she was bitten by the producing bug early. She attended Cardiff University’s Journalism, Film, and Television program in Wales and started her career in 1992 with British broadcaster Westcountry Television. Before creating Diva Productions in 2007 with husband/business partner Robert Banks-Morgan, Joanna worked for CBS 42 KEYE in Austin, Texas where she also attended St. Edward’s University, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Communications.

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