BAND VIDEO VRS BAND LIVE SHOWCASE? WHICH IS RIGHT? By Iris Gillon, IGMC
What is the Difference between learning about a band from their video demo which is shot in a controlled environment and a live performance video which does NOT have foreign sound synced into the recording.
Jill from ESSENCE with INXS
How will you know if the band singing on the video will sound like what you are hearing if it is doctored up in the studio? What happens if you pick a band from a professionally made video that was doctored up and they show up to your wedding and they don’t sound like that at all?
Well, you need to shop around on UTUBE and try to find videos that were shot live and uploaded right to utube. Or, why not go to a concert, or to hear a band in the park, for example, turn on your smart phone and video tape some of the band and compare what they sounded like live to what they sound like on your phone video of the band. They should sound pretty bad from your smart phone!
The ESSENCE BAND
So, to give you some examples, here is a video of The ESSENCE Band that was shot live in a recording studio. It was NOT doctored up, and it was shot live so it is very close to what you might actually hear at your wedding. Take a look here: The ESSENCE BAND “In Studio Demo” Shot live.
Some bands however, do NOT use the sound as shot live, but rather lip sync to previously recorded audio that was done somewhere else, maybe by the artists you are seeing and maybe not. Some bands go so far as to find a recording of the song they want to post on itunes, download it and then lip sync to the song so you might be hearing something that was not actually even recording by the band you are looking at.
Jill from ESSENCE with Pop Star! Recognize him?
Here is an example that is clearly obvious that the singer is live, even though in a professional recording studio, this entire song is recorded live and the band sounds exactly like this live - Eddie singing Billy Joel!
One way to figure this out if you are hearing the band that is performing is to see if there are wires attached to the instruments and if it looks like the singer is singing into a microphone. There is an epidemic right now of videos posted on youtube and band’s websites that are shot against a completely white backdrop wherein the band equipment has no wires, and nothing attached to the instruments, the musicians are in that studio solely for the purpose of making a beautiful looking video and the audio is brought into the film later one, and produced somewhere else, perhaps with a variety of techniques and maybe it was recorded by the musicians you are looking at, and then maybe not!
Jill from ESSENCE with Jessica!
If you see a video like this, we highly recommend that you try to see the band live, or see the band shot live at an event with REAL sound of them singing. One true test is to see a LOT of footage of the band.
Here is an example of THE ESSENCE BAND performing LIVE at a wedding – this is from a few years ago with small inexpensive cameras. You can see people at the wedding so you KNOW it is real. You can see the band, even tough fuzzy, you can see the band interacting with the crowd and you can hear LIVE Camera sound. In the case of The ESSENCE BAND, you will notice that the sound is rather similar to the professionally made demo so that will help you to determine that this is really how good the band sounds in all circumstances.
Or take a look at this live-at-a-wedding – THE ESSENCE BAND performing LIVE at a wedding with very UNPROFESSIONAL CAMERAS! In this video you can really see the band, the bride and groom, the guests, everything and everyone – see how the band is interacting with the guests and how people respond to their performance. In a video like this, you will truly see what you are getting with a band, and a truly live performance, even though the visuals are not professionally made, and the film is a bit fuzzy, in this video you can truly see what you are getting and feel safe with that!
If a band has multiple videos or at least one video that is casually shot at a wedding or even professionally shot at a wedding, if the sound is too perfect, like if you don’t here the sounds of dishes clashing and people talking or singing along IE messing up the audio, then it is probably not shot live. The best chance you have in knowing if you are seeing a truly live video – is to listen for other noise besides the band. Something… anything… take a look, for example, of yet another video shot live at a wedding wherein you can really see that this is 100% live footage in every way imaginable – The ESSENCE BAND AT ANOTHER WEDDING LIVE!
The ESSENCE BAND
See how you can hear the noise of people talking in the background and making noise. Then listen to the band over the noise. THAT is the way it is going to sound at your wedding.
Another way sound can be really clean is if it is recorded professionally while the band is live, for example when Jill from ESSENCE performed live on TV you can hear really clear sound. I personally prefer the 100% live sound because it shows you exactly what you are going to be getting.
Check out this live TV recording of Jill on TV. It is clean because they have really expensive equipment recording everything live! JILL LIVE ON TV!
If you have further questions or would like to learn more about how to compare videos and if a video you are watching is lip synced or live, feel free to email me the link or call me for advice. I am happy to take the time to advise you.
Iris Gillon IGMC, Event Planner, Music Producer / Consultant, Manager of THE ESSENCE BAND, http://www.essence-band.com, 201-836-6085 or 212-765-8714
