Today we organized a rehearsal for the band. Getting all the boys in one place at one time has proved challenging so we had to make the most of this opportunity. The key for this session was to get the band to interact with their suggested instruments to make sure they are comfortable. This requirement prevented us from being able to use the studio for this test shoot, as the instruments were elsewhere. We managed to stage it in what is a fairly basic and dull room. However, the setting was not important for today's work, it was to see the boys in the context of a band.
The rehearsal went well overall, and was encouraging for us as a group. We started by putting the band in the room and playing the song, just to see how they responded to the music before offering them any direction. Upon this first run through we were slightly concerned as the two guitarists didn't know the song as well as we had hoped, with Joe (bassist) appearing slightly wooden in his performance. In fairness, Joe is the only member of the band who does not take Drama so is not a natural performer. Furthermore, the bass we gave him did not have a strap making it difficult for him to look as though he was playing naturally as he was forced to hold it up. We then individually gave the band some critique, advising the guitarists to move more freely while playing and add energy in order to look as though they are invested in the song. This helped the boys massively and also spurred on Callum (lead singer) to give more in his performance. Ben (drummer) didn't have a drum set at his disposal in this room so was forced to tap out the beat on his thighs but looked convincing and in-time when he did so. We filmed sections of the following two run through's so that we could document the bands progress and also give ourselves the opportunity to look back and analyse their performances.
When reviewing these clips, it is clear to see that Joe (left) looks the least comfortable of the band. However, we don't feel this is so serious a problem that he needs replacing. Aesthetically, he is perfect for the role and with a bit of personal work I feel we can get him to pull off being the 'chilled out'/casual/cool member of the band that is common in music. Bassists are rarely known for their charisma and even now he doesn't look horribly out of place amongst the rest. In addition to this, I believe that part of Joe's issue currently is that he doesn't feel as though he is in a music video, as essentially he is just in a classroom. However, come shoot day we will have various features (lights, camera's, crew) that will make the studio feel like a genuine film set, and thus make a performance feel less out of place. We are happy with all other members of the band, especially Callum. Callum lead by example today and drives the song forward with his convincing performance, which will in turn make the others feel less self conscious. He fully understands what we want from him, appears confident on camera and suits the tone of the song. We are quite happy for Callum to claim most of the attention in the video as lead singers generally do this in real-life bands, through their energy and attitude.
Additionally, we held a private rehearsal with Ben including a fully functioning drum set so that he had the opportunity to go over the song and gain a better understanding of the rhythm. Debatably, Ben has the most demanding job within the video as the drums are the easiest instrument to notice being played incorrectly or out of time. Even in this short space of time, Ben was clearly able to grasp key elements of the songs drum beat. Understandably, Ben needs to listen to the song more and then find the time to practice in school on the drums. I will encourage him to try to fit this in so that we eventually get to the point where he can confidently play the entire song.
In conclusion, we are left content from the rehearsal with some promising performances coming through. Undoubtedly, it needs more work and we hope to find the time to arrange another rehearsal. We stressed to the band the importance of actually buying the song and listening to it frequently and will ensure in the next couple of days that they have done this.
The rehearsal went well overall, and was encouraging for us as a group. We started by putting the band in the room and playing the song, just to see how they responded to the music before offering them any direction. Upon this first run through we were slightly concerned as the two guitarists didn't know the song as well as we had hoped, with Joe (bassist) appearing slightly wooden in his performance. In fairness, Joe is the only member of the band who does not take Drama so is not a natural performer. Furthermore, the bass we gave him did not have a strap making it difficult for him to look as though he was playing naturally as he was forced to hold it up. We then individually gave the band some critique, advising the guitarists to move more freely while playing and add energy in order to look as though they are invested in the song. This helped the boys massively and also spurred on Callum (lead singer) to give more in his performance. Ben (drummer) didn't have a drum set at his disposal in this room so was forced to tap out the beat on his thighs but looked convincing and in-time when he did so. We filmed sections of the following two run through's so that we could document the bands progress and also give ourselves the opportunity to look back and analyse their performances.
When reviewing these clips, it is clear to see that Joe (left) looks the least comfortable of the band. However, we don't feel this is so serious a problem that he needs replacing. Aesthetically, he is perfect for the role and with a bit of personal work I feel we can get him to pull off being the 'chilled out'/casual/cool member of the band that is common in music. Bassists are rarely known for their charisma and even now he doesn't look horribly out of place amongst the rest. In addition to this, I believe that part of Joe's issue currently is that he doesn't feel as though he is in a music video, as essentially he is just in a classroom. However, come shoot day we will have various features (lights, camera's, crew) that will make the studio feel like a genuine film set, and thus make a performance feel less out of place. We are happy with all other members of the band, especially Callum. Callum lead by example today and drives the song forward with his convincing performance, which will in turn make the others feel less self conscious. He fully understands what we want from him, appears confident on camera and suits the tone of the song. We are quite happy for Callum to claim most of the attention in the video as lead singers generally do this in real-life bands, through their energy and attitude.
Additionally, we held a private rehearsal with Ben including a fully functioning drum set so that he had the opportunity to go over the song and gain a better understanding of the rhythm. Debatably, Ben has the most demanding job within the video as the drums are the easiest instrument to notice being played incorrectly or out of time. Even in this short space of time, Ben was clearly able to grasp key elements of the songs drum beat. Understandably, Ben needs to listen to the song more and then find the time to practice in school on the drums. I will encourage him to try to fit this in so that we eventually get to the point where he can confidently play the entire song.
In conclusion, we are left content from the rehearsal with some promising performances coming through. Undoubtedly, it needs more work and we hope to find the time to arrange another rehearsal. We stressed to the band the importance of actually buying the song and listening to it frequently and will ensure in the next couple of days that they have done this.
No comments:
Post a Comment