Need a roadmap to help you edit your concert videos? Below are 18 of the top tips on how to go from downloading your footage to exporting the final product.
By no means is this an exhaustive and conclusive list, but it serves to help you become a stronger concert storyteller with your videos. So click the import button and continue reading while your videos load!
And if you’re looking for more concert-related content, we’ve got you covered. Here are some great tips for getting ready to shoot a concert, additional tips for editing concert photography, and the best cameras for concert photography.
How to Edit Concert Videos
1. Ingest and backup
The first thing you should do is ingest the footage onto a working hard drive. Then back up this footage, either on a different drive or the cloud. With a proper backup in place, you can feel secure about formatting your media cards to be ready for the next filming gig.
Use the 3-2-1 Rule, which states you should have three copies of everything you create in at least two different places, one of those places being physically separate from the others.
2. Log the footage
Chances are you have dozens of clips from the show, and without a roadmap, weaving these together will be a challenge. Logging footage is sort of like creating a table of contents and an index at the same time. There is software out there for this, but a simple Excel spreadsheet will suffice. Things to include are the file name, keywords, camera, clip length, and a short description.
3. Choose an Editing Suite
There is a handful of software out there to pick from. The top three are DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro. If you already use one of these, great, stick with what you know. Each one of these programs is fully capable of producing high-quality videos. Additionally, the user interface is intuitive and edits on a non-linear timeline.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common video editing software. And you’ll want to check out our Neat Video review, a super useful video editing plugin for dealing with lowlight footage.
4. To storyboard or not to storyboard
With concert videography, a storyboard may not be necessary. However, if you are just starting with creating a video of a live event, creating a narrative timeline of the concert can help guide your editing. The best way to achieve this is by using the log you created and picking and choosing which clip goes where to create an engaging story within the video.
5. Watch all the footage first
You can not create compelling concert videos without knowing what you have. By watching every second of footage, even the clips you may not use, you will have a mental log of the exact clips you can work with. Even better, you will find little nuggets of gold you might not have known about.
6. Mix it Up
Whether your video will be a short 30-second synopsis of the night or much longer, you want to mix up the flow of the footage. You should have a mix of close, wide, and long clips that feature various subjects. Do not run a string of the same clip type together. Break up the flow by bouncing from a long shot to a close shot to a medium shot and back to a close shot. Aim to change clips about every four to six seconds, depending on the music…
7. Think about the music
For concert videography, there are more rules governing the use of music. If you are working directly with the band or venue, chances are you have exclusive rights to use the audio recordings from the concert. This will make editing a lot simpler as you do not have to search for music that fits the feel and tempo of the event. If you do need additional music, the YouTube Audio Library is a great place to start.
8. Use the correct cut
There are J-cuts and L-cuts, and Jump cuts. Use them correctly and seamlessly. A J-cut is when the audio comes in before the visual. An L-cut is the opposite. A jump cut is broken in a clip. These all have their place, and knowing what clips you have can help guide the decision-making process. Here is an overview of the type of cuts you should know as a video editor.
9. Use text to your Advantage
For concert videos, adding text can be a great way to pull in the viewer and provide additional information. Things such as location, date, venue, and song information may not be obvious. By adding this information via text, you can create a more dynamic, interactive concert video. Be sure to keep every text in the video the same, as in the same font, style, color, etc. By adding motion to the text, you can increase the charisma of the concert video.
10. Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcuts are timesavers. When used correctly, they can vastly speed up your workflow in any editing software. Many applications allow the user to customize the shortcuts as well. Spend time in the preferences panel and find the shortcuts, print them out, and memorize the ones you think you will use the most.
11. Maintain Pacing
A concert usually builds energy from the beginning to the end of the show. Your concert videos should mimic this momentum. One way to achieve this is by using longer clips in the first part of the video and slowly shortening the clip length. Consider the placement of slower ballads with more upbeat songs as well. The overall pacing should feel like a roller coaster. There should be a build-up, a moment of energy followed by a lull (another buildup), and on and on.
12. Less is more
This is a foundation for video editing and is no different for concert videos. It is the reason why there is an abundance of the footage created. As an editor, you want to have a wide breadth of footage to select from. At the same time, you want to keep what you use to a minimum. The saying goes across other aspects of editing, do not overuse text, special effects, or too much of a single scene. Use no more than what you absolutely need to tell the story.
13. Three rolls of B-roll at a time
B-roll is the footage editors use to cover cutaways and add to the story. For concert videography, this includes clips of the audience, the lights, or the sound guy. These clips help enrich the story and can be quite powerful. Using a set of three can be helpful when setting the scene. Starting with the long shot, then into a medium shot, and finally landing on the subject with a close shot.
14. Breathing Room
Once the rough cut has been completed, step away. A rough cut is no more than the selected clips aligned together on the timeline. Nothing has been mastered. By stepping away from the project for a couple of hours or days, as the project permits, you reset your mind frame and can go into the final editing stages with a clear focus. This will help tighten the edit and highlight any obvious weak points in the footage.
15. Balance the Audio
Balancing the audio should be one of the last steps in the video production process. With concert videography, chances are you have access to high-quality recordings from the concert. This audio will be much better than the audio you may have created with your camera. However, this audio is not to be ignored. There may be usable clips of people singing that can help build the story. If this is available, blend it in along with the b-roll to create more dynamics.
16. Color Correction
Known as color grading, this step should be one of the final processes in your video workflow. It often involves some heavy computer lifting, and you only want to color grade the clips that will be in the final concert video. Color grading is an entire industry in itself, and there are a million ways to accurate color. In short, color grading is the balancing of colors and contrast to bring the footage to life. The key to remember is to keep the skin tones realistic. Here are some of the best color grading software used by pros.
Below is a video that offers a great starting point for your color grading.
17. Exporting for the Web
You should know the output of the concert video before you begin. Most likely, it will be used across the internet. Knowing how to export a video for the web is essential in delivering a usable good to a client. Here are four main factors to consider when exporting your video.
- Codec: This is the type of file format for the video. Chances have you created the footage in a d-Log codec, and it needs to be converted to something smaller and more widely read. H.264 and mp4 are the two most common types of output codecs.
- Resolution: This is how many pixels your video has. The larger the resolution, the larger the file. For example, a 4K video has four times the resolution of an HD video.
- Bit Rate: This is the amount of data dedicated to one second of video. The higher the bit rate, the higher the quality and the larger the file. Bit rates vary for videos at different resolutions.
- Frame Rate: Most videos are exported at either 24 frames per second (fps) or 30 fps. These are both standards across the industry and help keep file sizes down.
18. Add to your portfolio
With a finished product in hand, you can now share the concert video with the client and add it to your portfolio. Of course, you want to be certain you have the correct rights for the final product. This is something you probably had a conversation with at the onset of the project, but it is worth keeping your ducks in a row when posting your video.
That is it. The rest is up to you. While this is not an exhaustive roadmap to editing video, if there is such a thing, it points you in the right direction. So get some paper and a pencil and start drafting your storyboard!