Daniel Broadley Email Response.

1.       What would you say the most important element of a performance video is?

I constantly argue with myself on this question, I guess it really comes down to the artist, they are the most important part of a music video as they are the person you are creating a marketing tool first (however this excludes vides where they are not shown at all). But you then have to build elements around them to display that artist in the best possible context and to do that I've narrowed a few things down which will hopefully help you identify what makes a performance video great.

1) Location:
This is one of the most important elements of a performance video, it is going to fill the screen more than the band are and therefore has to be interesting and reflect the mood of the artist. I prefer locations with space, i think it's easier to exploit a bands performance when there is a large area around them which reflects the amplitude of their sound and charisma. However, this is not to say a small intimate location can work just as effective, it just depends on the band. A band like Don Broco are quite adaptable as their sound varies, for 'You Wanna Know' it was all about exploring their performance personality in a big space, where as 'Hold On' was much more whimsical and quirky which meant the performance elements could be condensed in a smaller space. art direction is something I overlook when dressing a location but again it's an effective way of smoothing out anything that doesn't look professional or neat, whether it's finding a way to disguise lighting stands or tucking in bright coloured cables it all goes a long way, you'll never see a high end commercial rock video with an un neat location, attention to detail is crucial to stop the viewing being distracted by subtleties of imperfection.

2) Lighting:
Lighting is overlooked by almost everyone when starting out, mainly because of budget and logistics, lighting things outside requires power which usually isn't available or even lighting indoors requires soft light which is expensive to hire, it's always down to there not being enough (or any) budget. We overcame this when I first started making music video by shooting outdoors, choosing our timing carefully and using the sun to light the scenes, I would always put the sun behind the bands, which often meant shooting at sun set, then using a simple silver photography reflector, bounce that setting sun back towards the band, and that is the easiest and cheapest way to create some amazing images, this is a great example of that and one of the first music videos I ever made - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzlpo0UvIpg

Lighting indoors becomes tricky as it's really project specific, I tend to feel safe shooting in the day in a location that lets in daylight somehow, then using Kino Flo fluorescent lights (with daylight balanced tubes) light the subjects to make sure everything is evenly lit. But no matter what you end up using for light, always remember that skin tones are the most important thing to light, above all else if the bands faces are lit properly then it will be a great video

3) camera work:
This is a preference based point, everyone has their own way of shooting but it's imperative to think in advance about the dynamics of the song, if the song is aggressive or pacey then shooting handheld always looks great because it enhances the energy, however if a song is delicate and subtle then using tracks and dolly's and tripods are the way to go to help retain that graceful feeling that the song carries. you can also mix these together if the song has different sections that carry different energies. it also doesn't matter what you shoot on, people always get really snobby about cameras, but truth be told I spent the first year of my business shooting on a canon 550D, the crappy kit lens it came with and a really cheap canon 50mm prime lens, all in it was well under £1000, people would always comment on the results and ask if I was using a cinema camera... the other sneaky thing was I would barely do anything in the edit either, I prefer to just make it look as good as possible on the camera and then mildly tweak it in the edit suite, the video above has had barely anything done to it, that was pretty much what it looked like on the back of the camera screen on the day

3.       What camera angles would be best suited for a video where instrument shots are compulsory?

Camera angles are usually down to your own perception, I'm never really a fan of instrument shots, but the ebst thing to do is see what the location is doing on the day, if your background looks amazing then choose an angle that shows a bit of the background too, if it doesnt look great then keep the instrument shots close up. Another cheeky technique is to have half of the instrument in shot and then the drummer out of focus in the background to keep the shot interesting

4.       Given that you know what I am hopefully trying to do, do you have any tips on how to make it look as professional as possible?

If you look over the points in the first question I think you will hopefully be able to take some of that away and apply it to your field, always know your limitations and try and use them to your advantage, never be disheartened if things don't turn out as you imaged on the day, just quickly find a solution that compliments the problems. I think making music videos at a low - no budget level is more about problem solving than it is about over planning and being creative, i rarely write tons of script notes and shot plans on small shoots because too much can go wrong, and once it has you have to be very quick on your feet to find a solution that will leave you with a video that still looks as amazing as you first wanted it too. 

5.       How would you recommend to make a successful video with absolutely no budget? (Similar to what Don Broco did with Thug Workout, if you’re familiar with that).

Thug Workout worked because there was a charm to it, because it was very obvious the band had no technical knowledge on how to make a music video, I think recreating that would be difficult. If there is no money then it's about the idea, if what's happening in the video is entertaining to an audience in some way then no matter how it looks it will be a success