Martin Creates is a professional photographer and videographer for many nightclubs and music events in London. I am therefore used to working in low lit conditions, which can be more challenging.
When working as an events photographer in the capital, I often worked at vibrant events buzzing with energy. That includes music concerts, night club celebrations, and much more.
There are a few challenges to bear in mind when carrying out a professional nightlife
video shoot.
However, with the right guidance and experience, anyone can improve their creative output
when shooting video inside a nightclub or at a music event.
Every project starts with a "why"
Know Your Audience
As a professional videographer, your audience isn't always the section of the crowd that's screaming in front of the DJ, or the one who's buying their early bird ticket for every event. Whether it’s a corporate or private event, always know what your job is.
Sometimes, your client will brief you to professionally capture and edit event footage to a
particular profile. In many cases, this is often connected to revenue streams e.g. potential
sponsors, investors or the customer who is most likely to spend money on VIP tickets, extra
bundles, etc.
At Martin Creates, we believe professional commercial videography means producing videos
that deliver a message to the target audience.
Knowing your audience means understanding how they think, what they feel and most
importantly, their motives for doing certain actions e.g. "why is customer X attending this festival", "what type of content do they enjoy the most", and more.
Techniques such as social listening, attending marketing meetings with your client, reviewing
brand documents from the client are just some of the ways I try to be more effective with the
creative decisions that I make as a professional videographer.
Study the Musical Artists
"Your homework is to study Eminem & Beyonce concerts".
If only ...
But the reality isn't far from the truth because to get to that level where you're getting big concert gigs, the love for what you are capturing needs to be obvious to everyone there.
You won't be instructed on which angles to capture, nor how the story should flow. As a
professional videographer, the client pays for unprompted proactiveness, meaning the creative's vision needs to be in line with the client's expectations.
A key starting point is understanding the music genre(s), the artist(s) and the flow of the night. If you aren't ready, it will be obvious during the video shoot and afterwards when you deliver the edited video as well.
Less is Usually More
When it comes to filters, there is nearly an infinite amount of options for videographers. You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to LUTs, special effects, sound effects, audio options, transitions, overlays and more.
However, you won't be impressing anyone if you try to use everything at your disposal for every video being edited.
Make sure you get the basics right.
Nightlife clips and concert videos probably make use of these fancy tools more than other
videography categories, because usually, the idea is to make things a bit exaggerated because that's what can trigger more hype and attention. The reality - as many of us know - is that those bursts of high adrenaline and incredible intensity only last in short waves; they are intermittent throughout the day and/or night.
However, you'll be surprised what you can produce if you focus on particular tools like
stabilisation, speed change, colour rendition and more. Do the basics right and then, once
you're happy, see what else can bring more value to the video.
Why take my advice?
I am a professional freelance photographer and videographer based in London, UK. My work
includes working as an events photographer for clients throughout the capital.
I started Martin Creates in order to help empower people and brands worldwide. One of the
ways I do that is by publishing blogs with free information to help any creatives out there reading this. I welcome you to check out my work on this website as well as my newly launched site: martincreatesweddings.com.
If you’re seeking advice from a professional photographer and videographer in London, don't hesitate to get in touch.
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