Music Video Production Services Live In Session & Showreel Video Production from Alive Network

Promo videos have become a vital, indispensable necessity when it comes to showcasing your act to potential customers. As with audio recordings – your videos need to be very high quality and regularly updated. Our video production team have extensive experience in filming and editing band promo videos, which is especially important when you need to be sure the end product is fit for purpose. Our team know how to direct a video so that your target audience see your band in a way that is most likely to sell you, drawing real time feedback from staff within the agency as to what clients want to see and hear, and what’s working well for other acts right now.

Live In Session Promo Videos

Let potential customers hear what you actually sound like live!

A few years back we produced a series of live videos titled ‘Live In Session With Alive Network’. These were loosely based on the ‘Live at Abbey Road’ TV series, with bands performing 100% live in a top recording studio.

After we finished building The Silk Mill, our own in-house recording studio, we were able to film these kinds of videos extremely cost effectively - having our own video production team onsite already. We now produce 5-6 of these videos a week.

This kind of video has the distinct advantage that your band can record the audio for your video in a controlled studio environment, at the highest quality – as well as allowing very good access for the film crew. This kind of quality isn't possible in a gig environment. You can also perform multiple takes of each song to ensure a flawless performance is captured for the final edit.

Approx cost per ‘live in session’ video: £600 - £800

Concert Filming

Filming a full length video of your band in concert, complete with live audio, is another great way to showcase what you do, especially if you have a big or prestigious gig that you want to make a feature of in your marketing. The down side is that it takes way more time and costs significantly more money, due to the fact that you need 3-4 camera operators, hire of a mobile recording system to multitrack record the live audio, recording studio time to mix & master the live audio, and an awful lot more editing time for the video.

Approx cost of a 5 song concert video, inc mobile recording system hire, audio mixing and mastering:
Special Alive members price: £3250

* You may not need to hire a mobile Pro Tools audio recording system if your band's live mixing desk is capable of recording multi channel audio to a laptop.

MTV Style Video Production

The final promo video you could consider is a full on MTV style video for one song. These kinds of video can be quite cool if you’re trying to make a specific statement, or you’re producing a piece of marketing promo to tie in with a specific theme. It's debabtable how useful they are for function bands trying to sell themselves to a private events audience, but if you already have a live promo video or a concert video – and you’re looking to create something a little different, they can give your band an extra weapon in your marketing tool kit.

A few years ago we hired an independent film producer to work with us and one of our best-selling party bands on a video concept “The Uncoverable Song”. The idea was that we’d record the band performing a song that’s very difficult to pull off, then take off the original video – and use the track to demonstrate how cover bands can be a lot more talented than people give them credit for! Although the video would act as a promo for the band, it’s purpose was intended more as a singular PR and marketing exercise. We asked the band to record and film Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody – which they did an amazing job of, and the video, which took only a day to film, also turned out great. The band and Alive Network pushed the video with a reasonable promotion budget on our respective Facebook pages, generating substantial interest and likes/comments, far above the norm for their usual posts. Because the video helped to highlight the quirky, humorous side of the band, it has also worked well as a general promo video – and after its launch, the band saw increased customer interest, enquiries, web site hits and bookings – with a 50% increase in sales over the previous year.

Approx cost of an MTV style promo video: From £2000 - £10000+

Video Production Tips & Advice

Avoid Faked / Mimed Live Videos
We would generally advise against paying for "fake live" videos, you know the ones - where the band set up to look like they're playing live but mime back to their studio recordings. These seem to be quite common as they're easier to produce than a truly live recording, but to our eyes they're uninspiring, and most customers want to get a good idea of what you actually sound like.

Think about what your video is trying to achieve
As with any piece of promo - it's vital that you consider what you're trying to achieve with it.

Are you trying to demonstrate that you play the kind of music potential clients want to hear?
Are you trying to showcase the unique personality of your band?
Are you trying to highlight the musical pedigree of your band?
Are you trying to attract more upmarket clientele?
Are you trying to provide reassurance that you're an experienced band?
Are you trying to do something different to stand out from the crowd?

Consider your target audience and what you're trying to say to them. Check out other similar band's videos so you know what you're going to be compared to. Select a song choice that's appropriate, dress appropriately, and perform appropriately.

Speak with us about video production

If you're interested in finding out more about how Alive Network can help with video production for your band, or if you'd like us to quote for a project - please call Jim Hodgkinson on 01782 740 839 or email studio@alivenetwork.com