Aroha Duo Promotional Trailer [Live In Shenzhen] 2016 4K!

A Fun Promotional Trailer...

Here we are with our first promotional video (kind of) in four years! Has it really been that long? Our last promotional video was filmed in Dubai at the Ramee Rose Hotel in March of 2012. It seems like so long ago.

A couple of months ago we purchased a Panasonic G7 Lumix 4K camera. It's a great camera with heaps of functionality - it's sturdy, light, and importantly for us we can mount an external microphone on the top of the camera. However, none of our computers were up to the task for rendering 4K video. We tried with Josh's trusty 2011 Mac Mini and surprisingly it could render the footage because Josh had upgraded it with a Samsung EVO850Pro SSD and 16GB of RAM last year. Even with these upgrades it was taking 4 hours to render 12 minutes of footage and we had to edit using just sound because the video playback was stuttering ferociously. So, three weeks ago we bit the bullet and ordered a top of the line iMac 27" 5K Retina with all the upgrades including:

iMac 27" 5K Retina Specs:

• i7 6700 cpu
• R9 M395X gpu
• 16GB RAM (plus the included 8GB giving a total of 24GB)
• 1TB Flash drive
• Final Cut Pro X

Filming & Footage

Armed with our new camera and computer combination we decided to film anything and everything including some special events at the hotel in which we are currently performing until the end of November 2016. All of the footage you see here was filmed at a wine & cheese event at the Eden Garden Bar located on the 16th floor of the Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai Hotel. 

The lovely lady that you see with Soo in the video is May. She is the managing director of the wine brand that was being showcased at the event and is also a dear friend of ours.

Coming up...

Our next video will be a full promotional video for the Aroha Duo. It'll be about 6 to 7 minutes long and it will include snippets of several well-known songs and some awesome 'behind the scenes' footage to keep things interesting.

Stay posted, happy, healthy and wise!

Love from the Aroha Duo 

The Aroha Duo On Facebook

The Greatest Promo of All Part 4: Promoting the Promo

So you've followed all the advice in my blog and from others, You've ticked all the boxes, dotted the 'i's and crossed the 't's. You have a promo video in your computer that is worthy of release at the annual Sundance film festival.

Now what? Obviously the next step is to get your video seen by the people that need to see it. So for that you need to figure out who that is.

Who should see my video?

Agents:

Using an agency is a very effective way of promoting your video because they have a vested in interest in showing your video to clients. A good video will help you to win a contract and it will help the agency to develop their reputation. An agency can show your video to a wide range of clients in a short time. They will also be able to accurately assess which clients would most likely be interested in what you have to offer*.

*Note: A video is the first step but make sure you have all the rest of your press kit ready to send or be viewed at a moments notice.

Clients:

 If you are are going 'direct' to clients then you need to find out who they are and how you can contact them.
Contacting clients directly is great as you can cut out the middle man. However, it can be quite labor intensive as you have to contact them individually. It can also be an incredibly difficult task to direct and ensure your video is viewed by the right person. The upside is that you don't need to pay anyone a commission and you can communicate and negotiate much more expeditiously with the client.

Here is an example of the pros and pitfalls involved in directly contacting clients.

My fiance and I really wanted to work in Bali. I had worked there before and loved it. Now it was her turn. The problem was that we did not know anyone in the kinds of resorts and hotels that we wanted to play in. Solution? She made a list of all the resorts and hotels that she would like to play in. We sent emails to 17 hotels, with our details, links to our website, previous work experience etc. We got one response and it lead to a beautiful two month contract at a new resort in Uluwatu, Bali.

Caveat!

• Of those 17 emails we were never sure how many made it past the spam box. 
• We were never sure if we sent them to the right people at those resorts and hotels. 
• We were never sure if they could even understand English.

What I am trying to say by explaining all of this is that it is not an easy road to book gigs directly. Those people that do it probably already have friends, or business acquaintances in that venue. They may have been performing for many years and during that time they have built up a great network and established a reputation to the point where hotels or clubs are calling them to come back and perform again.

I believe a way to increase your chances of booking gigs direct is to actually call the venue and let them know your intentions and ask who you could speak to that is directly responsible for hiring entertainers. In that way you drastically increase your chances of directing your material to the correct person. Inform them that you are sending an email and they may be able to tell you how to address it or identify it with a specialized subject so it will not be marked as spam or so that it can be easily identified*.

* Note. Many Enterainment managers or staff that are responsible for hiring entertainers may be receiving tens or hundreds of emails on a daily basis. Taking the time to call them before sending an email adds a really nice personal touch and it can be reassuring for you and the client.

Fellow musicians and friends:

Do not overlook the importance of having friends and fellow musicians see your video because you just never know where it could lead. A good friend of mine who is also a fellow musician contacted me and said he had a gig for me in Thailand. He had shown it to a manager that he was working for at the time. My friend's contract was almost finished and the manager was looking for a new act. We couldn't accept that gig because we were contractually obligated at the time but it is a good example and a good reason to let your friends and musical friends know about your video.

Promoters:

Promoters are people that usually specialize in organizing one-off events like concerts, product launches and festivals. They usually work through agents to source any acts they need but it doesn't hurt if you can contact them and provide them with your details. Their realm is not really contract work for hotels and clubs but there is a crossover in certain instances.

Posting to Youtube and hoping for the best!

Ummm, yeah.....this is like pointing a gun up into the air without looking, pulling the trigger, and expecting a bird to fall out of the sky. It may net you a result, but you could be waiting a while for it to happen.

Improve your chances:

Fortunately there is something you can do to increase your chances of bagging that bird.

You have to direct people to it just like leading a bird to a bird bath.

• Use annotations
• Use links to and from your website or blogsite
• Use tags to ensure that when people do searches that your video has a good chance of appearing

Our videos on Youtube have gotten us work from people that we never contacted. We have been offered jobs on the strength of a couple of our videos that were posted on Youtube. We had two offers roll in from China. But, it was the video that did the job of promoting us initially. Having a well organized website that they could visit after watching the video was what sealed the deal for us.

Summary:

Well folks this article concludes "The Greatest Promo of All" series. I hope you have enjoyed reading my articles and I am sure that I will be revisiting and exploring some of the topics that I have covered in this series. Please check over the previous three articles relating to this series if you have just joined today.
Now go and bag that bird!

The Greatest Promo of All Part 3: Who hires and fires me?

Whether you like it or not to be a successful full-time musician you have to learn to sell your skill and sometimes that of others to win a contract or a gig. Don't fool yourself into thinking that because you can play three million notes in your ten second solo that that alone will secure you work*.
You need to be able to present yourself in such a way as to be desirable to the client. If the truth be known the overall appearance and sound is usually more important than one person's virtuosity or dazzling beauty.

*Note well that more often than not, the person that has the last say in hiring you is probably not a musician!

The 'Hiring and Firing Team'

Here is a breakdown of the people that will probably be involved in hiring you:

• The Food and Beverage Manager (F&B Manager)
• The Bar Manager
• Entertainment Manager
• Assistant General Manager (AGM)
• General Manager (GM)

All hotels have different policies and methods of selecting new entertainment for their venues. Depending on the size of the hotel an F&B manager may be solely responsible. Some hotels will involve all of the above sitting down and hand-picking the entertainers. 

The premise of your video is to fill the hiring team with confidence in your ability to help their venue achieve whatever goals they have identified for the future.

Of course it is not easy to film a video with this in mind because Hotel management teams are not always willing to reveal their goals and strategies for the future for various (usually competitive) reasons.

As an example we were chosen for our current contract because the GM thought that we 'could breathe new life' into the venue. The management team wanted some fresh new faces and a new image for the  bar.

How do I find out who they are and what they want?

As time has passed I have found myself involved in filming all kinds of different promotional videos for different venues. Sometimes I had a clear understanding of what was required by the market that I was trying to gain work in. At other times I had to make an educated 'guess' as to what was required.
You will probably never know beforehand who the person is that is ultimately responsible for hiring you. That being said there are certain steps that you can take to give your video a wide range of appeal.

Research:

• Find out who has played there before and talk to them 
• Try to find videos of previous acts
• Ask your agent if they have any tips or suggestions
• Talk to the managers if you can

If you can do some of the above you may have a better chance of customizing your video towards that specific venue. 

Stay the course!

Don't be discouraged if you don't get a gig or if you are unsuccessful. I have been passed over for contracts many times and the reality is that it is not necessarily a reflection on you or your video or your abilities. Rather, it is just that you weren't quite what they were looking for at that particular time. Managers will sometimes want a young group, next time they may want an acoustic group, then a rock band or an older aged jazz duo. 

An agent friend of mine once told me of a new bar in Abu Dhabi, that wanted a Latin 7 piece band, then they wanted a 6 piece all-girl band, then a 5 piece rock band, then a 4 piece reggae band. In the end they chose a DJ! So don't be discouraged. Sometimes the 'hire and fire' team don't know what the heck they want. 

Agents are usually the best source of information because they may have established a relationship with the management team at the venue and they may be able to pass on to you any news about who has played there before and how well they did, especially if any of the previous acts belonged to their agency. They may also be able to tell you about the personalities of the 'hiring and firing' team and what they may be looking for in future acts.

Conclusion:

Just remember that it is a rare day that you will please everyone in the 'hiring and firing' team. Just rest assured that you have done your best and that work will come your way. A good promotional video is a good promotional video. It will get you work eventually.

- Patience is a virtue.

The Greatest Promo of All: Part 1

Ladies and Gentlemen. In today's fast-paced society a musician needs to have quite a few skills to win(and keep) a contract and remain abreast of current trends especially in marketing and promotion.
That being said, usually a musicians' best way of promoting themselves to clients is by using a promotional video.

Today's article is Part 1 of a series of articles that I will be writing to explain the ways to film a decent promotional video.

A great promotional video is THE KEY to gaining international contracts. In this day and age a good promotional video is worth more to you than the ailing Greek economy.
A good promotional video, correctly distributed, will keep working for you by bringing in job offers and attention long after you've forgotten that you filmed it
.
But how do you go about making a good promotional video for yourself and/or your band?

Here's a brief list of what 'works' and what 'doesn't' work.

A Good Promo:

• Clear focus and steady camera work
• Simple
• Not too long
• Good sound
• Costume changes

A 'Not-so-Good' promo

• Too dark or too bright
• Poor use of distance
• Overuse of angle changes
• Poor sound
• Lack of forethought

The truth of the matter is that you only need to follow those few simple guidelines to make a good video that clients will enjoy watching.

Let me discuss the qualities of a good promo video in slightly greater detail.

1. Clear focus and steady camera work. This is absolutely critical folks! Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client. Ask yourself this- "Would I like to watch a video that's permanently out of focus or moving in and out of focus and going fuzzy?". No. "Would I enjoy seeing a video that looks as if it was filmed whilst sitting on the back of a horse?" No.

So keep your camera focused and on a tripod or sitting on something that doesn't move.

2. Simple. Guys n Girls don't buy into the hype. You do not need to create a Hollywood style movie  for your promo video. Simple lighting, a nice clean stage or background is ample. Clients want to see you and your band, not a lot of cutting-edge special FX, pyrotechnic displays, or laser shows unless you can replicate that onstage or you have a special act that uses that media when playing live.

When I was back in New Zealand earlier this year a friend contacted me and told me about the difficulties he was experiencing trying to get a promo video filmed in the UK.

He said he needed an expensive lighting rig, a huge stage, 3 cameras and so on. I asked him his budget for the video. 

He replied 'we're all broke'.
That was all I needed to hear. I suggested he find a big room in someones home, turn the lights on, clean up the background, and use one camera. 

Then he said he didn't have a decent camera. 

I said are you using your ipad to chat to me? 

He said 'yep'. 

I said 'Which version?' 

He said 'iPad 3*'.

I said 'Do you realize the iPad 3 has a beautiful HD video camera'

He said 'Oh yeah, I forgot about that'. 

He followed my advice and about 2 months later his band got work.

* Tip- iPhones from about the iPhone 4 on are perfectly capable of filming a good promo video. I'm not too sure about Blackberries or other mobile devices but its definitely worth checking around your circle of friends to see if they have a device that is good enough to use for filming. The biggest limitation is the sound quality, but turning your levels down or moving the device farther or closer to the sound source can really help with any clipping or loss of signal that may occur.

3. Not too long. A promo video for yourself or your band only needs to be about 6 to 8 minutes in duration. There is always a temptation to make the video longer but usually clients don't want to spend too much time watching promo videos. They may have to watch 10 or 12 videos and they simply don't have the time to watch you play full-versions of 8 or 9 songs. So you have to highlight and showcase the best of what you have in a limited time frame.

* Tip- Don't forget to include ALL of your contact details on your video. Contact name, phone numbers, email address, links to other videos or your website or blog

4. Good sound. Although this may seem like common sense and rather self-explanatory I have heard enough promo videos to know that there are some musicians out there that ironically don't put enough effort into improving the sound quality of their promotional video. Generally you have three choices.

• Pre-record everything and then lip-sync to the audio track when you are filming
• Record it live
• Do both and mix some pre-recorded sound with the live sound for your promo

Most clients don't really mind which choice you make and if you've done it well they may not even know which choice you have made. Although, I have seen clients' requesting that the video and sound be of a live performance*.

* Tip- Music editing software like Soundforge can be great for sweetening your sound. Just don't go overboard with the reverb and delay.

5. Costume changes. It is worth taking the extra time and effort to film two or three different 'looks' when you are shooting your promotional video. After all, performing is a a lot about image and style, and a client would often like to see how you can alter your appearance. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, clients often listen with their eyes!

What 'doesn't work:

1.Too dark or too bright. You would not believe the number of promo videos I have seen that looked as though they were shot in a deep cave with bats as an audience. I once saw a promo video  that was so dark I could only just see the outline of the guitarist throughout his video. To exacerbate matters he used a live video of a duet and the focal point of the camera was on the other musician! I have never seen a video that was too bright but I'm sure there are some floating around out there somewhere. If you think its too dark it probably is.

2. Poor use of distance. Set the camera(s) at a distance that can capture everyone that needs to be captured. If you only have one camera and its fixed, make sure you place it a distance where you can keep everyone in the shot, especially if they are dancing and moving from left to right or forwards and backwards.
The more people that are in the video the more complex it will probably become. But you can still shoot with one camera and use effects in your movie editing software as required to zoom in and out onto players when they solo or pan left and right to track the movements of the players/ dancers.

3. Overuse of angle changes. Don't change your angles too often. We once had a film crew come in and film us for a new promo video in Dubai. When we saw the finished product I got a headache after the first minute. There was a different angle every 2 or 3 seconds, some of our feet, some of our backs, when I soloed it had all of my body except my head. It was just a big mess. We never got any work with that video and it didn't surprise me at all. As I have previously mentioned- just keep it simple. Nice long steady shots are great, mix it up occasionally with a pan or a close up of a solo or some dance choreography to avoid monotony, but don't go crazy.

4. Poor sound. I know its hard to believe but as a musician you have a responsibility to ensure that your sound on your promo video is good. Poor sound usually comes from using the sound from the camera that you used to film the video or from using footage from a video that was filmed without the intention of using it as promo material.
In saying this, cameras have come a long way as far as sound recording quality is concerned. The easiest way to find out if your camera can handle the sound is to play at your loudest and quietest. If the camera can play it all back with no clipping in the loudest sections or a noticeable loss of signal in the quiet sections you're probably good to go and you can add some effects using software. Even movie editing software these days allows you to add some effects to your soundtracks. It is well worth the time to go through your soundtrack with a fine-tooth comb to fix any issues with the sound. It is amazing how just some simple normalizing and equalization adjustments can drastically improve the sound.
Recording everything from the desk live or individually or as a group in a studio will definitely give you the best results in terms of fidelity and post-production editing options, but it can be a lengthy and expensive process to organize and its largely dependent upon the hardware, the software, your or your teams' knowledge of recording and mixing, and the length of time that can be allocated to mixing it all down and mastering it.

5. Lack of forethought. People, your promotional video is the single most important weapon in your marketing arsenal. Give it some thought. Plan it well. Make sure it shows you in winning form, looking as good as you can, playing or singing your butt off, and enjoying doing it. Smile from time to time, put some energy into it; make sure you have tailored your look and your musical choices to suit the client. A video for a Top 40 club will have to be different to a video for a jazz lounge club. A small amount of time planning and executing a good video will get you work- guaranteed.

I just have to mention a promotional video that I saw on Facebook a few months ago. It was a guitarists' promo video. The video just reeked of a lack of forethought. It was easy to see that he could play, but the overall impression that I was left with was that it was rushed, sloppy, and really didn't show him in his best light. It wasn't too good because of the following reasons:

• The first 2 minutes of the video was just pictures of himself
• The sound was not his own. As soon as I heard the opening passages to 'Eruption' from Eddie Van Halen I knew it had been burned directly from the original Van Halen recording. There were also 2 other songs burned from the original recordings in his video. I'm not a hater but if you are promoting yourself as a player you should use your own playing not someone else's (backing tracks excluded)
• The only actual video footage was filmed at an extremely awkward and unflattering angle and it was only one song 'Sweet Home Alabama'
• No contact details at the end

Please don't rush your videos. It is such an important vehicle for promotion that you should really try to do the best job that you can. Once it is online it is there to stay and it represents you and what you do as a profession. You will probably have little to no idea of who will see that video. Because of this you should take as many steps as necessary and practical to ensure that it is presenting you in a wonderful way. Don't let all of your years of hard work and dedication be let down by a sub-par video.

That's all for now amigos. Stay tuned for my next article which will show you how to shoot a good promo with limited gear, limited cash, and unlimited ingenuity. I'll also show you my 'custom-made iPad filming rig'.

Peace out!