Bringing an Assistant to Your Gig

Have you ever wished you could take a professional videographer to every gig with you? Bringing an assistant is the next best thing! Here's how to do that and make the most of it.

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Transcript

Have you ever wished you could take a professional videographer with you to every gig? Me too! But that’s not always possible, unfortunately. Content is so necessary but can be tricky to capture, especially if you’re just working with a tripod and whoever happens to be standing nearby. Luckily, what we do is pretty fun and exciting to the people around us so you might find it’s easier than you think to find a willing assistant. Parents, siblings, friends or even a high school or college student you know might love to attend a gig (or multiple gigs) with you.

[Music intro]

Are you a classically trained violinist dreaming of stepping out of the orchestra and into the spotlight? But maybe the world of solo gigs feels…intimidating? You're not alone! Welcome to The Glam Violinist, the podcast that empowers classically trained musicians to build thriving careers as sought-after entertainers. I'm your host, Celeste Vee, and each week we'll break down the secrets to getting the gigs you’ve been dreaming of. Get ready to unleash your inner rockstar and turn your passion into a paycheck! Let's get glamorous!

Today’s episode is about taking an assistant with you to gigs. In all seriousness, it’s worth asking. If it feels right or if it helps, you can pay them whatever you think is fair. I promise you it’s worth it, especially if you have an extra fancy event or one at a fabulous venue that you want to make sure to capture. Sometimes all it takes is ONE GREAT VIDEO to launch you into the next tier of events. Even if you decide to hire a professional videographer for a gig, I would still walk them through this so they know what you’re looking for.

Alright, once you’ve decided who you’re going to ask and they agree to it, what do you tell them? How do you prepare them so that you can actually get the most out of having someone there?

1. Appearance and Attire

• Option 1: Professional black attire
• Option 2: Attire to match the other guests at the event - anywhere from business casual up to black tie formal, depending on the event. Ethnic attire is also appropriate for multicultural events if that’s what most of the guests will be wearing.

2. General Etiquette

• They are representing you and your brand so ask them to be professional and kind at all times.
• They don’t need to hide, but ask them to try not to draw too much attention to themselves. The focus should be on you as the performer and on the overall guest experience.
• Ask for two chairs from someone at the venue so your assistant has somewhere to sit nearby while you’re performing. And you have somewhere to sit when you’re preparing or when you need a short break.
• Otherwise, your assistant can stand off to the side when they’re not actively engaged in helping you out.
• It’s really important that they capture videos of the key moments when you’re performing, but you also want to make sure they don’t get in the way of the event photographers or videographers. Encourage them to be intentional but considerate.

3. Their Role and Responsibilities

• General Assistance
  • Carrying gear
  • Assisting with setup if requested
• Acting as a Liaison 
  • Communicating between the Violinist and the planner/client/DJ
  • Only if and when it would be helpful
• Capturing Photos & Videos
  • Before and during the event
  • See below for best practices

Capturing Content at a Gig

Primary Goal: Create one 30-60 second Reel to showcase your performance and the event highlights.

Secondary Goal: Document live performances to add to your portfolio of songs.

Equipment: Any iPhone or Android phone should have a decent camera built in. That’s all you really need. To be honest, we’ve tried fancier cameras and found that phone cameras work best for our purposes. If you have a gimbal for your phone and know how to use it that’s absolutely wonderful, but it’s not a requirement. 

If you follow @vee.llc on Instagram you’ll see the style of Reels we like to create for each event. Let me just say that this is a work in progress. We still don’t always get super clean audio at every event and sometimes we don’t get the tripod set up in the exactly the right spot, and sometimes it’s just too chaotic and the night flies by with little to no footage capture. Still, our ultimate goal at each event, is to create one 60 second Reel with these elements:

1. AUDIO: Live audio performed by the Violinist at that event
2. PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE: Live videos of the Violinist performing
3. B-ROLL: A few shots of the room, the guests, and important moments

Now, this does take some time with the editing after the fact. If that’s not your forte or you don’t want to learn or spend time on editing, then just focus on getting one solid 30-60 second video. If you do decide on just one video, you’re going to make sure that everything is just right - audio, background and lighting.

If you’re okay with a little editing here’s the strategy I recommend for content capture. For a deeper dive on this, check out episode 5 called “How to Get Great Content During Your Gig”. But for now, here are the steps and best practices I recommend if you actually have an assistant there with you.

Strategy for Content Capture:

1. SONG OF THE DAY: Choose a song before the event (might be a song requested by client or could be your choice)
2. PRE-GUEST AUDIO: Before guests arrive, film a 30-60 second video of the "song of the day" with clean audio (no background noise). One time through in vertical mode and one time in horizontal if there’s time.
3. COVER PHOTOS: Before guests arrive, find a nice spot and have your assistant take 5-10 photos for the Reel's cover image - some vertical, some horizontal.
4. B-ROLL: Also before the event starts, capture a few 2-3 second videos of the venue & decor, both vertical and horizontal.
5. PERFORMANCE VIDEO: During the performance, play the "song of the day" again. Ask your assistant to take another video of the same part you played before in vertical orientation. This will be used for your Reel of the day. If they can film the whole song, great. If not, give them a cue so they can get close enough for a solid video during the same 30-60 seconds you filmed previously.
6. ADDITIONAL VIDEOS: Ask them to capture a few more videos throughout the evening. Ideally three to four different songs. Just 30-60 seconds each. Some vertical, and some horizontal. They don’t need to film every song or capture the entire event. Quality over quantity. 
7. GUEST VIDEOS: Ask them to get a few shots of guests enjoying the event. Smiling, happy people. Also try to capture a few other key moments like the couple’s entrance or first dance, or other performances, even if you’re not playing for those moments.
8. ENGAGING WITH THE GUESTS: If guests start singing or dancing along with you, make sure they get that moment on film!

Photography Tips:

1. BACKGROUND: Find the prettiest spot in the room or venue and use that as a backdrop.
2. LIGHTING: Try to stand where there’s good lighting on your face if possible, ideally facing the lighting source.

PRO TIP: If you have Canva Pro or similar photo editing software, you can do some magic. If the lighting is awful where the background is best, you can take two photos and we can combine them later. First, take a photo of the beautiful decor. Then find a spot where the lighting is great with a fairly plain wall or backdrop. Take a few photos in various poses. You can layer the photos together after the fact to make it look like they were taken in front of the beautiful decorations.

1. DISTANCE: Ask your assistant to get mostly up close (waist up) photos and a few full body shots, but even then you shouldn’t be more than about 10 feet away.
2. FRAMING: For both vertical and horizontal… If you’re trying to take a photo of the whole room and be in the shot also, choose where you want your photographer to stand to capture the room, THEN move closer to them until your head and feet are just inside the frame. You don’t want to get lost in the photo.
3. POSING: Try a few different poses and remember to smile! Another tip: Practice this at home in front of a mirror to try out a few different poses and see which you like best.

Videography Tips: ⇩ (This is REALLY important!) ⇩

1. MOVEMENT: Videos with lots of movement are the best! Ask your assistant to try to at least move from side to side while filming (10-20 feet in either direction). Even better, aim to get at least one shot where they walk in a full circle all the way around you. You should continue facing forward, not follow the camera, but you can move and twirl all you want while they walk around you. Again, ideally one pass in vertical mode, one in horizontal mode. 
2. LOCATION: Sometimes it can be tricky to find the perfect spot where your assistant can capture a clear shot without getting in the way of the guests or the event photographers or videographers. Still, if you actually want to get a video that’s usable this is SUPER important. Let’s say it’s the first dance and you’re playing for that. Your assistant might need to get creative. You want them to be able to get both you and the couple in the shot. First of all, tell them to get as close as possible without drawing too much attention. Pick a spot where they’re not in the way of the videographers, but be aware that they’re going to move around quite a bit. Sometimes your best bet is between tables where they can crouch down and not block the view of any of the guests. Tell them to be brave but considerate.
3. BACKGROUND and LIGHTING: Just like with photos. Be aware of how it looks and what’s behind and around you.  
4. DISTANCE and FRAMING: Variety is key. Some super close shots (think right up in your space - capturing just the violin and your hands). Some further away where you can see the space around you. Some in between.
5. TIMING: Ask your assistant to try to capture complete song phrases. You want to start filming right before the chorus or verse and end in a spot that makes sense. Try not to cut it off until the phrase finishes! When it doubt, film a little longer.
6. AUDIO: If you’re in the main room with big speakers or somewhere that is not overly noisy, your assistant should be able to move anywhere and get decent audio. If you’re in the cocktail area or somewhere with a lot of background noise, you’ll want your assistant to stand right in front of the speaker when they’re filming so they get more of the audio from the speaker and less of the background noise from the crowd.

Send a link to this podcast to your assistant and ask them to listen to it on their way to the gig. Also I’ll add a link in the show notes to a PDF outlining these steps. It can act as a training manual for your assistant.

• Key Takeaways:

1. Make sure your assistant understands the basic etiquette, attire and responsibilities so they know your expectations.
2. Take charge of directing the show. Tell them where to stand, when and where to get the shots.. 
3. Remember your goal is to capture good audio, background and lighting.

And that’s it for today! 

• Subscribe to this Podcast. 
• Follow me on Instagram @TheCelesteVee
• Feel free to send me a DM with your questions and topics you’d like to hear more about on future episodes of The Glam Violinist! And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your musician friends!

[Closing music]

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The Glam Violinist! Until next time, this is Celeste Vee reminding you to stay glamorous!