Choosing Music

[Flaskpost]

Hey guys, first post.
I'm about to make this 20 minute final project, in my editing class. I got all this footage, 5 hours of random stuff shot in Australia.
My problem is that there is no sound on neither of the tapes, so if you have any tips about choosing music, post them here.
Or general tips about how to make this thing to work
Thanks! Marcus

[Starman*]

If you don't know, then give a career in movie production a miss!

You have limited footage so you have to find music to fit. I would go through the footage and hope for some inspiration of a theme and then choose the music. The length of each clip may also control what you do. If the max clip time is 3 secs, then using "Moonlight Sonata" isn't going to do it. You can also use still frames with or without effects and transitions. 20 mins is a lot of time to fill so you will need to vary the pace. Your time may also be an issue - if you start chopping up clips and doing complex editing you could spend hundreds of hours getting it right.

[Safesurfer]

Anything by Rolf Harris.

[guns1inger]

Anything by Rolf Harris.

He spends all his time in England (and we don't miss him at all)

Powderfinger
Jet
Hoodoo Gurus
The Living End
AC/DC
Indigenous music

Honestly, it is an impossible question to answer properly because you haven't said what you are trying to do with it. What sort of footage ? Australia covers a lot of ground, from deserts to rain forests to country towns to cities to beaches. How will it be edited ? Fast and sharp ? Slow and leisurely ? Or you might edit to a music track or selection, and let that dictate the footage you use and how you use it. I know inspiration can be hard to come by some times, but you are being about as vague as you can be.

I would suggest, given you already have the footage, that you start there. Look for commanilty or a theme to get you started. Something to build around and from. Once you start laying down some basic structure you may find that the music becomes easier to chose.

[Flaskpost]

If you don't know, then give a career in movie production a miss!

You have limited footage so you have to find music to fit. I would go through the footage and hope for some inspiration of a theme and then choose the music. The length of each clip may also control what you do. If the max clip time is 3 secs, then using "Moonlight Sonata" isn't going to do it. You can also use still frames with or without effects and transitions. 20 mins is a lot of time to fill so you will need to vary the pace. Your time may also be an issue - if you start chopping up clips and doing complex editing you could spend hundreds of hours getting it right.

thanks for being helpful, and telling me things I already know

[Flaskpost]

Anything by Rolf Harris.

He spends all his time in England (and we don't miss him at all)

Powderfinger
Jet
Hoodoo Gurus
The Living End
AC/DC
Indigenous music

Honestly, it is an impossible question to answer properly because you haven't said what you are trying to do with it. What sort of footage ? Australia covers a lot of ground, from deserts to rain forests to country towns to cities to beaches. How will it be edited ? Fast and sharp ? Slow and leisurely ? Or you might edit to a music track or selection, and let that dictate the footage you use and how you use it. I know inspiration can be hard to come by some times, but you are being about as vague as you can be.

I would suggest, given you already have the footage, that you start there. Look for commanilty or a theme to get you started. Something to build around and from. Once you start laying down some basic structure you may find that the music becomes easier to chose.

I have footaqe of the rain forest, "the rock", Sydney zoo, A lot of Sydney mostly downtown stuff, bus driving and shots of beaches. So as you see, I have not alot to work with, I started an opening montage with various footage from Australia aborgines, koalas and kangaroos. I know I ask for alot here, and that I should find a story within the footage first, the problem is, I've been looking for it for a long time, and belive it or not, this footage is rather useless, but I have to turn it in to something.

I'll probably put it in different sequences, and work my way from there, not mixing too much, just different subjects.
I asked my teatcher and he said that I could do a 20 - minute montage, since the footage is muted. So that's why I asked about the music.

Sorry for bad english, Marcus

[guns1inger]

If you were making this is in Australia, I would called it cliched, but as this is for the US, I would start with a track called "Solid Rock" by Goanna, and probably move from that to "Great Southern Land" by Icehouse. You might also listen to a track called "Treaty" by Yothu Yindi, or anything by Midnight Oil.

[mrswla]

Use this http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Places-Earth/dp/B001S02FI6/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=...830&sr=301%5F2 for your music. It will give that "down under" feeling to your video.

[Flaskpost]

Use this http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Places-Earth/dp/B001S02FI6/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=...830&sr=301%5F2 for your music. It will give that "down under" feeling to your video.

I listened to it, but that won't fit I think, thnks anyway.
Is it your music?

[greymalkin]

since the music will be the only audio on the tape the ability for it to set the tone of the entire film is huge...without seeing your edit we have no idea what you are going for...part of making a film is to share your creative vision and asking us to tell you what music to put to it is kind of difficult..kind of like being asked to give a strangers eulogy...ok so that's an extreme example.

I did a slideshow for my grandmothers 80th birthday...I got so many picture the slideshow ended up being about 30 minutes long...I had to find a way to group the images and then find appropriate music for each section..it was difficult but very rewarding to have done it on my own.

oh and wear the blue shirt tomorrow and eat oatmeal for breakfast.

[guns1inger]

Use this http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Places-Earth/dp/B001S02FI6/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=...830&sr=301%5F2 for your music. It will give that "down under" feeling to your video.

Not exactly sure what is 'Down Under" about that. Contrary to what inhabitants of region 1 might think, very little of it is like Wolf Creek.

[ZQX]

Slim Dusty?

Seriously, you shouldn't try to pigeonhole a country into something "clichéd" by using some mainstream shit-song like Goanna or Icehouse or Midnight Oil. They are shit bands, stay away from them. (After all, the singer from Midnight Oil is now our Minister for Environment, gee how "rock'n'roll" is that).

I suggest making your own music, it's easy, otherwise explore Australia's fantastic underground musical history.

You might wanna check out this wonderful site - http://www.midoztouch.com/ - (check out the forum too, for additional links!).

[Starman*]

To add to the stuff I've mentioned that you already know....

Whatever you do will have been done before in one form or another. After a century of movie-making it's tough to be truly original. Just try to make it interesting. Movie 101, don't use editing techniques that are going to give people headaches or motion sickness after 5 minutes. Gear the music to the intended audience.

I've mostly worked the other way round, selecting music and then using footage from a tv show or movie. That's difficult too, especially fitting with lyrics. You can't use footage from Ben Hur and the singer is singing about snorting coke.

In addition to omitting Mr Harris (I'd forgotten that damn song and now I can't get it out of my head), please don't include the Opera House or the Harbour Bridge. There wasn't a single episode of "Water Rats" that didn't show one or the other. The audience is a bit more sophisticated these days, signposts not required. I agree with the comment that the music does not have to be local either, but it can be.

The most obvious theme from the footage you've mentioned is to contrast the old and new, city and bush. That gives the opportunity to mix the music and pace. For expedience, you're stuck with music you know or can Google. Silence is good too and can be a dramatic contrast.

[Soopafresh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzLW7r0JF4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl00WC18qv4