Support Our #creatives®

Introduction

I recently was behind-the-scenes at the production of a music video: Shane Dougherty’s cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”, shot by Luke Justin Roberts at Luke’s studio. This was my first experience at a music video production.

I initially connected with Luke when he made a comment on the Support Our #creatives Facebook page and I reached out to him. We had an initial meeting, and then this opportunity arose where I could attend this music video production.

Subsequent to the production, I interviewed Luke about how he came to work in the music video world.

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Support Our #creatives Interviews Luke Justin Roberts

I interviewed Luke to learn more about his involvement in the production of music videos.

1.Tell our readers about yourself.

Luke: I’m a YouTuber and social entrepreneur from Laurel, MD. I grew up playing music in church and went to school for engineering, and then at 25 realized I wasn’t happy and needed to change my life. I realized three things made me come alive: Creating art, building relationships, and empowering people. I decided to make my life work living these out and changed my career. Now I’m a full time entrepreneur building my YouTube channel, doing videography, and helping people multiply their giving to causes they care about through my app My Phone Feeds Kids.

2. How long have you been in the music business?

I’ve played in bands for years but just started seriously pursuing this as my career about 1 and a half years ago.

3. When did you start to produce music videos?

I started producing music videos in 2013, doing about one a year for fun until a year ago, when I decided to ramp it up and make multiple per month.

4. What tools do you use for in production and post-production?

I use a Canon T6s with two lenses, (1) a 18 mm 3.5 (2) a 50 mm 1.4. I use Quasar Science QLED lights, a few other LED lights from Amazon, and some homemade lighting fixtures. I custom built a variable speed rotating camera mount for automated full 360 shots as well. For editing and post production I use the Adobe Creative Suite, specifically Premiere Pro and After Effects.

5. The shoot I attended was a “single take” music video. Explain what that is and the advantages/disadvantages. Do you have any preference for single take versus multiple take?

A single take video means there is one unbroken angle. This is great because it’s quick and easy to edit (as no cuts are required), and it feels more organic, so it’s more likely to be shared on social media. The main disadvantage is that you have to get everything right in the one take for both audio and video. These are typically your best option when you are looking to save money or create a lot of content fast without sacrificing quality. The artist just needs to be prepared. I usually like multi-angle shoots best because I can highlight different parts when they occur, and  there’s just more variation visually throughout.

6. What considerations go into deciding if the music video will have “live” audio or lip-sync audio?

Usually videos are lip synced because there is so much happening from a visual perspective and you want the best possible audio and video. Often times they’re also shot in non-studio locations where it’s difficult to record audio. Live audio is only done when artists are extremely prepared.

7. Do you always produce in the same studio, or do you also go on the road for some productions?

I do go on the road for productions, it just depends on the needs of the artist.

8. Tell our readers about the My Phone Feeds Kids campaign.

My Phone Feeds Kids is an app my Dad and I made to help people multiply their giving to feed homeless kids with a creative t-shirt. This video explains how it works. Use my referral code (10) to sign up!

9. How can people get in touch with you?

Feel free to message me on Instagram (@lukejustinroberts), or email me at lukejustin.roberts@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

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Media from “Landslide” Music Video Shoot

All media from author’s collection, unless otherwise specified.

Here is a behind-the-scenes video I took during one take at the studio:

And here is the finished music video (from Shane Dougherty’s YouTube page):

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Conclusion

I love being behind-the-scenes. My first music video shoot!! In addition to my film and web series experience. I learned a lot.

Please provide your thoughts and questions in the comments. I would really enjoy hearing from you. If you have a topic in mind you would like me to cover, please let me know.

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Links

Luke Justin Roberts: Facebook   YouTube  Instagram:@lukejustinroberts  Patreon

Shane Dougherty:   Facebook  Instagram:@shanedoughertymusic  YouTube

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Originally published December 20, 2018.  Updated August 19, 2020 to adjust category assignments.

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