Guide
How to prepare for your session.
Five things to sort before the day, so the reel is the best gig you have ever played. Ten minutes of reading, a better reel at the end of it.
01
Choose the set
Pick songs for the reel, not for the gig. A booker decides in the first ten seconds, so the opening song needs the biggest moment you have: the chorus everyone sings, the solo, the harmony stack. Save the slow build for the room.
Six to eight songs is plenty for a staged session. For a filmed show we capture the whole set, and the choice happens in the edit.
Send the list a week before the day, with the key of each song and who sings lead. It lets us plan the camera positions and the audio before anyone plugs in.
If the act is a tribute, include the two or three songs the audience books you for. A reel that avoids them makes a booker wonder.
02
What to wear
Wear what you wear for the best gig of the year. If the act has a look, bring it in full; if it does not, pick one and hold it across the band so the reel reads as one act and not eight individuals.
Cameras exaggerate fine patterns. Thin stripes, small checks and tight herringbone shimmer on screen, so plain fabrics and bold shapes film better.
Bring a second option. Lighting changes, backgrounds change, and a spare shirt is cheaper than a second day.
Shoes and jewellery end up in shot more than you expect. Dress to the floor.
03
Tell the venue
For a filmed show, the venue needs to know in advance that cameras will be in the room. Most are glad of it. Tell them where the cameras will stand, that the audience will be in shot, and that the audio is being recorded from the desk.
Ask for the name of the engineer on the night and the time the stage is free for sound check. Both go on our sheet.
Where tickets are sold, a line on the listing that the show is being filmed covers the audience consent for the venue. We can supply the wording.
For a staged session we book the room, so there is nothing to arrange.
04
How the audio works
The audio for the reel is recorded on its own, not taken from the cameras. Each instrument and voice is captured separately, so the mix can be balanced afterwards and the reel sounds like the room on a good night rather than like a phone at the back.
Bring the backing tracks, click or stems you normally use, on a drive or a link, and tell us how you run them. If the act plays to a click, the drummer's count goes on the recording so the edit lines up.
Tune everything before the first song and again at the break. The one thing a mix cannot fix is tuning.
Keep stage volume sensible. A quieter stage gives a cleaner recording and a louder reel.
05
The photo shoot
On a Session or Showcase day the photographer shoots the performance and a short set of group and individual pictures. Allow forty minutes for the group set, before the performance when everyone is fresh.
Bring the instruments you want in the pictures, cases off, and a cloth for fingerprints on anything shiny.
If the act has a logo, bring it as a file rather than a printed banner. It can be added to the pictures cleanly and dropped for venues that want a plain image.
Decide beforehand who stands at the front. It saves twenty minutes of politeness on the day.
On the day
The short list.
What to have with you when you walk in.
The set list
With keys and lead vocals marked, the same one you sent us.
Tracks and stems
Backing tracks, click and stems on a drive or a link, plus the device you normally run them from.
Two outfits
The look you agreed, and a spare in case the room asks for it.
Spares
Strings, sticks, batteries, leads and the logo file for the photographs.
Not booked yet? See the three packages or tell us about the act.
Book a session
Ready when you are.
Send the act, the songs you want on the reel and a date that suits, and we will come back with a plan and a date.