I can’t sing but I can make kids carpool karaoke videos! Trust me on this one, you really don’t want to hear me sing. This was a very fun project to do and as it turned out, it was more challenging than I originally thought it would be. We shot several karaoke videos with different groups using multiple cameras to be shown at the bat mitzvah of the client’s daughter.

It’ll be simple right?

We produced one other carpool karaoke video before this so we were familiar with what it takes. However, our previous job was much easier from a production standpoint since the client didn’t want the car moving while the people inside sang along to the radio.

Making a carpool karaoke video is much easier to do when the car is parked vs. when the car is moving. In that situation, we mic the car with several microphones and have our location sound mixer with all his equipment outside the car to get perfect audio. We set up the cameras and don’t have to worry about if they are secure or not (they were in our previous job) since the car won’t be moving. We can more or less, shoot the video like a normal video.

This job was different. It was to be like James Corden’s carpool karaoke videos where they are driving as they sing. Here’s James’ video with Chance the Rapper.

Corden’s videos look like simple productions which they are but when you throw in a car full of people, sometimes three rows deep rather than just two people in the front seat and with most of the passengers not exactly professional singers including teenagers and multiple cameras – well it becomes not so simple! Especially for a film crew of one!

The production

When the client first called, I thought it would be just a matter of putting a couple Gopro cameras in the car and filming two or three takes of each song along with the audio. Then in editing, picking the one full take that was the best and for that take, switching the shot between the two cameras.

Little did I know that was not to be the case. The production included filming six karaoke songs, each with a different group in the car singing to a different song. The dad was the constant and he was the driver in each video. The groups consisted of the daughter’s teenage friends, family, mentors, a cop and even a surprise visit by a Ed Sheeran (not literally but virtually with a little editing).

Each group had at least two rows of people in the car and some had three. We used 4-6 cameras depending upon how many people were in the group. It wasn’t just the songs we filmed in the car. For every video we also shot a scripted comedic scene or two with the group before they got in the car and then more dialogue in the car before the karaoke started. So scripted comedy scenes with a group of people with dialogue before the singing, more dialogue inside the car, and then 4-6 cameras shooting the singing and capturing the audio for up to 7 people. A lot for a 1-person film crew!

In editing, it wasn’t just picking one take and cutting between the cameras for the duration of the one take. We used different parts of the song and singing from different takes in all six karaoke videos! So each final edited karaoke song and video was compiled from parts from multiple takes. The challenge was to edit the different parts from the different takes to make it look and sound like the recording was from one seamless take! That required a lot of video and sound massaging in editing and color grading to match everything up and to make it look and sound smooth.

It was all worth it as all the videos turned out great and I’m happy to say they were a huge hit at the bat mitzvah! Everyone loved them.

So bring on your kids carpool karaoke video! Or without kids. Either way, we’re your guys to pull it off.

About Gate5, a Los Angeles video production company

Gate5 is a video marketing agency and full service video production company in Los Angeles producing engaging and results driven video content for big and small businesses and advertising agencies.

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