As an aspirant Musician who wants to work on a cruise ship; what do you need to know about the “promo video” as one of the requirements?
We all know that in a musician’s hiring process, promo materials must be at their finest.
Cruise lines hire musicians for a 3 to 6 months contract base. To be noticed, you have ample time to prove yourself virtually and be at your best-est when you do your promo video.
Want any suggestions? All right, here we go…
- Virtual Application – all will be done online. From submitting your promo materials until the audition phase, all will be held in a virtual setup. Compile and organize your materials. Make sure that all is complete. When it comes to the video link, make sure you will provide the promo video via the youtube link. Promo materials must be sent via email.
- Choice of the song – Don’t choose a hard song that will not fit you but be mindful that songs and style depend on your desired position. But in general, let us consider the fact that the guests want to enjoy the cruise journey, so you better include upbeat, fancy, and energetic songs in your video. And always remember that we only allow cover songs, original ones have no room for this kind of work.
On a cruise, you will never know who your guests are, it can be young, young at heart who want a fun environment, or old ones who want a classic vibe, right? To be easily noticed, be a versatile musician. Versatility will give you a high chance to be an eligible musician on the cruise.
- Promo video length – 5-7 minutes with different varieties in style would be enough. Short but packed with different styles is good instead of having one full song. This will surely get the attention of the cruise line.
- For two or more musicians in a group – If you are a group of musicians, you must be familiar with the word commitment. The usual experience of cruise lines once they approved a video of the musicians, they usually do not proceed with the hiring process because of the other member, some of them are not available on the given schedule but during the application process, they said that they are available anytime. Again, be committed.
- Presence, and collaboration – Envisioning the entertainer or musician, is what cruise lines do when they are watching the promo videos.
What do you need to remember?
Always check yourselves before recording a video. Give your best-est shot at making this one. If you wish to be a Pianist in the ship’s lounge on a formal night, wear a formal attire that will match the vibe of that night. Remember, the first appearance lasts.
If you are a group of musicians, of course, be as one. Collaboration is a must. Watchers can easily notice if you are not in one boat.
- Overall entertainment value – As mentioned, you are virtually auditioning to the cruise lines, meaning, a quality promo video is the number 1 top priority. Efforts won’t be rewarded if this turned out something that is unentertaining.
What are the keys to getting the entertainment value?
- Location – choose the perfect video location
- Video tools – a good camera that will catch the quality sound of your music
- Camera angle – must capture the whole scene, the musician’s vibe that will catch cruise lines’ attention
- Wide repertoire list – A minimum of 200 lists of songs with the artist’s name and genre saved in a PDF format. The list must be quite impressive and can showcase different styles and eras.
- Viewpoint – To get and succeed in this job, just put yourself in the situation of a cruise line that will choose to the musicians to be hired. Ask yourself how you want to recruit a musician for cruise lines. This kind of thinking will easily help you to prepare and organize your promo material.
All we can say now is good luck and hope I will see you performing on the cruise!