Working on a music video can be very fun but also very stressful if you are not organized. This is a music video I filmed and edited for rapper/artists ‘Boss’ and ‘Aeropryme Megadeuce’ called Cool Like That which has over 8,000 views on YouTube so far. It took a total of 4 days to shoot and around 3 weeks of editing including 1st,2nd and final edits of the video.
Here are 10 steps/ tips to help you avoid stress and mess when preparing to create your own music video:
1) Budget It’s important to plan and know ahead of time how much the artists or you are willing to spend on this video. Take into account props, costume, travel expenses etc. The more creative you want to be usually requires a larger budget.
2) Make notes Even while shooting make notes of idea or improvements that can be made. Also note down the ‘takes’ of film that you definitely want to use in post-production to cut a few corners.
3) Syncing One of the most important things when making a music video is making sure the lips are in sync with the music, so while shooting any scenes with words being sung make sure you have the song playing loud in the background for the artist to sing along with. This will make synchronizing the music with the video a piece of cake.
4) Talk to the artist Talk to the artists about visions or ideas that they would like to see in their video, some ideas may be good, some may be bad and other may become inspirations for better ideas to come.
5) Listen to the song Before doing anything, listen to the song until you know it as well as the artists. Become familiar with the meaning, the different instruments used and how it makes you feel. Write down anything that comes into your mind in the notebook we talked about above .
6) Brainstorming This is the fun part where you brainstorm and think of every possible way you can make this video. You can then eliminate the ideas that work and those that don’t depending on the theme of the song and the vision you have for the video for it.
7) Scout Locations You need to know where you want to shoot and the time of day it works best for the video and the atmosphere you want to create. Location hunting is very important, as it could make or break your video. You also need to know ahead of time if you will need permission to use that location and act accordingly to get the permission from the right person so you won’t have any trouble after and have to re-shoot at another location.
8) Create the StoryBoard The story board will help you to be organized and save time while shooting since you will know the shots for the whole video ahead of time, so no time needs to be wasted re-shooting a scene that you think went wrong if you are not going to use that part of the song at that specific setting anyway. It will also help you and the artist get a feel of what the finished product will look like.
9) Finding your crew If you can do the production all on your own then bravo, but in most cases you will need help. Consider having at least these people in your crew:
-Director ( probably yourself)
-Cameraman
-Gaffer
-Sound Engineer
10) Actors Finding actors can be a challenge but knowing the right acting agency can point you in the right direction. Make sure that everyone involved is informed of times and locations, taking into account time for make-up if needed and costume changes. Also you will need to prepare release forms for everyone taking part in the video to sign so you have their permission to show the video later on either on T.V or Youtube.
Julia Antoniou- Mediazone TV & Audio Lab Assistant
