As an indie artist and producer, videos can be challenging, but nowadays, are a necessary part of music promotion. You could spend thousands shooting a music video, but why even attempt to spend that sort of cash, especially if you’re at a place in your music career where every pound counts.
You can create music videos yourself using your smartphone or a decent camera. Then you need some video editing software that is intuitive and easy to learn. Then, once you are competent in video editing there is no reason not to create videos yourself.
Here are some tips before you embark on your music video project that will help achieve a successful outcome.
CONCEPT
Think of an interesting concept for your video. You want to find something that works for your song, then make this the central concept of the video.
STORYBOARD
Make a storyboard of the scenes you want to shoot. This will keep you focused and is something you can use to communicate to your cast and crew, no matter how small that is. It will also give you an idea and make you think about the best location for the shoot.
PREPARATION
If your video is going to involve any sort of choreography or need any props or costumes, then make sure all involved know what to do and have practised in advance of the shoot.
LOCATION
The right location can make all the difference to your video. Think about your storyboard and see if you can find ONE location that can fulfil the scenes. This will make shooting the video easier for you, your crew and your budget.
PERMITS
Although, everyone takes video clips with their mobile phones these days, be wary of Byelaws and permit requirements if it will be obvious to anyone watching that you are shooting something more than just a quick snap for the album. Factor this into your location decision.
Family and friends are normally a good place to start to get support for your project. But make sure you put a plan together that includes time, location and duration so that you have everyone's buy-in. That way, everyone should have a great time on the video shoot.
Another way to get volunteers or collaborators is to put forward requests on video making forums or visit an educational institution where there are video and film making courses and put up a notice for help shooting a video. You'll find that there are many students who want to add a music video shoot to their portfolio. So it is definitely worth a try.
Another alternative is a video creation and rendering service.
I have used Rotor Videos. They provide a service whereby you upload your music, select video clips from their library and/or upload your own video clips and add intro and outro slides and text overlays.
Then select a video style that adds predefined effects and transitions. They render the video and you then have your own music video at a very affordable price.
Check out my videos 'Away I Go' and 'Have You Seen It' below for examples of their service.
You can get a quality video created at a reasonable price using third party providers and freelancers.
In my case, I have used Fiverr video services often and received great results. See my Music Biz Services page for some of the freelancers I have used. The relevant videos on this page, if you want to see how they turned out are:
So, making a music video to promote your song is within reach. Start creating your music video no matter which option you choose.
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