5/8/2017 HowtoShootaMusicVideo

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How to Shoot a Music Video

You want to learn how to make a music video? Becoming a music video director is a dream for
many lmmakers. The good news is that there are many independent musicians who dont
have the money or a record label backing them nancially, that are nevertheless looking for
ambitious directors for their music videos. There is denitely no shortage of opportunity in
this area.

In fact Lights Film School oers a 1 month intensive music video production course online for
those of you who are interested.

What projects to work on?

Before we start discussing the technical, structural and design standards of a music video
shoot we want to rst discuss an important consideration music video directors must fully
understand. As a music video director you must realize that music is a product to be
consumed. Record labels often get music videos made of the songs that they think will be

their best selling product.

All directors (including music video directors) need to decide how to develop their careers as
artists. Just because you get an oer to do a music video for a song it doesnt mean that this

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job will help advance your career in the direction you want. In fact it could have the opposite
eect.
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For example, you may want to work with classic soul musicians, or with
Sign pop musicians.
up below If you
to get instant access to
are approached by a band that doesnt produce a genre of music that1 you
over areworth
hour's passionate
of high-quality
lmmaking
about then you likely wont do the best job possible on the video tutorials that
thus deteriorating yourwill have an
brand as a music video director. You will be associated with theinstant
peopleimpact on the
you work quality of your
with.
Working with a unprofessional or untalented band on a bad song lmIsprojects. Provide
equivalent a working
to working on email
address,
a feature lm with bad actors and a pointless script. Do you really wantastoa attach
link to your
the tutorials
name will be
to that? If youre not passionate about the song youre directing then howsentyoutocan
your inbox!
give it your
undivided creative attention? If your heart is not in the project it will be visible in the end
product. Also, dont forget as a director youll be creating a name brand for yourself. If youre
working on commercial song after commercial song, then you may not be suitable for more
artistic projects in the future. This is ne of course, as long as this is how youre trying to
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develop your career. These are all things you need to decide. Its important that you have
control over your name and your image rather than allowing musicians and record labels to
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decide how you will develop as a director. You will be shaped as a music THEdirector
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based
on the projects you attach your name to.

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How to direct a music video: Technical and artistic structure

There are no rules to directing a music video. However, there is a common template. This blog
post will outline one of the most common templates. As you get more comfortable with
directing music videos you will want to start to break away from this template.

Step 1: Record labels and musicians want to establish and nurture an image for themselves.
This means that your music video will almost inevitably include footage of the musicians in the
group. Most often this footage will be captured in a controlled setting (i.e. a studio, concert
hall etc).

If youre just using one camera youll need to shoot this pre-planned studio footage from a few
dierent angles. This allows you to keep up with the pace of your story footage when you start
post production (to be discussed next). Its important that in each of your studio recordings
the musicians perform with the same emphasis and acting direction for each of the takes. This
allows for seamless editing which in turn makes it appear as if you shot the music video with

numerous cameras. Its also important to shoot from dierent angles and perspectives
because if one take ever lacks in a certain area you will always have other footage options in

your other angles to cut to. Small errors and big errors like bad acting, overacting, poor
composition and music or lip syncing problems may occur in one shot and its always

preferable to have other camera angles that dont have the same mistakes.

On a similar note, its a good idea to use a monitor for these shots. The reason being is that
small mistakes that go unnoticed in your cameras LCD screen are amplied when blown up
for television sets. You will likely want to broadcast your music video, not only over the

internet on sharing sites like YouTube but also on broadcast television (on stations such as
Much Music, BET, MTV and so on). You will need to identify and x skin issues, wardrobe
issues, acting issues and color issues. These are all things that are much easier to identify
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using a monitor rather than just your cameras small LCD screen.
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Its important that while youre getting your studio footage youSign
direct
upthe musicians
below as if they
to get instant access to
were actors. Remember however, that they are not actors and they
overmay not be
1 hour's comfortable
worth in
of high-quality
front of the camera. Any hint of them lacking condence will immediately
lmmaking show through
tutorials on have an
that will
camera. It shows through in uncomfortable body language or their eyes
instant not knowing
impact where of
on the quality to your
lm
focus. Never second guess your instinct. If you think something projects.
doesnt lookProvide a working
right then dont email
move on to the next shot until youve xed it. address, as a link to the tutorials will be
sent to your inbox!
Before you start rolling the cameras its wise to rehearse the scene. Dont direct during the
rehearsal. Just get a feel for the musicians ability to look good on camera. Keep an eye on all
of the musicians during the rehearsal and take note of the individuals that will need extra
attention.
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For example, if a musician is not a coordinated dancer, this is probably not something you can
x on your shoot day. They are either coordinated or they are not. If they are not coordinated
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you need to think quickly of new ways to frame them in order to hide their awkward body
language. Other members of the band may show movement that you think is really
interesting and you may want to capture on camera. Some members of the band may over-
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5/8/2017 HowtoShootaMusicVideo

act or over-sing. You need to identify these problems from the beginning so you can x them
before you start lming.

Step 2: The next thing you need to do is play the music in the background so the band is
perfectly synced with the quality production on their CD. No matter how well the band knows
the song, they will play it slightly dierent each time with slightly dierent emphasis and
timing. The video footage needs to sync perfectly with the version of the song on the CD. If
there is any discrepancies the music video quality will be compromised. Audience are very
sensitive to syncing issues. Even a millisecond dierence can cause a loss of the illusion that
the band is not actually singing the song.

On a similar note, the amplication and tone need to be similar. The musicians need to play
the song just as they did in their recording. If their recording is soft and gentle and on the day
of shooting the music video they are singing too loud it will look fake and dubbed.

Step 3: B-Roll Studio footage will be required for backup and to be used as cutaway footage.

For example, if in one of your takes you shoot a singer at a microphone, you will also want to
get some b-roll of their hands on the microphone, or close ups of their lips by the

microphone. In our experience the more B-roll footage you have the easier the editing
process becomes.

Step 4: Once you have completed your studio shooting you will now move on to the story

segment of the shoot. Every song tells a story and just like you would create a storyboard for a
feature lm, you will also need to storyboard for the music video. Storyboard each verse and
the chorus for the song as well. You will often use the studio footage for the chorus, but

storyboard it just in case you end up using story footage instead of studio footage.

To use the most obvious and basic example, lets image that the story segment of the song is a
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bunch of people at a club. The club then becomes your story. While this type of music video is
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overdone, we use it as an example because we have all seen this template many times and we
are familiar with it. Sign up below to get instant access to
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Story boarding is important because you need to make your audio and visuals dance
lmmaking tutorials that will have an
together in editing. There are specic down beats or lyric cues that will prompt you to get
instant impact on the quality of your
certain footage. For instance, if there are three downbeats and the musician says DJ play that
lm projects. Provide a working email
song. You might want thee snippets of footage. One of the DJ, A second of the close up of the
address, as a link to the tutorials will be
DJs headphones and third of a record spinning. As a general rule of thrum you should capture
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each of these shots for a minimum of 7 seconds. This way if the footage of the close up on the
headphones doesnt work well in editing, you can always run one of the other sections for
slightly longer.

Step 5: Editing the footage is the next step. Again, youll want to make your music videos
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footage work well with the audio. Music videos are often highly edited. Both the colors, eects
and composition are all very well thought out. They often dont look lm-like or realistic.
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Lighting is used to look as exaggerated as possible and costumes are not often very ordinary.

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Many editing suits have a beat detect option. This allows you to nd downbeats that have a
certain Decibel dierence and time separation dierence. Music videos are often quickly
edited and highly stylized. This is why having enough B-roll, story footage and studio footage
is advantageous. Its better to have too much footage to work with to keep up with the quick
pacing than to have too little and have big gaps in your story or uneven pacing.

How much do music video directors make?

After youve worked on a few music videos and you have built up a demo reel of your work
you will obviously want to start being compensated for your time and eort. Shooting a music
video is not an easy task. pre-planning can often take a week or two, shooting can take
anywhere from 1 day to 7 days and editing can take up to a month. Shooting a music video is
a huge time commitment. Music video directors generally charge a minimum fee or a
percentage of the production budget (generally between 3%-10% of the production budget).
For smaller productions generally a at fee is more benecial from a directors standpoint but
as you build your name and start working on larger projects a 10% commission could work
out to be a handsome sum!

Again, there is no 1 right way to shoot or bill for a music video. The ideas outlined above are
simply meant to give you an idea of the possibilities and to help you on your rst shoot. Feel

free to smash this template and use your imagination. Best of luck.

18 Comments
Greg on August 26, 2011 at 9:45 am FREE FILMMAKING
Great information. Thank you very much! TUTORIALS
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Muyanja Isma a.k.a Deejay Natura on June 13, 2012 at 5:32 am
lm projects. Provide a working email
thank for all your support address, as a link to the tutorials will be
sent to your inbox!

aikins ojoe on November 10, 2012 at 4:52 pm

Your
i love it thanks for this.i need more of it as i want Email
to start music videos
directing.
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5/8/2017 HowtoShootaMusicVideo

Adesugba oluwole on June 21, 2015 at 10:44 am

Who i am to smash this article. Thanks so much for the enlightment. This
would really help me a lot

jam on July 1, 2015 at 10:12 am

Thank you for that

Lights Film School on July 1, 2015 at 3:06 pm

Sure thing, Jam! Glad youve found this post helpful. Feel free to check out
our Online Music Video Course if youre looking for further guidance.
Regardless, best with your Music Video Directing!

wisdom on March 17, 2016 at 12:17 am

Wow tanx so so much I want more hint on dis

Kudos on August 14, 2016 at 11:33 am
All the way from Nigeria, I say thank you., I have
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Got mirrorless samsung NX300 is it ideal to shoot a musical video???
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Lights Film School on August 17, 2016 at 8:28 am
lmmaking tutorials that will have an
instant
Its our pleasure, Kudos! Remember, the tools dont impact
make on the quality of your
the lmmaker.
lm projects.
For perspective, feel free to check out our overview Provide
of popular a working
cameras with email
address, as a link to the tutorials will be
indie lmmakers in 2016! https://www.lightslmschool.com/blog/best-video-
cameras-for-indie-lmmakers-in-2016-acu/ sent to your inbox!

Ritzy on September 25, 2016 at 5:49 pm

Thanks a lot, very helpful. Your Email

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d.j smilez on September 28, 2016 at 2:49 pm

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5/8/2017 HowtoShootaMusicVideo

How can i use 1 camera to shoot a street video?

Lights Film School on October 16, 2016 at 3:25 am

Sure thing, Ritzy! DJ, great question. You may nd this interview useful:
https://www.lightslmschool.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-with-a-student-
academy-award-winner/ In a nutshell, think about the edit. Good luck!

Anthonykan on November 9, 2016 at 4:39 pm

Nice one really do appreciate

Lights Film School on November 22, 2016 at 12:37 am
Its our pleasure, Anthony! Best with your Music Video!

LB on January 22, 2017 at 2:39 pm

Just to mention Ive made a few famous music video story analysis,

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like Michael Jacksons thriller which actually tells 7 plots, each being included in
the previous one, TUTORIALS
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or like Radioheads No Surprises, which uses very minimal light and situation
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instant
or like Sebastien Telliers Look, which is based on impact on the
a contemplative quality of your
morphing
mixing erorism and death, lm projects. Provide a working email
address, as a link to the tutorials will be
or like Skrillexs First Of The Year, which reverts the usualsent
schema of ainbox!
to your
pedophile agression, etc,

and what it shows is that each time, theres a great narrative (or sometimes
visual) concept at the core of the videos success.

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Lights Film School on February 3, 2017 at 2:20 am

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Well said, LB! A killer concept, or hook, is key.

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Aikins ojoe on March 6, 2017 at 7:59 pm

I love this the tools doesnt make u a good lmmaker.very soon i will enroll
because i want to be a good music video director.i have learn alot out of this.

Lights Film School on March 15, 2017 at 4:08 am

So cool, Aikins! We look forward to welcoming you aboard!

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