RoyalZProduction

Music Video Guide

 INDEX
Intro Page 3
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Camera Settings Page 4 - 11
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On Set Knowledge Page 12 - 27
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Equipment Page 28 - 41
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Camera Angles Page 42 - 47
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Post-Production Page 48 - 50
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Business Tips Page 51 - 58
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My Music Video Course! Page 59
 Welcome!
Welcome everyone to our music video guide! Those
of you have found me through my music video
tutorials have probably noticed that my content
and music video tips have been scattered
throughout hours of video vlogs throughout my
YouTube channel. The purpose of this e-book is to
provide a one-stop-shop solution for breaking down
and sharing my music video process, camera
settings, equipment and more. Thank you everyone
for your ongoing support. I hope you enjoy this
information and that it helps you better your
understanding of the art of music videography.
Confidential Customized for Lorem Ipsum LLC Version 1.0

CHAPTER 1
Camera Settings
 Aperture Setting
“A space through which light passes in an optical or
photographic instrument, especially the variable
opening by which light enters a camera” (Budai, 2017,
para. 2). As you increase your f-stop value, you are
allowing less light to hit your sensor. On the contrary, as
you decrease your f-stop value, you are allowing more
light to hit your sensor.

For music videos, if I’m shooting a performance

scene, I like to use F/2.8 or F/1.8 so I can still blur
the background for a more cinematic look.
Shooting in a higher aperture than F/2.8 will start
to make your background less and less blurry (have
less bokeh). If I’m using a wide angle lens and I
want my image to be in full focus, I will shoot at
around the F/3.5 - F/5.6 area.
 SHUTTER SPEED
❖ “Shutter speed is a measurement of the time the shutter is
open, shown in seconds or fractions of a second: 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s
… 1/250s, 1/500s etc.”(Nikon, n.d., para. 1). In other words, the
faster the shutter speed, the easier it is to photograph the
subject without blur and “freeze” motion and the smaller the
effects of camera shake.

For music video shooting, my shutter speed will vary depending on the
frame rate in which i am shooting. If I’m filming a 24fps performance
scene, my shutter speed will sit at 1/50 (24 x 2 = 48). If I’m filming a
scene in 60fps (Performance scenes, BROLL or BOTH) my shutter speed
will be set to 1/125 (60 x 2 = 120). If I’m filming in slow motion 120fps, I
set my shutter speed to 250fps (120 x 2 = 240). See a trend here? I do!
Whenever I am shooting in a certain frame rate (let’s say 24fps, for
example) my shutter speed will always be set to DOUBLE the frame rate
in which i am shooting. For a 24fps shot, I will make sure my shutter
speed is set to 50fps as that is the closest rounded number to 48 (24 x 2
= 48 which rounds up to 50).
 ISO
ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The same principles
apply as in films photography [or videography] (Rowse, 2019, para.
5-6). ISO is essentially ‘fake’ or ‘artificial’ light. The higher your ISO,
the more light you can add to your videos to better expose them. The
lower your ISO, the less light you will be adding to your videos..

Now, there’s a catch to adding ISO. Generally ISO numbers will range
from 100 all the way up to 100,000 on DSLR cameras. I personally use
the Lumix S1 and can comfortably sit at 8000 iso before I start to see
noticeable ‘grain’ on my footage. Yes, grain. We all know about that film
grain when we film video in low light situations. Every camera will handle
film noise differently. Ideally, you want to sit at the LOWEST ISO number
possible to eliminate any grain. However, we know that for music videos
this isn’t always achievable when we aren’t shooting in a controlled
environment. Cameras like the Lumix GH4/GH5, which are Micro 4/3
sensor cameras, won’t respond to high ISO values very well due to the
size of the small sensors. However, a camera like the Sony A7iii, Canon
1dx Mark ii or Lumix S1 will show unnoticeable grain all the way up to
4000-8000 ISO. A good tip to allow a better exposed image in a darkly
lit environment is to move your F/Stop as low as possible (1.2, 1.4, 1.8)
and shoot in 24fps so you can shoot at 1/50 shutter.
Understanding Shutter Speed Values
AND FRAME RATES
When you film a music video, you don’t want to film your entire
shoot in 60fps. I see this all the time and this will take a lot of the
cinematic aspect away from your footage. Ideally, throughout your
shoot, you want to break up your footage between 24fps, 60fps
and higher variable frame rates such as 96fps, 120fps, 180fps etc
(if your camera allows for higher frame rate shooting). The 24fps
shots will give you a more cinematic and ‘real’ feel. Ideally, you
want to be filming your 24fps and 60fps shots in 4k (if your DSLR
camera allows for both 4k 24fps and 4k 60fps recording, of
course). It is ok to downscale to 1080p if you’re shooting in slow
motion frame rates such as 96fps, 120fps, 180fps etc. as those
super slow motion shots will generally be b-roll clips sprinkled
throughout your music video edit.
 SLOW MOTION
Most DSLR cameras will let you film in 60fps
right out of the box, thus making it the most
commonly used ‘slow motion’ frame rate
amongst DSLR users. When you film a 60fps
shot and want to ‘slow motion’ that specific
scene down, you need to slow the shot by 50%
in post-editing. Typically slowing a 60fps shot
any more than 50% will result in choppy video
footage!
‘Trippy’ Camera Effect
(Low Shutter Speed)
Next, let’s flip the switch on proper frame rate
shooting! This is a commonly used trick of the trade to
achieve a very choppy video clip on purpose. To
achieve this type of effect, you want to set your
camera’s frame rate to 24fps. Once you’ve done that,
set your shutter speed to 1/2, or 1/5. This trick works
great when shooting fast gimbal movement scenes or
handheld scenes. Try this out on your next music video!

‘Trippy’ Camera Effect Video Tutorial:

https://bit.ly/2WHNatH
 Picture profiles
Shooting in custom picture profiles will add a
cinematic look to your videos by capturing
your images in a higher dynamic range. Higher
dynamic range lets you better expose the
shadows and highlights evenly. The best
profiles to film video off of DSLRs are LOG
profiles. Sony uses S-Log, Lumix uses V-LOG,
Canon uses C-LOG,

My Lumix S1 Cinelike-D Settings: Contrast -5,

Highlight -5, Shadow 0, Saturation -5, Hue 0,
Sharpness -1.5, Noise Reduction 0

My Lumix GH5 Cinelike-D Settings: Contrast -5,

Highlight -5, Shadow 0, Saturation -5, Sharpness 0
CHAPTER 2
On Set Knowledge
 Learn Freelance Filmmaking Music Video Course
If you found value in my music video e-book, be sure to
check out my online music video course packed with over
200 video lessons. My music video course includes: The
Basics of Filmmaking, Pre-Production, Equipment, Lighting,
Performance Scenes, B-roll, Camera Operating, Directing,
Additional On Set Knowledge, Cellphone Section, Editing
Sections Featuring Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro and
DaVinci Resolve, Business & Development, and fitness
exercises for filmmakers.

Learn More About Our Online Music Video Course:

https://www.learnfreelancefilmmaking.com/MVC-Organic
Location Scouting
This can be one of the most time consuming parts of music video
pre-production prep. If the video shoot is local to you, chance are
you’ll have a few outdoor spots in mind already. When it comes to
indoor scenes, you will need to contact the owners of the building
or business and ask permission to film at said location as well as
set up a time to film at said location.

For outdoor locations, I sometimes find myself scouting on Google

Maps. This is a great way to find those super low-key spots in
parts of your city that you may have not explored. Another tip for
outdoor location scouting would be to keep your eyes peeled when
running day-to-day errands. If you see a possible location for a
future music video shoot, write the location down in your phone
when you’re finished driving. Location scouting can be done prior
to booking any music video shoots in order to have a long list of
outdoor locations and confirmed indoor locations at which you can
film.
If outdoor locations are out of the picture due to your
video script or it’s simply too cold to be filming
outdoors, Airbnb is a great and generally affordable
option to be added into your music video treatments. If
you go the Airbnb route, make sure there are no other
tenants staying on the premises. As we all know, music
video shoots can sometimes get pretty loud! Not only
that, but make sure you get the authorization from the
Airbnb owner that they’re comfortable with you filming
on their property.
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1 3

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 Treatment
A video treatment is an in-depth breakdown of the type of
visual that is trying to be achieved. A video treatment
breakdown should be written on a Word document or
slideshow which include the following:

- introductory description of the song and story board

- props being used on set
- extras on set and their assigned roll
- screenshot references from movies
- pictures or other videos to reference for the desired colour for specific
scenes
- locations
- shot list (close up shots, wide angle shots, screenshots to reference
from other videos or photos
- Your watermark added to the end of the treatment.
A treatment will ultimately keep your video shoot more organized and
make your brand look much more professional.
Equipment Set-up
Upon arrival to your music video set, the first thing
I suggest you do is set up your gimbal and lighting.
These will generally be the most time consuming
parts of set-up and take-down on any video set. A
big tip that has helped me in terms of organization
is making an in-depth list of equipment needed for
a music video. This can be written out on my phone
in a checklist format. This insures that I don’t
forget a piece of equipment prior to heading out for
the music video. Moreover, you can also reference
this checklist when packing your equipment at the
end of a music video so you don’t leave anything
behind.
 Studio environment
As a music videographer, there’s a high chance you’ll
end up at a home studio or professional recording studio
to film artists recording whether it’s for a promotional
video or a music video. In this scenario, it’s important to
be aware of your surroundings. During a studio set there
will be at least a few extras present such as the artist’s
friends and the producer. It’s important to be aware of
the interactions between people and capture the
following elements:
- Laughter
- Smoking
- Head or hand bobbing to the beat of the song or vocals
CEO CFO Sales Director

- Plenty of footage ranging from 24fps

Berry Books
and 60fps
Vinny Viewer
of the
Wendy
Writer
artist singing into the microphone

Studio sets are usually my favourite... so have fun with them!

 Run-and-gun
When shooting a run-and-gun or ‘gorilla’ type shoot, all I
can say is two words: Pack. Light. This is a common
situation for music videography. It’s crucial to pack
minimal equipment. Here is my list of go-to run-and-gun
equipment:

- Camera backpack - Portable charger for the bluetooth

- One camera body Speaker and your phone
- Extra SD cards - Variable ND filters if you’re shooting
- angle lens In daylight
- Wide
- Extra camera batteries
- Mid-range lens - Handheld gimbal if you have the space
- Shotgun mic
- Bluetooth speaker

Lightweight Gimbal Recommendations

DJI Ronin SC, Zhiyun Crane 2, Zhiyun
Weebill-S
 GREEN SCREEN
A green screen, most commonly a green paper
backdrop or green curtain is used to mask or
key out an object or person from an image.

When filming with a green screen, you need to keep

these two things in mind at all times: lighting and
shutter speed. When lighting a green screen, I like to
use a three point lighting setup. I point two key lights
at the front of the artist and point a third light at the
green screen to help eliminate shadows for ease of
masking out the artist in the editing process.
Shutter Speed and Green Screen
When shooting at a regular shutter speed of 1/50 in
24fps, keep in mind that a 1/50 shutter speed will
cause a natural motion blur when the artist is moving
around on camera. This will create a very difficult
editing process when you are trying to mask or key the
artist out of the green screen.

To make this process A LOT easier, start to double up

your shutter speed until you’re around the 800/1600
mark. Why 800/1600 shutter speed, you ask? If you’re
shooting a traditional 24fps shot with 1/50 shutter, you
need to keep doubling your shutter speed to achieve a
proper shutter speed in correlation to your frame rate.
Starting at 1/50 shutter, double it to 1/100, then 1/200,
1/400, 1/800, 1/1600. In doing so, your subject will
have minimal motion blur. It may look a little unnatural,
but this is how you achieve a very clean green screen
shot.
60FPS performance scenes?
For every four 24fps performance scenes, I
will shoot one 60fps performance scene.

I personally like sprinkling in the odd 60fps

performance scene. This not only gives you
the option to use an entire performance
scene worth of b-roll, but also allows you to
use it as a performance scene.
Being around celebrity artists

For up and coming music videographers, it’s easy to be star struck.

If you’re from a bigger city or state, you may find yourself around
bigger artists all the time. For people who aren’t used to this, here
are some tips. Look at these situations as a network building
situation. Chances are, the artist who is well-known that you may
be filming is there for one purpose - to work. There’s a good chance
that in a few hours of being on set with them whether its
run-and-gun or an extremely controlled and organized environment,
won’t be the key to the connection for future work or bigger
opportunity. Pay attention to everyone on set whether they’re an
artist or not. Build a relationship with the people surrounded by the
celebrity artist. I’ve always found success by offering to take
professional photos on set of the surrounding artists or extras,
make small talk, etc. The more comfortable everyone is with you,
the higher the chance you’ll be brought on for bigger future
opportunities.
Directing the talent
And extras
Directing can be very stressful if you’re a freelancer
that is managing multiple rolls (director, AC, camera op,
PA etc). This leads to a balancing act in which you’ll
have to put your foot down every now and then to take
control of a set.

If things aren’t going to plan, be mindful and ensure that

your emotions are under control. If I ever found myself
on a music video set where there were 10+ extras,
alcohol involved and a lack of cooperation, making sure
that the song I am shooting is blasting loud and on
repeat is very important.
 There have been times where I’ll finally get to
shooting a performance scene and nearing the last
10-15 seconds of the song, I’ll quickly play the
song back to the beginning and continue pointing
my camera at the artist(s) which basically forces
an extra performance/b-roll scene on the artist
without coming off as too pushy or annoying. For
video shoots that are organized, consider hiring a
fellow videographer to take reigns on playing the
song back and queueing the artist(s) when they’re
about to start a scene.
Common film terms
Call Sheet:
A list of who will be on set, each person’s role
on set, time everyone needs to be on set.

Call Time:
What time you’re required to be at specific
locations. Call time sheets will generally have
a detailed list of locations with addresses and
what time, what crew member needs to be on
a certain location set at.

Rack / Pull Focus:

Pulling focus is the adjustment of the
camera’s focus that is most commonly used in
manual focus. This job is normally assigned to
the 1st AC or first assistant.
 Gaffer Tape:
Gaffer tape is an adhesive commonly
used on film sets to stick wires or cables
to a surface without leaving behind a
sticky residue.

Speed:
When speed is called, the camera is
rolling and ready for ‘ACTION’ to be
called on set at any given moment.

Performance Scenes:
The artist(s) are singing out loud on a
music video set.
 B-roll Scene:
Secondary footage shot outside of the
primary footage. This is most commonly
known as shots of the environment, intro
portion of a video, slow motion fillers,
almost anything that doesn’t require the
artist to sing the song in front of the camera
out loud.

Action:
You know the drill!
Chapter 3
Equipment
 Gimbals
A necessary piece of equipment to increase
overall production value by adding a new
‘cinematic’ aspect to your visuals.

Gimbal Recommendation - Lower Budget

Zhiyun Weebill-S
Pros: Compact and lightweight, perfect for
small - midweight camera setups, very
reliable.
Cons: Cannot support higher weight DSLR
cameras (Canon 1DX Mark II, Lumix S1,
Lumix GH5 (with adapter), Nikon D4, etc.

Average Price: $489.00 USD

Gimbal Recommendation - Higher Budget
DJI Ronin M - My Gimbal of Choice
Pros: Supports up to 8lbs camera set ups,
greater smooth tracking stability with the
handlebar grips, top handle grip, long battery
life, quick-charging batteries, plenty of room
to attach external monitor, DJI bluetooth
assistant app is very easy to use.

Cons: Longer set up / balancing time,

requires third party purchase for a hard case,
heavier than a handheld gimbal like the
Weebill-S or Ronin-S, requires allen key,
bottom plate and screw to make operational,
not ideal for tight spaces.

Average Price: $1000.00 USD

 HANDHELD
For any camera body on the market, third party companies
will supply camera cages. Camera cages are awesome as
there are numerous mounting holes that allow you to mount
external monitors, shotgun mic, wireless transmitter, top
handle or side grips etc.

The added weight from the cage and attachments will

in turn create a more controlled and steady handheld
shot which is crucial if your camera body does not
offer IBIS (in body image stabilization)

Handheld cage recommendation: Anything from

‘Smallrig’

My Tips for Handheld Music Videos (video):

https://bit.ly/2YSYs0X
 LIGHTING
Lighting is one of the most important aspects for
music video shooting. Lighting will help tell a story
and add huge cinematic value to your visuals.

Affordable Lights
Dracast Panel Lights
These make for awesome key lights and are very affordable
if you’re on a budget.

Higher Budget Lights

Aputure 120d / 300d
The reliability, quality of build and quality of light these lights
output are a reason they’re a leading brand in the film
industry.
 VERY Tight Budget Light
Boling P1 RGB Pocket Light
This pocket light packs a punch - coming in at
only ~$140.00.

This light offers:

Full RGB spectrum, adjustable kelvin, ‘police
light’ strobe, regular strobe, digital screen,
USB-C charge and adjustable tilt arm. The tilt
arm has the option of mounting holes for a light
stand or a hot shoe plate to easily mount the
light to the top of your camera or camera cage.
Variable ND Filter
This is a piece of equipment that I never leave for a
shoot without. A variable ND filter will allow you to
perfectly adjust your exposure when shooting
outdoors on a bright, sunny day.
Without an ND filter in the middle of the day, you will
have zero control over the manual aperture, shutter
speed and ISO.

I recommend Tiffen ND filters. If you don’t know what

size ND filter you need, look up your ‘thread pitch’
either on the front of the camera lens or near the top
side of the lens. You should see a value in
millimetres.

Tiffen Variable ND Filter Average Price:

~$50.00 - $100.00 USD
Bluetooth Speakers
A MUST HAVE for music video shooters!

I highly recommend the JBL Clip 3 bluetooth

speaker.
It’s small, loud, waterproof, lasts a long time at
full volume, pairs to phones via bluetooth with
ease, and the ‘clip’ built into the speaker allows
for clipping the wireless speaker to your belt
buckle, gimbal, pant pocket, etc. which will help
with music video audio sync.

Average Price: $56.99 USD

Lens Recommendations & Why
My Favourite Music Video Lenses
and Why

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 (Canon EF)

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is amongst one of the
most popular lenses for videographers. It’s
sharp, offers just enough zoom to achieve a
relatively ‘wide angle’ shot, the ‘zoom’ is
internal, therefore the zoom can be adjusted on
a gimbal without throwing the balance of the
gimbal off. Very durable, great weight and
awesome for low light shooting!
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 (L Mount)
35mm is my go-to focal length for a
prime lens. The sharpness a prime
will portray is unbeatable. I’ve fallen
in love with Sigma’s 35mm f/1.4. For
music videos, this is a great prime
lens to use on a gimbal as it will
allow for unbelievably sharp
mid-range - close-range shots.

Average Price: $699.99 USD

 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 II
The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 is a
great music video lens for
zoomed-in shots. I will either use
the Canon 24-70mm for ‘shaky’
handheld performance scenes or
for zoomed-in slow motion b-roll.
Not only is this lens extremely
sharp for video but it also captures
extremely high quality photos!

Average Price: $1599.00 USD

 Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8
This is the sharpest zoom wide angle
lens I have ever used! This is my go-to
for wider shots. The 11mm focal
length, most commonly used in my
videos as performance scenes either
handheld or with a gimbal, is just the
perfect amount of wide focal length
before the image starts to achieve the
fisheye effect.

Average Price: $449.00 USD

My Top 5 Music Video Lenses

(video): https://bit.ly/2SQDxrx
Lower Budget Lenses I Highly
Recommend
Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8
(Wide Angle)

Canon 50mm f/1.8

(Close-Up/Mid-Range)

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8

(Ultimate Gimbal Lens)

Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8

(Bonus Lens - Amazing For Lumix
G7/GH4/GH5 Users)
CAMERA RECOMMENDATIONS
High Budget Low Budget
(No order) (No order)
Sony A7III Lumix G7
Lumix GH5 Lumix GH4
Lumix S1 Lumix G9
Lumix S1H Canon M-50
Canon 1DX Mark II Sony A6400

Camera Bag Recommendation

Lowepro Fastpack BP 250 AW II
Chapter 4
Camera Angles
Handheld techniques
High-Energy
A great time to introduce high-energy handheld shots
are during performance scenes. When the song is
upbeat and the artist has a lot of energy in front of
the camera, take full advantage of this! I like to call
this technique the ‘controlled shake effect’. Move your
camera to the beat of the song and to the artist’s
hand/body movements. For example, if the artist is
jumping up and down, move your camera up and down.
If the artist is making a lot of high energy hand
movements, try to track the movement of their hands
for a split second, move the camera back up to their
face as they continue singing then go back to tracking
the hand movements. These types of shots can be
difficult to master but once you do, you’ll pull off some
amazing shots!

Music Video Tutorial with GREAT High Energy

Handheld Examples:
https://bit.ly/2SW82fH
 Close-Up Shot
(Clean Panning gimbal Motions)
If a song you’re shooting has a calm beat and the artist’s
overall mood/vibe is calm, keep your gimbal movements laid
back and smooth. I can’t stress enough the importance of
slow, smooth and steadiness when it comes to calmer songs.
The last thing you want is to have fast-paced gimbal
movements and handheld shots which ultimately don’t
match the song you’re shooting.

A gimbal tip for smoother shots is to make sure you keep

your arms directly at your sides, ensuring that with every
step you take using a gimbal, you’re walking heel-toe,
heel-toe. If your footage is still looking a little shaky, don’t
be afraid to add a stabilizer or warp stabilizer onto your clip
when you’re editing!

Music Video Tutorial Video with Awesome Gimbal

Motion Explanations:
https://bit.ly/35Q9rK1
 Gimbal techniques
Mid-range shot
Semi-Circle Pattern
This is one of the most popular and effective gimbal movement
patterns for music videos. Once you’ve pulled focus on your
subject or set your auto-focus, you will proceed to semi-circle
around the front of the artist while they’re performing a
performance scene. I like to shoot my performance scenes from
the very beginning of the song until the very end. This may be
tough on your body due to holding a gimbal for an extended
period of time, but this will give you TONS of performance scene
footage to play around with because of how consistent the
semi-circle pattern is!

Push in - Push Out Pattern

This is by far the easiest gimbal pattern to achieve but
also extremely effective as it can be used for high energy
OR low energy performance scenes. I personally like to use
wide angle lenses for my push in - push out gimbal shots.
By doing so, I can introduce and feature the environment
that we’re filming in or simply expose every extra on the
set if there are more than a few people in the video. Push
in and push out patterns are a great starting point for
beginner gimbal users.
 360 Around The Artist
One of my favourite gimbal techniques is walking around the
artist while they’re performing a performance scene. I love
using a 35mm focal length so the background of my image
when shooting at 1/50 shutter is very blurry and is moving
fast while shooting in anywhere around 1.4 - 1.8 aperture to
achieve a nice bokeh / blurry background behind the artist.
The trick to this is to maintain your distance perfectly if
you’re shooting in manual focus and to slow down your
walking every 15 - 20 seconds as you may get pretty dizzy
when doing this technique!
 Tripod shots
Tripod shots are by far the most underrated music video shots
since gimbals became more affordable over the past few
years. With more videographers filming 99% of their music
videos with a gimbal, take advantage of standstill tripod shots
for your performance scenes. I personally love standstill
tripod shots for performance scenes and mixing in some
keyframing in post-production.

Now, imagine what your music video would look like if you
went to the extent of having high-energy handheld
movements, close-up smooth gimbal shots, mid-range gimbal
performance scenes, a 360 walk-around gimbal performance
scene AND a couple of tripod shots sprinkled in…

Sounds like a pretty serious music video to me!

Chapter 5
Post-Production
 Timeline Settings
My timeline settings on Final Cut Pro X:
4k Timeline
Frame Rate: 23.98
H.264
Editing Tips
If you’re a Final Cut Pro X editor, I have two VERY in-depth music
video editing guides
How To Edit Music Videos Part 1:
https://bit.ly/3l8NVI9
How To Edit Music Videos Part 2:
https://bit.ly/3bGosmg

Colour Grading
Filming your videos in your camera’s ‘natural’ profile
is always a good starting point. If you’re more
intermediate, I suggest shooting in specific profiles.
As a Lumix user, I love using a modified CinelikeD
setting or most commonly sticking to VLOG.
Since you have purchased this ebook, I have included
my ‘Natural VLOG Lut’ for free.
 When filming in CinelikeD or a LOG colour profile,
creating your own rec709 type LUT or finding
someone else’s rec709 type LUT is always an
awesome starting point before you start
manipulating your colouring further.

Adjusting the temperature, vectors and curves as

well as understanding how these work in tandem
will take your colour grading to another level.

Export Settings For Music Videos

Exporting from a 23.98fps timeline is crucial. A rookie
mistake is editing in a 59.98fps (60fps) timeline and
exporting the video in 59.98fps (60fps).
Make sure this doesn’t happen!

My Final Cut Pro X 4k Export Settings

3840x2160 (4k)
Better Quality
H.264
.MP4 File
Chapter 6
Business Tips
How To Get Music Video Clients
If you’re new to music videos, offering your first few
shoots for FREE will ensure you videos that will
ultimately help build a portfolio and gain PAID clients
through word of mouth.

During your first few music video shoots, you will learn
more than ever and make more mistakes than ever. Use
your first few music videos to get comfortable with your
equipment, music video environments, post production
editing and building a portfolio piece to showcase your
work.
Attending live local shows and connecting with the
performing artists after the show is finished is the best
and easiest way to make a face-to-face connection,
connect on social media on the spot and sell yourself as an
up and coming videographer who is ready to work.

I personally had a 100% success rate when i connected

with artists in person at live show events. Four of the
artists i originally connected with at live shows have been
ongoing clients of mine for 3+ years.
 Your Social Media is Your Resume
Posting your music video work to Instagram or Facebook is
key for gaining local and out-of-city/state attention for
potential clients.
Never underestimate who COULD be watching your social
media pages!
Be Present in Local Studios
Establishing relationships with music producers is a great
access to working with artists. If you establish a good
connection with a studio producer, there’s a good chance
they will recommend your video services to the artists they
work with in the studio. This is a great passive word of
mouth technique.
Cold Call Messaging Artists
DMing and Facebook messaging artists your work, works!
My approach for this is to shoot the artist a message along
the lines of ‘Hey! I’m a local music videographer in
__________. I was listening to your SoundCloud the other day
and really dig your sound and style. If you’re interested in a
music video for the song you made ___________, consider
hitting me up and we can come up with a treatment and
make it happen!’
 Connecting with Videographers: Collaboration is KEY
You never know when you’ll need a camera operator, director, PA,
behind the scenes shooter etc. on your set last minute.
Establishing relationships and friendships with other videographers
locally can lead to them hiring you for paid jobs involving music
videos or any type of video genre in general.
Collaborating with videographers has not only landed me bigger paid
video contracts, but has made me lifetime friendships.
Upselling Photography on Set
This has been huge for scoring music video clients. If a client is
on the fence with your pricing, I will always up-sell ‘free
photography on set’ where the artist can use the photos I take of
them as cover art for their song and social media posting at no
extra charge. Normally taking photos takes me an extra 15
minutes on set and 30 minutes to edit. Yes, it’s extra time in
post-production and on set, but if it lands me a full budget music
video, I’ll take it!

If the artist is still not willing to budge, you can offer behind the
scenes photography/video which can either be done by a
videographer friend of yours or by someone who is hired to shoot
BTS at an hourly wage. This is a HUGE selling feature that may
attract business due to the amount of ‘free’ value you’re
providing.
 By re-purposing the behind the scenes footage that I
captured early in my career, I was able to develop
tutorial-based videos that I have posted to my YouTube
channel. Artists have hired me as a result of my YouTube
following since they had the opportunity to get to know my
work by watching my music video VLOG content.
Deposit / Secure a Date
To ensure that an artist won’t cancel last minute, I
take an initial 50% non-refundable deposit prior to
booking the date of the music video shoot. This not
only makes the artist take the day of the shoot
seriously, but also ensures they will shoot the video
with you and not steal your treatment to shoot the
video with another videographer as your deposit is
NON-REFUNDABLE.
I believe that this has been the safest and most
effective method for booking music videos.
 Properly Invoicing a Client Via
Quickbooks
If you’re a freelancer, it is VERY important that
you’re running your books legally and properly.
I myself am a self taught filmmaker and
entrepreneur. If I can figure out an accounting
software such as Quickbooks, literally anybody
can. I recommend Quickbooks to log your
receipts, keep track of accounts receivables
(clients who haven’t paid off your video
services yet), track gas mileage to and from
shoots, and so much more. Quickbooks also
has a ton of support videos that can be found
for free on YouTube if you run into any
questions. I personally pay an accountant
$200-300/month to log into my Quickbooks
account and make sure my accounting is nice
and tidy!
 Create a Highlight Reel (Showcase Your Work)
A highlight reel showcases the best of the best shots
you’ve taken over the course of your video career and
acts as your video portfolio.
This gives artists and artist management a good idea
of what you’re capable of.

Here is an example of what my video highlight reel

looks like. This highlight reel alone has persuaded a
handful of artists to book shoots with me.

Our 2021 Highlight Reel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J
ilQ6t1HEvM
 Learn Freelance Filmmaking Music Video Course
If you found value in our music video e-book, be sure to
check out our online music video course packed with over
200 video lessons. Our music video course includes: The
Basics of Filmmaking, Pre-Production, Equipment, Lighting,
Performance Scenes, B-roll, Camera Operating, Directing,
Additional On Set Knowledge, Cellphone Section, Editing
Sections Featuring Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro and
DaVinci Resolve, Business & Development, and fitness
exercises for filmmakers.

Purchase My Music Video Course Here:

https://www.learnfreelancefilmmaking.com/offers
/nVAAqofj
 OUTRO

Thank you for looking through my Music Video Guide!

I hope that this guide serves to provide you with a

wide variety of knowledge that you are able to apply to
your music video work in the future. Whether you
gathered a few extra tips and tricks or are just
entering the industry, I wish you the best of luck with
your future music video shoots!

Thank you for your ongoing support - peace!

RoyalZ
 References
Budai, R. (2017, December 23). Guide to Understanding

Aperture. Retrieved June 17, 2020, from

https://wildartistic.com/guide-understanding-aperture/

Nikon. (n.d.). DSLR Camera Basics. Retrieved June 17, 2020,

from

https://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/basics/04/03.htm

Rowse, D. (2019, July 22). ISO Settings in Digital Photography.

Retrieved June 17, 2020, from

https://digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings/