How to Create Your Own Music Video

Once an actual song has been written, played and recorded, the video should be the easy part in comparison. Music video's are just a short film which can involve shots of the singer constructed together to either form a short story about the song, or give a person something entertaining to watch while listening to the music.

Generally they are just used as a marketing device to promote either the band/singer or the song involved. Most songs are only a few minutes long, so creating footage for it shouldn't be too difficult or challenging in comparison to a two-hour documentary about Big Foot.

Music video's can be created with a variety of media from animation, live footage or even abstract. If you are considering making one, it should be the medium that you are most comfortable with.

Animation might be easier, but only if you have the programs and know how to use them. Without having to worry about lighting, cameras and people, animation is probably the easiest route to do, as the only real person involved, once you have the song, is the animator. You can decide what you want and have full control over how you want it to look.

In production, getting the right equipment is going to cost a person. However, there are some places, with a bit of research, where you could probably loan the right tools necessary. Standard equipment would include camera, sound and lighting equipment.

Having sound equipment might seem a bit strange, as you are probably going to just play the song over the video. However, if the movie is going to be story based, think how odd it will be for people to be walking without hearing their shoes tap on the ground. There are a lot of general noises that a person wouldn't think were there until they are not.

A location for the shoot can also be problematic if it is a public scene. In some parts of the world, you would need to get permits for a film to be shot. Especially if shooting the film will cause a roadblock or be disruptive to the general public.

The angle of the camera needs to be taken into consideration, as well as how to get the angle. An overhead shot, will have to be taken from a point of height, so a ladder or access to a second story of a building would help. To capture footage of a person walking is easier done if the camera is on some type of wheel device. This makes the camera movement smooth, instead of if being moved up and down with the person who holding the camera, while walking backwards.

Although the music video, once completed, might only be a few minutes long, the general idea when taking footage is an hour worth of footage for a minute's worth of video. Editing is also something that people new, to the industry of film, always forget about. But it is the editing that probably is the most important aspect.

It is here where if any special effects need to be created, are made. Colour, lighting and effects are all done in this step. Decisions on how to go from one shot to another needs to be considered, as well as any text that needs to be used.

There is no real way of making a simple music video. This is only the technical side of things that need to be taken into consideration, but they are just the basics. Any singers or actors starring in the movie need to consider their positions, their movements as well as what they are wearing.

The whole process needs to be thought out from beginning to end. Although music videos can be created without spending too much, just remember that once the video has been made, the real job of promoting the song begins.