You Ought to Be in Pictures

Nov 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Levine

           
 

HOW TO MAKE A LOW-BUDGET, DIY MUSIC VIDEO

BONUS MATERIAL
More Tips on D.I.Y. Videos

In the glory days of MTV and VH1, a recording artist needed a record deal and a fistful of major-label cash to produce a music video that would be seen by the masses. Today, that's no longer the case. The convergence of inexpensive digital-video technology, broadband Internet, and Web-based video sites — YouTube in particular — has made self-producing a credible music video and making it available worldwide a realistic goal.

Will your DIY video have the production values and the audience reach of one of the classic video hits from the MTV days? Almost certainly not. But your video can still have a positive impact on your act's promotion, and there's always the potential for it to become a viral favorite that gets spread all around the Web.

You won't need a ton of gear to produce your video. You will need a digital video camera (consumer cameras work fine) and professional video-editing software such as Apple Final Cut Studio, Adobe Premiere, or Sony Vegas Pro. (Consumer video applications such as Apple iMovie typically don't have the features necessary for some of the techniques described in this story.) Two more essential ingredients are ingenuity and creativity.

If you're not sure you want to do it all yourself, a good option is to find a budding director or film student willing to direct your project at little or no cost. In return for giving you time and expertise, this person will get to use your video on his or her demo reel (for more on this option, see the online bonus material “Catch a Rising Director” at emusician.com).

To get real-world details on the subject of DIY music videos, I spoke with a number of people experienced in making them. George Petersen not only is the executive editor of Mix, but also has produced and directed many music videos and has extensive audio-engineering experience. Michael Coleman of Colemanfilm Media Group has directed music videos and live videos for musical artists such as Ozomatli, David Grey, KT Tunstall, Counting Crows, and the Matches. Tony Swansey has directed indie music videos for Manna and Quail and Ericson, among others. I will also present several examples of music videos that were produced on shoestring budgets and that feature techniques you can apply to your own productions.

Decisions, Decisions

The first thing you'll need to decide is what kind of video you want to make. Will it capture your live performance, or will it be a concept video, where you're lip-syncing to a song from your CD while on a beach, in a warehouse, on a street corner, or in some other interesting location?

These are two very different types of productions, each with its own challenges. This article will focus on making concept videos, but you can read about techniques for shooting a live-performance video in the online bonus material “Shooting a Live Video.”

A concept video allows you to go beyond just showing a band performing. You can add a secondary story line to it, which can make a video more engaging, especially if your band isn't particularly dynamic in its stage presence or performance skills. One big advantage of a concept video is that you don't have to worry about recording the song, because you're using a track from your CD as the audio. That gives you the freedom to shoot in locations that would never work if you had to capture quality audio as well.

What's the Idea?

Not surprisingly, the first thing you'll need for your concept video is a concept. Don't even think about picking up a camera until you have the whole video planned out, down to the shots you'll be using (even the camera angles if possible). Naturally, you can change things on location, but you should have a pretty good idea of what you're doing going in.

One critical factor that can dictate the concept of your video is the type of locations available to you. “Just about everybody has access to some kind of location that would be really cool,” says Petersen. “And sometimes it's cool to script your music video, your concept video, around such a location. Like if you have access to a steel mill and you go, ‘Wow, why don't we use the steel mill as a backdrop and shoot it in there?’ Or you have access to a classroom. Locations like that can give you a lot of production value even though you don't have any money.”

Swansey agrees. “If you have access to actors or old cars or anything that will provide any sort of production values, just exploit it,” he says. However, if you're shooting on someone else's property, Coleman advises that you get what's called a location release and have it signed by the property owner. This document (you can find generic versions online) gives you permission to use the property, generally limits your liability to the property owner, and clarifies various legal issues that could arise from your video shoot.

Sketch It Out

Once you've figured out a basic concept and a location, it's time to get specific with your planning. A good way to get your ideas together is by making a storyboard, which is a graphical depiction of the various scenes and actions in a video. “A storyboard is really easy,” says Petersen. “It's like a comic strip. You say, ‘All right, what is my first shot going to be?’ You can do a storyboard and then deviate from it, if you want, once you get on location.”