The Art of Making a Music Video (page 2)
Locations & Logistics
As with any video production, every time you envision multiple locations, the more pre-production planning is required. This is certainly also the case when you're making a music video. Depending on the complexity of your treatment, you will have to make sure your locations have ample power and space for crew, musical equipment, and any other props you pictured as part of your musical masterpiece. Depending on the location(s), it's also likely that you are going to draw a fair amount of attention from curious passers-by. Having the proper permissions and paperwork from either the property owner or your city or county government will save you tons of hassle and help to keep your vision alive.
Audio Playback
Synchronizing audio is a true art (particularly when making a music video), but you don't need to invest in digital slates or big budget audio gear to make sure you have proper sync in your video. However, if you plan on doing any sort of lip and instrument synching, good technique is a vital part of your finished product.
You will most likely be using a studio recording of the song you're highlighting in your video. Naturally, then, this means that the sound you're picking up on the camera microphone is not going to be the final mix you'll need for the finished product. While there are tons of ways to accomplish the same task, splitting your song into segments and marking in-points of each segment with "two-pops" is a method which always seems to work fairly well, even under the most low-budget circumstances.
This means, prior to shooting your video, examine the song thoroughly. Find natural breaks in the song; then, using the editing software of your choice, cut the song up into parts and add an audio countdown to each segment. The audio countdown usually works best as a series of beeps with the last beep, the number two in your countdown, different from the previous beeps. After the last beep, add one second of silence and then begin the segment of the song. This gives everyone on set a cue to start performing for the camera and, working with the same CD, it gives the editor a cue for proper sync. With this method, you can use any CD player to serve as the audio guide for the shoot. Splitting the song up into segments means you don't have to keep running through the entire song with every take. Doing so will wear you, your crew and your performers out in a hurry.
As stated, there are tons of ways to achieve proper sync; this is only one of them. Do some research and find the method that works best for you. There's nothing wrong with a little technical experimentation, as long as you have your ducks in a row prior to your shoot.
Finding Clients
Nearly all musicians dream of being in a music video. This makes finding willing participants relatively easy. Just cruise your local instrument shop or scan the local papers and you're bound to find some newly-formed wunderkind group with an eye on stardom to let you direct their first video. And, if you've never directed a music video, this is the perfect client for you. There won't be much of a budget, if any, but finding such an act will get your feet wet and provide the breathing room to make the mistakes you'll want to get out of the way before you move on to bigger names. Working with new acts is also a way to build your music video reel. Eventually, your skills will improve, and you'll have a nice cache of work to pull from. You can use this to promote your abilities of making a muisc video to bigger musical acts and hopefully pave your way to music video stardom.
Side Bar
Michael Fitzer is an award-winning director and producer. He has produced music videos for major labels and aspiring new artists.
Making a Music Video and Lincensing Issues
Licensing is always a complicated issue. No one on the Videomaker staff or this writer is a legal expert, and only your own attorney can advise you on your particular situation. Laws vary from state to state. Even if you do your research, it's best to obtain the advice of a professional entertainment attorney before signing any documents.
