With any music video, there’s always going to be audio with visuals attached to it. Evidently, without a visual component, it wouldn’t be a music video now would it? The music industry can be quite image-driven which is why your music video production needs to be of the highest quality each and every time. Originality, lighting, shot style and selection really matters in video production development. When a music video resonates with audiences and brings forth emotions, that’s what can make it go viral. A video production needs to be well- thought-out and planned, so here’s what you need to know when planning and executing a music video.

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Come up with a concept and overall vision:

Listening to the song over and over can help the producer and videographer come up with a storyline for the music video. When conceptualizing, the team will want to ensure that the video will blow people away, both emotionally and visually.

Create a storyboard:

This is when the team knows what the look, feel and style is of the video. They outline the main idea and focus on the details of the story. Afterwards, this is when they would share their ideas with the artist and label to get their opinions on it. 

*NOTE* If you are a producer, it’s always a good idea to have a couple back-up plans just in case the first idea didn’t meet the vision.

Pre-production:

The team has set the groundwork, what’s next? During this phase, the producer, director and videographer must conduct their research and planning in an organized fashion to set the video project up to be successful. There will be some meetings that’ll discuss elements like location, end goals, budget, timeline, talent, equipment, and production team. If a label chooses to work with a video production company, this is where they will communicate things like target audience, tone, feel and branding of the final piece. 

As for the location of the shoot, it’s never a bad idea to visit the site beforehand so the label, artist and production team can see the idea come to life. Scheduling is the last part of this phase. So, once the storyline is approved, scripts are vetted, talent and location is booked, you can now go ahead and schedule the dates and times for the shoot. 

Shooting and production:

This is the fun part! The story that was planned at the beginning is now coming to life. During this phase, all the right shots will be captured and all specific visions will be included to produce the one final piece. To ensure that the production goes smoothly, videographers are very focused and stick to the plan they created. The key takeaway here is that you can never have too much footage. Think of it this way, it’s better to have too much than too little, right? Otherwise, you could get into a bit of trouble if you run out of shots. Big yikes! Overall, this is a fun and creative process that shows off a videographer’s skills and an artist’s talents.

Post-production:

It’s editing time! During the post-production phase, the video production team will begin the process of organizing, editing audio/visuals and executing the final piece. The editor carefully reviews all the footage that was taken and pieces together the best shots that tells the story in a visually appealing way. As the team puts together the final story, audio and visuals, the artist excitedly awaits to see the end product piece.

One of the most rewarding things for artists is seeing their music and hard work come to life. This process takes some time and creativity, so don't expect that it will happen overnight.

Keep in mind that every production company has different timelines for the post-production process.

What’s next? Usually, once the video is edited, it's time to review the work. If there are revisions to be made, the editor will get to it and vet what needs to be fixed. After that comes the final delivery of the music video. You now have the final piece and it turned out incredible so, of course you will want to share this everywhere you possibly can! 

This now leads to the promoting and marketing process. Which platforms would you like to share your music video on? Luckily, artists are faced with a few options such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. The marketing of a music video is a whole other thing on it’s own, but again, artists and labels can work with digital marketing company to get their production piece out there for audiences to see.

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