A music video director is in charge of the filming and creative process of a music video. Generally, music video directors are hired by an artist, a record label, or in some cases individually by the manager. In this case, you're probably an indie artist interested in hiring a director for your next music video, so we'll help you with how to do it and what to consider.

Even if you have a band, stay and read this article. It can also help you!

The importance of hiring a music video director

As you may already know, inside the music industry the best way to promote your music is through music videos. All artists who release albums usually have three or two songs with music videos. It's part of the art.

Maybe it wasn't taken into account before, but in the last 10 years having a music video on the Youtube platform can boost your music career to the highest level, since the algorithm exposes your music to thousands of people who don't know your work... and that can bring new fans!

There's probably an artist or band you met because of a music video. I think we've all been there, it's quite common. Music videos have become part of the music culture, every year hundreds of song videos come out and they even look like Hollywood movies! They are well-produced, all thanks to the directors and the team behind them.

Imagine having the opportunity to create a video for your song with a director, and being able to explore your creativity to the fullest. In a simple five-minute video you can put everything you want, it's amazing!

However, one of the first things you should know is that music video shoots are more complicated than they seem, they are usually done in 6 or 12-hour sessions. Or in extreme cases, they can last a whole day. This means that when it's time to start the recording sessions, you should work as soon as possible to not lose hours of shooting.

You must also choose with the director the costume changes (if necessary), the location of the shooting, the special effects, or the animation in case you want to add it.

Now that you know this, here are some tips you can follow to choose the right music director:

Get the right place to hire your music video director

The first thing you should do is to search on the internet for music video directors who are available. You can do this on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, or PeoplePerHour. Make sure you check their profiles, make sure they are real people.

In this type of job, you can get a lot of people who want to try to scam you, so be very careful.

Once you get the profiles of some directors that catch your attention, just send them a message through the platform (or via Gmail) and get in touch as soon as possible.

You'll want someone with experience, creativity, and knowledge of industry standards.

Make sure it's a responsible person

Making a music video with a director can be decisive for your music career as an indie artist, you are not only investing money in your art, but you are also trusting someone else to make the video you want. For this reason, you must be attentive to who you are going to hire, we recommend you work with a director who has previous experience and is reliable. Someone responsible and professional, so you will avoid any kind of problem.

We already mentioned something about the next tip, but... it’s important to talk about it more in-depth.

When it comes to investing money, do it wisely

Although music videos vary in price, we know that as an indie artist you are on a tight budget. A small music video can range from $500 to $10,000. So yes, make sure you have a budget.

But most importantly, you should know in advance what you want in the video, so you can have an idea of how much more or less it might cost you.

If you don't have much budget, don't worry. You can reach an agreement with the director and without spending so much money you can make an amazing video. Many artists manage to create music videos with millions of views with a short budget…

Remember that the important thing is to do it right, not how much money you spend! With a lot of dedication, you can make an amazing music video.

To give you an example of what a good music video is, we made a list so you can see the best ones that have existed in the entire music industry:

• Thriller by Michael Jackson
• Fell in Love With a Girl by The White Stripes
• Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz
• Take on me by A-Ha
• Do the Evolution by Pearl Jam
• All The Small Things by Blink-182

Above all else they must have an eye for capturing emotion in their work.

Conclusion

Making a music video will make you feel very proud, it’s one of the best experiences you can have. Once you work with a music video director, you have the opportunity to make a name for yourself in the film world (or at least try). If you manage to establish a good relationship with the director, he may be willing to work with you again on another project you have in mind.

It may even help you get potential actors who can act in your next videos. Imagine one day having a well-known actor in a music video of yours - that would be wonderful!

Note: Although this article is mainly based on how to hire a music video director, we can't leave out the fact that in extreme cases...you can make the music video by yourself. Of course, it is not the recommended thing to do.

The director is a professional who is used to doing this kind of work constantly, so he has experience. However, many indie artists at the beginning of their careers have made their videos themselves, and when they achieve more fame is when they hire a director.

We hope you found these tips useful, and if you know any artist who doesn't know how to hire a director, send them this article!

Before we finish we would like to know something, what is your favorite music video? And why?