Seven Tips for Making a Music Video
You want to make a music video but don't know where to start? Here's some first step strategies.

Making awesome songs is the best way to build a solid fanbase. When you release an album with zero skip songs, you're guaranteed to enjoy success. That said, you can make your song or album an even bigger hit. All it takes is a great video. Good music can transport your listeners to different places with great melodies and lyrics. A video, however, tells the story with visuals. It brings your lyrics to life and gives your audience a fuller picture of what is going through your mind.

Making a Music video is easier than done, however. As effective as it can be, it's often easy to get wrong, especially when you have a limited budget. Just as a good video can do great things for your song, a bad video can kill all the hype around it. So you don't want to rush into making a video as soon as possible. Instead, understand what it takes and hit the ground running.

In this article, I'll share seven simple tips for making music videos even if you have a limited budget. Let's do it.

Pick the right song

If you're releasing an album, your decision on which song to make a video for is crucial. You ideally want your video to feed off the hype of the song first before it garners enough attention on its own. As a beginner, you want to use the biggest hit from your album. You already know the audience loves it, so give them more.

As the hype from the song starts to reduce, release a video and drive the streaming numbers back up.

Decide what style you want

What kind of video would you like to make? Would you like an abstract video? Would you rather have a dance video? You have to pick the style you prefer because it will affect many of your decisions down the line. That said, there are things to consider when picking a style for your video. You don't want to have a style that doesn't suit your song. For example, a movie-style video is great, but only if your lyrics are telling a story.

NF is one of my personal favorites. His music videos are usually cinematic, from the music to the pictures. His lyrics are always in perfect sync so it always comes out great. Imagine he tried to make an abstract video while telling a story. That would make no sense.

Don't worry about simplicity. No matter what style you go for, you can make it simple and low-budget.

Make a storyboard

A storyboard is awesome for planning your video. It involves frame-by-frame sketches of what the video should look like. As an outline is for articles, so is a storyboard for videos. Before you start filming, you need to have a picture of what you want in your head. Instead of rushing to get your camera, sketch it first. This allows you to evaluate the image you have in mind and also gives you a clear path to follow when filming begins.

If you don't want to end up making something chaotic and disjointed, get that storyboard. You don't have to be the best of artists to have one. You won't post it to the public. It's for your personal use.

Make a mood board

All too often, we focus only on the motions in the video. Artists build an amazing storyboard and go straight to shooting. There's one important thing missing, however. It's not enough to know what the scene should look like. You also need to set the right mood. Are you angry? Sad? Happy? What's the mood of the video? How does the mood from one scene transition to the next? These are all important questions that help you create a better video.

The mood of the video will affect everything from your attitude to the lighting. So don't just focus on the storyboard. Attach a mood board to help you nail that video.

Pick the right location

Another important thing many upcoming artists neglect when planning for their videos is the location. As obvious as it might look, most artists think they can just make a video in their houses or the park. These are not bad locations, but how does it match your style? Does it fit with your message? These are all factors you must have when picking a location for your video. Is the video for a love song? Are you just ranting about social injustice? Maybe your song is about drug abuse and mental health.

When making your next video, make sure you're not just thinking of the easiest place to go. Get creative. Make a special video.

Nail the lighting

Generally, I advise most upcoming artists to film during the day when the natural light and some decent editing are enough to get you what you want. If you must film at night, however, you have to get the lighting right. Otherwise, your video will make for some terrible viewing. Here are some lighting tips for you.

Your worst enemy when filming at night is shadows. You want to avoid them as much as possible. Overhead lighting is almost sure to cast shadows in some weird angles so you should avoid that. As much as you hate shadows, you can use them to good effect. Angle the light at your subject from one angle and film the dark side. This gives your video a deeper cinematic feel.

Don't copy

As much as you get inspiration from different people, don't copy. All the best artists have their style, so you must find yours too. NF is great at his green-lit background and cinematic music videos, and Coldplay is great at its colorful videos. The one thing you want to avoid as an artist is being pegged as unoriginal. Avoid it at all costs because a label like that could be the death of your career.

Final Thoughts

Making a music video can do wonders for your music career. If you can nail how to do it right, you'll be flying. You don't need a massive budget. You don't need a big crew. All you need is a small team of creatives with the right vision and execution. I look forward to seeing your next video go viral.