Making a Music Video ▷ 10 Key Tips

10 tips for making a Music Video

Simon on 5. November 2024 reading time: 5 Min

An eye-catching music video is one of the best ways to promote a song. From freaky dance clips to intimate performances, music videos on YouTube and other platforms can help to ensure that your music receives the attention it deserves. We have 10 tips for you on what you should look out for when producing a music video.

1. Choose the right song

No matter how good the video, it all comes down to the right song. Choose your strongest song – the one that consistently gets the best response from your friends and fellow musicians. The song should represent you – and your band if you have one –, it should be instantly recognizable and catch the listeners’ attention even without a video.

2. Think about the style of your music video

Start planning your music video by deciding what should happen in it. Do you want to tell a story, should the video show you dancing or your band performing on stage, or do you have something completely abstract in mind? Ask yourself these questions: “What are the current trends?”, “What suits the song?”, and “How do I want to portray myself?”. And, very importantly: “What makes my video special so it stands out from the rest?”

3. It’s all a question of format

You should also think about the format beforehand. Are you shooting in landscape format for YouTube or even TV? Portrait mode for shorts and social media? Or perhaps in 1:1 format for an advert? Sure, you could choose the largest possible format and then crop the video later. But then you’ll have to make compromises that can make your video look unprofessional.

4. Write a storyboard or screenplay

Simply picking up the camera and starting to shoot can work, but it usually backfires. When it comes to editing at the latest, you might realise that you have shot far too little footage and that essential shots are missing. Songs are getting shorter and shorter these days, but even filling two or three minutes requires a lot of footage. Write an outline of the scenes you want to shoot and from which angles. Be sure to include their approximate lengths to ensure that you have enough material.

5. Go location scouting

Your exceptional song naturally calls for one or more equally exceptional locations. Whether you want to shoot outdoors, in a building, or perhaps in front of a green screen, there’s always a perfect location – you just have to find it. You probably already have a few ideas in mind in your surroundings. But it’s always better to look at these locations again specifically with the premise that you want to shoot a music video there. And for all outdoor shots, as always: don’t leave any traces other than your footprints.

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6. Light makes all the difference!

Lighting is what sets a good music video apart from a snapshot or an impromptu clip. Look for lights that let you adapt the colour temperature to the surroundings. It’s not just about illuminating a location. Even when filming outdoors in sunlight, well-placed light on the main characters creates more depth. Targeted lighting allows you to set accents and the interplay of shadow and light can take your music video to a much higher level. It is best to enlist at least one crew member who is only responsible for the light.

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7. Make-up makes you look larger than life

A music video always creates an illusion. And that also means that everyone in front of the camera deserves to look a little better than nature might have created them – if that’s even possible, of course 😉 But even if you’re naturally beautiful, a dash of powder will prevent your skin from shining in the spotlight and make the interplay of light and shadow even more impressive. Here too, one person should be responsible, briefly checking all the protagonists in front of the camera before each scene and applying make-up or powder if necessary.

8. Choosing the right camera

Now it’s time for the shoot and that brings us to the choice of camera! Yes, you can shoot in decent quality with a smartphone now. But the fundamental problem remains even today: compared to professional cameras, smartphones have tiny sensors that require a lot of light to capture low-noise images. Moreover, a camera with interchangeable lenses and fixed focal lengths delivers more sophisticated images in cinematic quality. It’s also much easier to control the image when shooting with an external monitor that connects to the camera so you don’t miss any details.

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9. You’re the star!

Very important: Almost everything sells better through people, including music. So you or your band should be at the centre of the music video! Don’t be shy! Stand by your music and show it to the whole world. This will make your music more credible and increase your chances of success.

10. Take your time while editing

Don’t underestimate post-processing. Great scenes can still be boring if they are edited too slowly or incorrectly. And if the editing is too hectic, nothing remains of the images. The editing should follow the rhythm of the music. Show your edits of the music video to your friends and ask them what they think. If in doubt, it’s better to go back and continue to make improvements until the video has the right flow.