Create Stunning Music Videos on a Budget: Tips and Tricks
Music videos are a huge part of today's culture as streams for popular songs continue to explode. In the past, music videos were used to get people excited about an artist or song. Nowadays, music videos view counts can show an artists popularity and also make them more accessible to their fans. For example, the music video for "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee was streamed on YouTube more than 5 billion times! The good news is that nowadays you can create your own music video with even with a small budget if you know what to do. Let's take a look at a few ways to make this happen.
Choose your location wisely.
Location is one of the most important choices for production value. Choose your location wisely, and you can make a great video with almost any budget. Here are some tips:
Choose a location that comes with what you need to make your video. For example, if you need green screen, lighting, and/or props, look for something that already has them on-site. Otherwise all of those things will have to be rented or purchased—and depending on your needs this cost can quickly become expensive.
Use a location that provides multiple looks. For instance, think about using an old warehouse as a backdrop for an industrial music video—it'll give it an authentic look without having to spend time shooting on site at an actual factory! Additionally, filming both inside and outside the warehouse can offer you the multiple looks you desire.
You want to keep the number of locations down as much as possible, ideally only one or two at most. The fewer locations you use for filming, the less money it will cost you in travel expenses and production costs like location permits and rentals (if needed) - as well as shortening the production day by keeping the number of company moves to a minimum.
Keep it simple.
There are a number of ways to keep your video simple. The first thing is to choose a theme or story that doesn't require too many special effects. If you're going to be doing your own music video, it's best not to go crazy with special effects because they can get expensive quickly.
Another key point here is wardrobe. How many costumes do you need? Ideally this number is kept as low as possible without compromising theme, character development or storyline clarity. Three wardrobe changes should be enough for just about any low budget music video, but keep in mind that if there are multiple characters in your scene then each person may require additional changes depending on the kind of scene.
Use Your Resources
Being creative and using your resources will go a long way!
Ask friends and family for favors.
Barter for access to gear, props, locations, and anything else you may need.
Do not skip out on food if people are working for low or no pay. It's worth it to bring them lunch from time to time if they have been working hard all day.
Take on additional responsibilities yourself to save money (for example: can you do your own makeup, set design, location scouting?)
Have fun!
While you’re working on the music video, make sure that everyone is having fun. The energy on set will show in the final product, so keep things lighthearted and positive. This is sometimes easier said than done when you’re working with a tight budget and limited resources, but it’s important to remember that making music videos isn’t an exact science. If something doesn’t work out perfectly during production, don't sweat it!
If anything goes wrong while filming your music video (and sometimes even if everything goes right), just laugh it off and move on. It's better to have a finished product with some flaws than no finished product at all!
With the right mindset and a little preparation, you can create music videos on a budget that look like they cost much more than what you actually spent.
We hope this article has helped shed some light on how to make quality music videos without breaking the bank! If you're ready to get started on your music video, contact us today to set up a free 30 minute consultation.