Thinking of making a music video to promote your next single? Searching online for music video solutions and coming up with nothing? Even if you have no idea what a music video production company does, the following guide will give you the inside track. Read on to find out how music video production companies work and discover one of the most important things you can do for your next music video – get it made by a professional!
With an increasing number of musicians recording, releasing, and distributing their music without the help of record labels, the number of indie resources available is also exploding. So, if you’re thinking of going indie with your next release, you’ll have no problem finding a music video production company that suits your needs.
In case you’re still wondering, here’s a quick rundown of all those pesky details that music production companies will take care of so you can get a stress-free, high-quality music video and give your next release its best possible chance of success.
Getting Started
When you decide to hire a video production company, you’ll be collaborating with them at several different stages of your music video production. In the pre-production stage, you’ll work with the director and the storyboard artist to map out your vision. This will give everyone involved a chance to see the video scenes in sequence and understand how each scene flows into the next.
Your production company might also provide a screenwriter. Their job is to write a kind of script that outlines everything that happens in the video. It will also provide details of where everyone and everything needs to be as you progress through the action.
Depending on how many other people you need to include in your video concept, you might also need a casting director to cast the right people in the various roles. However, this might not be necessary if you intend to have only yourself or yourself and other band members in the video.
You might also need an art director who will make sure the photographic and visual elements of the video look great, and a set director to ensure that all elements of the set and props are in the right place, according to the script.
In some cases, where you might have a few unusual elements in your video, you might also need a conceptual artist on your team, to work on concept development and figure out how to produce any special effects, graphics, or otherworldly concepts and illusions.
Filming on a Budget
If you’re working with a small budget, you might choose to provide your own costumes, but some production companies will also provide a costume designer who will either design your costumes or come up with ideas that will help you to make, find or source them from your own band resources.
There’s a lot that can be taken care of by the band or even the solo artist. For example, you may not need a prop master if you can be highly organised or get a friend to manage props for you. You might not need a location scout if you’ve already found a great location for your shoot. You will, however, need a lighting designer.
The production company you work with will need to be skilled at making sure the lighting is perfect for your shoot and that lighting continuity is respected. Without good lighting design, your production will very quickly look like an amateur effort. It won’t necessarily be obvious to the untrained eye exactly why it looks a bit rough around the edges. But it will not make a good impression.
High Production Values
Your production team’s video director will direct the video, making sure all the elements involved are dovetailing smoothly together and the filming is carried out professionally and efficiently. They will also have an assistant to help with any details they might miss while filming.
The production assistant will make sure everyone is where they need to be and has everything they need to make the production run smoothly.
Large-scale music video production services will also use a camera operator, camera assistants, a director of photography, a great sound mixer, a boom operator, lighting technicians, runners, grips, hairstylists, make-up artists, choreographers, and an entire post-production team to edit the finished video and add any special effects.
Your music video production team will grant you access to a level of professionalism and high production values that would never be attainable with a DIY production. They will also remove the worry and stress of wondering how it’s all going to turn out.
They’ll provide you with a team of professionals whose contribution will create those high production values that we take for granted in movies, professional video productions and award-winning tv commercials.
Of course, not every production will need to have this many people involved. There are always ways to cut down on the size of the team. It’s a good idea to research each of these roles thoroughly before deciding what you may or may not need for your production. For example, if you’re planning to shoot the video in your home, wearing your own clothes, with yourself as the only cast member, you’ll be working with an entirely different set of variables than you would encounter in a multi-cast production, filmed in the desert, with an elaborate story concept involving stunts, cartoon characters, a couple of hobbits, and a large gospel choir.
Keeping it Simple
It’s a good idea to remember that for every rule explained in this guide so far, probably every single one has been broken at some point and still, great art has been produced! The most important thing is to produce music videos that look and sound amazing. You can get a very impressive video made, simply by combining excellent lighting and camera work with great music, good performances and high-quality sound engineering.
Talk everything over with your production company of choice and figure out what your individual needs are, so you can work out a sensible budget. Getting your band’s video made professionally might not cost as much as you think it will. Plus, the time you’ll save on trying to figure out how to do it yourself could save you tons of money in the long run.
Will your video production company fly you off to some exotic location by private jet? Probably not. Can you provide them with a rider? NO! But you will get a broadcast-quality music video that will promote your single and look amazing anywhere.
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