DIY Music Video Tips

With the explosive growth of YouTube, the video iPod and perhaps MySpace, more people are discovering how easy it is to create a video that’s viewed by lots of people. Why not you? It can be as simple as using your camera phone with video, capturing a minute, and uploading to your YouTube account. Lots of people are sharing and contributing creatively. When this happens, as Louis Armstrong sang it so well, “It’s a Wonderful World”.

**update: Check out the Flip Ultra Camera, with easy USB plug in to your computer. Also, http://www.coffeecup.com/video-recorder/
has a web video recorder that can easily record videos for You Tube and MySpace.**

Weigh the pros and cons of producing a music video.

Currently, most music videos are not commercially sold, unlike a record or a download through iTunes. Making a professional-looking music video is not that cheap, but it can be a wonderful promotional tool. The clearer your vision is, the happier you will be with your results.

If you belong to the musician union, there are different compensation rates depending on your project. Contact your union for clarification. I wanted to include my musicians friends visually for the music video, but when I brought it up to the union, they called it “sidelining” and therefore it would have bumped the fees up significantly. It was fine to record the music however.

Each local sets the rate. In addition to musician compensation, you may need to contribute to pension and cartage. And check whether you send the forms to the Electronic Media in Los Angeles or to your local.

People are willing to help you especially if they like your project. You just have to ask. We found the Montgomery Park event planner in Portland to be pleasant and reasonable. After we explained to them about the music video project, we negotiated a fair rate to rent the building. We’re happy that they support local artists and musicians.

Hire an experienced director who understands and believes in what you are doing. My director Takafumi is a musician, which makes it so much easier to talk about the music score and what visual elements we want to add at a certain measure, cadenza, or phrase. In addition, he knows a lot of creative people who can assist in this project.

In choosing a director it’s important to check their portfolio and other music videos they have done because you can sense their style and find out whether it fits with your ideas.

Add at least fifteen percent to the total estimated amount to your budget. There are plenty of expenses that can creep up which you may have forgotten about. For instance, for the film shoot, do you require someone to style your hair, or could you care less? What about a certain location that is just perfect for your video- except that you need a permit, insurance and a big deposit to film there?