Momentous moments in music have to include August 1 1981 – the date when MTV launched, turning music producer videos into a modern day phenomenon. The music world has never been the same since – imagine Youtube without music videos, a world with no ‘Thriller’ videos or a world with no Baby Shark or Gangnam Style vids (well, actually, we could probably do without them…). The music world has never been the same since. Imagine Youtube without music videos. A world without ‘Thriller’ videos, Baby Shark or Gangnam Style. However, we could do without some of them. Read further as we explain to you how you can create your own music video for free.
But where a music video would once-upon-a-time cost millions of dollars and take weeks of production, shooting and editing, they can now take hours to shoot and edit and cost literally nothing (as long as you have a smartphone). And it’s one of the best forms of music marketing and music promotion.
Read on to find out the best DIY music producer tricks and tips to film, edit and release your new music video for free to get your music heard.
How to create your own music video
Long-gone are the days when Michael and Janet Jackson spent $7 million on the video to their 1995 hit ‘Scream’ (to this day, still the most expensive music video ever shot) or when Madonna employed Fight Club director David Fincher to shoot her $6 million video for ‘Express Yourself.’
All you need now is a modern phone and internet connection. Which is a huge step towards opening up the music business for bands, producers, acts and DJs, creating free music marketing, promotion and – if it goes viral – endless music publicity.
But, before you dive into the magic of an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone, it’s time to do a little planning.
Storyboard
Think about the music and what story the music, lyrics or theme are telling and how you can interpret that in a music video. A good way to start is to take inspiration from other videos in the same genre or style. Telling a story and evoking emotion are two of your most powerful tools. As well as, live videos of bands playing are still as relevant today as they were nearly 40 years ago when MTV first launched.
Once you have your theme and story, plan out how the video will match the track. What shots need to be recorded, who needs to be in each shot and where the shots need to take place. Are you going to shoot in black and white or colour? Or are you going to linger on shots and have a slow editing process? You might want to think about will it be a quick-fire collage of images (which means more work)?
These are important questions which need to be addressed before you start getting jiggy with your iPhone.
Importantly, by shooting on a smartphone or handheld camera, you can record on location and shoot on the go. This massively opens up the options. You could be spontaneous and can record at a live gig. Capturing that amazing moment that would be nearly impossible to recreate (and you don’t need to spend $7million like one of the Jackson). You can find amazing beach-side locations, cool innercity stairwells, shoot at sunrise or sunset – the possibilities are endless.
Shooting or filming in public does bring with it a few very important considerations, especially in the Middle East. Permits might be required for public spaces and filming members of the public. This is unless they’ve given explicit approval – could very quickly land you in trouble.
Lights, camera, action
As a general rule, the higher quality your phone or camera, the better quality your video footage. But thanks to some amazing technological innovations, even filming with an iPhone or modern smartphones will be more than capable.
Google your phone’s technical information and get to know what it means. For example, an iPhone 6 can record 4k videos in full HD – which was more than good enough for Kanye West to record his ‘Only One‘ video. Phones might have panoramic video options or slow-motion capture. And the higher the number of megapixels per camera, the better raw footage and the higher resolution you’ll get.
It’s almost time to get shooting, but there are a few more questions that need to be asked. As a music producer you might be outside your comfort zone! However you will need to work out the lighting in the shoot and what time of day you’re going to do it. Ask yourself, will it be artificial light or daylight and how will the weather affect the light? Editing can only do so much if the raw footage is dark and grimy. Therefor make sure the lighting is right at the start.
Keep things simple, don’t overcrowd the shot with people, costumes or zany visuals. Stick to the theme and story.
Once you know what your phone can do and the theme, storyboard and lighting have been sorted, you can start shooting and start promoting your music.
The magic of editing
As a general rule, the more raw footage you have for your video to edit and splice together, the better. If you’re making a three-minute video, then anything around an hour should be plenty of material. This is no time for a music producer as you all know the time spent on a track takes. Obviously, the more you record, the more you have to sit through and edit. This is where the importance of creating a storyboard and sticking to it come in!
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If you’ve recorded on an iPhone, their free software iMovie is perfect. It’s easy to use, has plenty of helpful hints and has a desktop and phone version. So you can edit and create wherever you are. Other good free apps are Adobe Premiere Rush which works across iOS and Windows and FilmoraGo which is just Android phones.
Many of these will also export the video straight to your social media sites when you’re finished including Youtube, Instagram and Facebook. Which for free software is pretty impressive.
Once you’ve filmed, shot and edited your video, you now have one of the best tools to take your music viral – and amazing platforms like Youtube, Facebook and Instagram to use.
Conclusion
Make sure to use the right tags when you upload the music to Youtube or Vimeo. Tag in your fellow music producer friends, band members, actors and anyone in the video. Make sure to share, share, share that video to get it out to the masses. Play your cards right, and with some luck, you could even start generating money from the video from Youtube royalties. And if not, you’ve at the very least saved yourself $7million unlike Michael and Janet Jackson. Where they created one of the best forms of music marketing and promotion you can.
If you wish to know more about this topic then please check out these other helpful blogs.
✅ We Ask Is Music Streaming The New DJing?
✅ A Step By Step Guide To Middle East Streaming Site
✅ How To Become Better With Youtube
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