Shooting on a shoestring

Posted: 15 January 2019

How to create a DIY music video for your band

Read time: 3 mins

If you’re a musician starting out, chances are that you don’t have a great deal of budget to put towards a professional music video. Especially, when you’re paying out for rehearsals, recording, transport and the less important things like; eating, keeping a roof over your head, or trying to fix that smell that’s coming from the sink.

Luckily, with the rise of technology and creative video concepts it’s becoming more accessible to get some really great DIY results. In this article we’ll go through some essential pointers to keep in mind when putting on your directors hat.

A solid concept

Concept is key. You could have the best camera equipment in the world but a music video is only as good as its concept. Your job is to keep the viewers captivated and entertained. Research is your friend here, spend some downtime on YouTube checking out music videos to spark some inspiration. Don’t be afraid to get creative, the more original and unique the concept, the bigger chance it has of catching the viewers attention.

Get Prepared

As the saying goes, ‘fail to prepare: prepare to fail’. You’ll want to have a clear idea of how you want the video to look in your head before you hit record. Put a storyboard together and find some video references that you can share with everyone involved.

Call your friends

Shooting a music video on your own using a tripod and some creativity is possible, but many hands make light work. Call on friends, family and band members to help shoot, this will allow for multiple angles which will make the editing process a lot easier, and make you less reliant on having that one kickass shot.

Shoot too much

A golden rule of recording is always aim to get a bit too much. The last thing anyone wants is to sit down and begin editing a music video, only to find they haven’t got a single useable shot for a particular scene. Always shoot a couple of extra parts or run-throughs to cover yourself. You will thank yourself later!

Lighting, Lighting, Lighting

One factor that can make or break your music video is lighting. Whether you’re shooting everything on an iPhone or a professional grade movie rig, it’s worth doing your homework. Luckily there’s hundreds of great tutorials online to help you out with inexpensive lighting solutions.

Get editing

Shot some great footage with a creative concept and used some great lighting? Awesome, now it’s time to edit. There’s lots of different platforms to edit on, from professional software such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro to free options like Shotcut, these programs have some great effects and built in features that will help you get some great results.

Ultimately...

Big increases in affordability and availability of equipment and software means nowadays anyone can be the next Spike Jonze or Michel Gondry. Stick to the key principles; prepare well, get creative and get plenty of footage.

And that's a wrap!