Filming music videos - does it still make sense?

Filming of music videos - does it still make sense?

 

When Spotify occupied the daily lives of music lovers a decade ago, the music market changed irreversibly. There are millions of songs on one convenient platform, which you don't need to buy a CD to hear, you don't need to wait for a concert, you don't need to secretly download low-quality recordings from the underground - it's enough to press one button and you can listen to your favorite "piece" at home, at work, in the car, basically, every step of the way . This or any other music streaming platform focuses on the main thing the listener needs - sound.

So the question is, what role do music videos play today? Is there still a point in creating them? What benefits does the costly filming of music videos leave for the artist? Or is it no longer worth investing your budget in it? After all, a music lover will watch such a clip once, maybe twice, and then listen to the song with his eyes closed. There is no single answer to these questions, because it depends on the performer's attitude towards himself, towards his listeners, towards the audience and the relationship he builds with it.

The music video craze was born with MTV, a channel whose main purpose was to broadcast music videos. It has become an advertising tool for singers, performers, and musicians to show themselves, their music, their songs, and the filming and production of music videos is an important marketing task.

Although times are changing, the assumption that people who listen to music only need music is wrong. Listeners want to see what the singers look like performing their favorite song, which is why live concerts have remained relevant and in demand. However, the video clip also fulfills such needs, because through it the performer can show his vision and creativity, which allows him to stand out from the crowd and the large music market. The video clip also increases the meaning of the song, the emotion, conveys the message that is hidden in the lyrics of the song.

A video clip is an artistic medium that includes music, images, movement, and a narrative. Not all music videos will go viral, but just show the dance steps of Gangnam Style and the tune will automatically start playing in your head. In Lithuania, as in the world, music videos are not forgotten - every year the "KlipVid" competition is held, which rewards the most creative artists and at least one video clip takes home the MAMA statuette.

However, the artist, when creating his music, does not think about awards first. His focus is on the hearts of the listeners, so even regardless of the budget, a video clip is a great way to get your name out there, show your level of professionalism, give content to the press, reviewers, bloggers and connect with your audience.

6 THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN FILMING A MUSIC VIDEO

1. Music

Although listeners are curious about what the artist looks like, the music will always remain the most important aspect of the music video. Beautiful visuals catch the eye, the story told by the shots keeps the attention, but ultimately, the music video clip is just another way to hear your favorite track. Even a professionally edited clip with an average soundtrack won't get many views, while a chart-topping hit, even with a simpler clip, will keep the fan hitting the replay button over and over again.

2. The first 15 seconds

Just because a listener tunes in to a clip doesn't mean they'll watch it all the way through. On video streaming platforms such as YouTube, many thumbnails of other videos always attract attention, so if the viewer is not interested in the first frames of the clip, he will most likely not stay. Therefore, the shooting of music videos is not only about aesthetically captured shots on tape, a big job lies on the shoulders of the director, how to turn a recording of several minutes into a short film that tells a story that is sung.

3. Performance

If you're making a performance video, expect to sing the song more times than ever before, and every performance will have to be like the first time. Filming music videos takes time, because in order to get a 3-minute video, you may need more than 30 recordings of the same song, especially if in the final montage different lines of the song will lie in different locations, but the line of energy, mood, emotion must remain the same in each frame.

4. History

Creating a story for a video clip is an art that requires skill. After all, it is essentially a story told without dialogue. All available tools are just image and music. The lyrics of most songs do not necessarily convey their meaning literally, so clips try to convey a thought, a theme, a message. Therefore, the shooting of music videos is in demand director, scenographer and the cast. However, an overwrought, difficult and unclear story will not hold the listener, in this case the viewer, to the end of the clip. The most important moments are those that correspond to the main moments of the song.

5. Location

This is important in any type of filming, but in music videos, a unique location can have a significant impact. Some performers look to foreign countries, others look to places around them, it all depends on the mood they want to create. Often, the idea is dictated by the location of the song itself, but there are many good examples of how clips are shot in a photo or recording studio. It all boils down to creativity.

6. Team selection

In order for the shooting of music videos to go smoothly, for the maximum fulfillment of the invented vision, for the edited frames to convey the message sent in the song - it is necessary professional teams, who know how to film, what to film, what shots to choose, what story to tell in the clip. Many questions can be answered by video production masters who provide a wide range of creative services, who, after listening to expectations, will fulfill them, direct, cast actors, film, edit and serve a heart-warming music video on a plate.