Last week I wrote an article that got quite a bit of attention, encouraging musicians to create their own visuals, I wanted to enter it into this contest, but it paid out before the next round started. I briefly covered 3 ways of creating music videos.

The Article: https://steemit.com/music/@seenitallfilms/calling-all-steem-musicians-how-to-get-your-work-noticed-on-a-budget

So I have decided to expand further on the process of conceptual music video creation for this tutorial. If you're a musician looking for new, effective ways, to get your work seen on the Steem platform, and across al forms of social media really, keep reading!

Conceptual Music Videos

These can seem like a huge daunting task at first, but don't worry because this tutorial will have you on your way to creating top notch music videos in no time, whether it be for your own song, or if you're just generally interested in music video production.

Where To Start:

Planning
First of all you will need your song. It will need to be recorded already and you will need a audio file of it, normally MP3 or WAV. You will need to have a good feel for the song and come up with some basic ideas of tones, possible messages, and vibes of the video.

Brainstorm all of the themes and messages that the song represent / that you would like to portray within the video. You can come up with some basic ideas of what would could work. For example, if the song was about discovering yourself and you wanted to show the struggles of finding who we are, the video could follow the story of a young woman overcoming certain obstacles to work her way towards an end goal. You could get really creative and fun with the ways you show her doing this, and depending on the tone of your song, it could adopt any type of style from comedic style to depressing and eye opening. It All depends on your song.

Use what you have. This is vital in successful music video creation. What a lot of people don't realize, is you have access to a lot more than you could possibility ever imagine. You just need to do a bit of looking around. Maybe a member of your band knows someone that has their own tattoo shop or hair studio and you could maybe write some interesting scenes into your plan to fit around that. So, imagine if our video was about what I mentioned above, one of the scenes of the young woman could be her making a rational decision such as getting a new revenge tattoo, or a swanky new haircut. The Possibilities are endless, you just need to thoroughly understand what you have access to and ask around. Social media is a great place to find out what your buddies won't mind lending out.

Come up with a solid equipment plan. This can be the hardest part at first, but again, you just need to know what you can get your hands on. You need a decent camera, A DSLR would be ideal, and believe me, almost every family or group I know, involved in media or not, has a DSLR lurking around someone between them. Ask around, see what your friends and family have. If you really can't find someone with a decent camera, and you might make music videos again it might be worth investing in one (you can get a good kit for around £600). However, if you are on a budget, like most people, you might want to consider contacting some local film or media students and seeing if they would be interested. If everything else fails, you might just have to rent some equipment...

BUT not having a posh camera is not going to stop you creating a music video. If it's something you really want to do, and will put all your effort into, then it will work out fine, whether filmed on an Iphone or just a cheap camcorder. DSLR is the best option for getting Full HD 1080p footage, but if you really can't get your hands on one, use whatever you can.

The camera is only as good as the person using it. Now, I'm not saying they have to be a professional, because I'm certainly not. They just need to be able to hold a camera steady and straight, have a good idea of camera settings and lighting and have good framing. It sounds complicated, but it's not. It's easy to see what works on camera and what doesn't, make sure your filmer has previously experimented with that particular camera and it's settings to know what will work best for the shoot. You could get your camera person to be anyone you know with a interest in digital media willing to help you out, if you are using a student you won't have to worry about this because they will probably have all of their own equipment and already have a good understanding of it.

Once you have developed an idea for your story, and have started to plan it out, you need to start considering locations and actors. I would suggest trying to keep the people appearing in your video to the band just because it's easier to get everyone in one place at the same time, and your audience will be familiar with you. If you need a female for example, and everyone in the band is a bloke, you can look on student and upcoming actors groups and see if anyone would be interested, or again, ask around and see who you know. You never knew, Sid's ex Sue might actually be a really amazing ballet dancer, and for some reason that could work at Bill's tattoo shop! Who knows what is out there. You might even live near a beautiful forest.

A rekkie (location scout) of any possible locations is essential. If for some reason you want to film a scene with your drummer playing in an abandoned warehouse you spotted a week weeks ago, you can't just show up on the day with a full drumkit and expect not to face any problems. What if there is security, CCTV, not a easy way to get in? What if you show up with all your equipment and get arrested for trespassing? Or the field you planned on filming that romantic stroll, is jam packed on the day you show up to film and there is people everywhere. Well in this case you could either work with it, and find a way to work them into the video too, or you'd have to go elsewhere. Eitherway, know the downlow on your locations before shooting day. It will really save your arses.

Another thing you need to consider is costumes, makeup and props. It's really cool if you want to have zombies parading the streets, but do you have the time and resources to dress up and make up all your zombies? These are things that need to be considered and planned before you set off.

A music video created by a local band, I was actually a zombie in this shoot! It's a really easy idea and all the makeup was done on site. It was a really fun day and quite easily done. Combining live performance with concept is a really good way to bulk your video out

More on The Idea and Examples

Your idea can be anything you want, and the more experimental and creative you get with it, the better results you will find you achieve. Don't be afraid to think out of the box. Spend a good few hours with your bandmates and everyone else involved just letting the ideas roll, however out there they might sound. Categorize the ideas into the best, the worst, and the most achievable. Consider the efforts required for each idea, how many people it'll need, what props etc. If it sounds too time consuming, or not worth it, loose it. You can always come back to it later if you're really struggling.

Try to keep your idea original, it's great if you see something that inspires you, but there's nothing more insulting to a creator than seeing their work copied. Take inspiration from other projects, but plant the seed in your brain and let it grow in it's own directions. Combine multiple ideas and inspirations into one. Make it your own, expand on it.

This is a video created by a videographer I look up to and have known for years. It's a simple idea and could be filmed at one location, with the artist and a few additional actors, and a car full of props for a dinner party. That's how simple it is, but look how effective the video is. It's interesting and quirky!

When I was coming up with an idea for Tidal Rave's Like A Wolf, we wanted to have one designated character going around, spreading the 'wolf' by waggling his finger and turning people into wolves, resulting in a huge conga line down the middle of town, and we needed about 20 people. So I created a facebook page and started inviting everyone I knew. It was dead easy to get a group of 20 people together for a few hours with the promise of a free drink afterwards in the local spoons.
We spent about £30 on wolf masks and £20 on drinks afterwards. So this video was basically zero budget, and I know it's not the best, but it was my first music video! And the idea of what originally seemed really complicated, fell right into place and was unbelievably easy to shoot on the day. We put all of the shots into a checklist and within a couple of hours we aware at the end of it.

I LOVE this video filmed at my favorite venue, (the song is bloody catchy asf too). The basic idea of a seductive woman reflects the song perfectly, and they combine it with live performance. It would have taken no more than a empty bar, a couple of actors, a bit of a performance and a camera person. But it's wicked. The editing draws it all together and it so SO COOL

Editing

Editing plays a very huge part on the overall result of your video, and should take way longer than every other step. Every thing must sync up and be in the right places, you will need to colour correct and grade, and you could experiment and learn a hell of a lot with experimenting with creating effects.
If you don't already have some editing software, you could consider purchasing a subscription to Premier Pro, and then just not renew it again. Or if you simply don't have the time, you could get a friend with knowledge and software, or a student to do it for you or help you out with it. Honestly though, editing is so much fun and there is so much to be easily learnt by watching online tutorials and such. I suggest atleast giving it a go. You might find a new hobby and be able to come up with some more funky videos in the future.

So that's basically it folks. Thanks for reading, any questions please do ask!

All images are my own or are licensed under creative commons and found on pexels/pixabay.