Production of Music Videos

Pre-Production


1. The commissioner of the video sends the track to possible directors and producers, sometimes accompanied by a basic pitch containing what the band wants in their video.

2. These directors/producers come up with ideas for the video which they then turn into a pitch. This is a basic idea and concept of the video and why it will be a good and effective video to make. These pitches will be based upon briefs given to them by the record company, as well as the music itself (what will fit well).

3. The record company will then decide which pitch has most promise to create an effective music video. After a director is chosen they allocate a budget for the video. The chosen producer will deal with the arrangements for the video, as well as making sure the budget is not exceeded.

4. Director of Photography and art director(production designer) then join the team. It's the art director's job to oversee the planning for the look of video, they must scout for locations and plans the shoot location.

Production
5. The artist, cast and crew will arrive at the shoot location. They then work to film the video, this process usually takes one day.

6. Then the 'off-line' edit takes place. This is where an editor cuts assembles all of the footage shot on the day of the shoot over a period of a few days. The record company and artist may ask to see it and suggest changes.

7. After this, the 'online' edit is made. This means that all of the special effects are added, and the video is finalised and is made ready for release.

8. Final product is delivered to the client who subsequently releases it to television, Internet and others.

The time it takes for this process to complete has dropped in recent times, as the demand for music videos is growing greatly, as well as video budgets plummeting. All of the steps may take as little time as three to four weeks.