ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

6 years, 8 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

A possible issue is that music video budgets are a fraction of what they once were - where £50k+ used to be the ballpark, now you're lucky if the budget is £8k, frequently somewhat lower. MTV is no longer about music :'-( When Deadmau5 is running a competition where you get to produce a music video for him for the chance to win $5k if yours is selected (it was something like that), you know the industry has burst.

Perhaps you could talk to local (music) rehearsal studios and see if any bands want a bargain? Otherwise do a shedload of commercials and see if you can coattail someone into pop videos? There's a pretty big overlap between commercial and decent level music vid agencies and crew, more than from features, for instance.

6 years, 8 months ago - Meredith Bond

Hi Paddy,

Thank you for your advice and knowledge! I'm constantly trying to network and i'm sending my CV to as many people as possible. It's just a waiting game at the moment to see if it will lead anywhere.

6 years, 8 months ago - Nathan Hannawin

Hi Meredith,

Paddy really nailed it. YouTube killed off the value in music video's - the time where you had to watch MTV for an hour to see the video you wanted, with a whole load of adverts in between is gone and it can all be obtained instantly now.

I know a few people who make a decent amount off of doing video's but it's not their main income, however, what they all share in common is that they know A LOT of musicians/bands and are really well connected in the music industry as a whole. There are a lot of musicians out there who want a video and as much publicity as they can get, so I would recommend getting involved with groups on Facebook, speaking to local music venues and rehearsals spaces, online music blogs/YouTube channels etc. A few years ago I was doing some videography work for a music site called GigSlutz, along the way I met Sleaford Mods and I ended up making a feature documentary about them that ended up selling out cinema's across the country.

Hope this can help

6 years, 8 months ago - Mark Wiggins

You haven't said if you want to be a director, dop or what on Music Videos? Speaking from a Camera Department perspective, its the same people working on Music Videos that work on Commercials, features and TV dramas. Its all the same job. If, as a DOP, you want to work on Music Videos, you have to team up with a director who is working on them or is shooting spec stuff to build up a reel; if he/she gets signed you just have to work at making sure he/she continues to use you. If you want to be a director, you just have to build up a reel (starting with free stuff for unsigned bands, low budget jobs you can find on Radar etc). Several directors I know of have been signed just by going the "Radar route."

Also, Networking is very important. Get to know as many people as possible; socialise with them. No one employs people they don't know.

6 years, 8 months ago - John Lubran

We've made a few no budget music videos in the past. I was in the 'mainstream' music business, not as a video producer, for over a decade in the 70's and 80's, when it was a much tighter and more financially rewarding sector than it is today. At the present time music videos rely on sex and sexyness and displace imagination and originality with the glamour of high production values in terms of production and post production tools. Too often it's all front and no trousers. We'll that at least as far as the bigger stars go. The great thing about music video is that one can do just about anything. Nothing has to make sense in terms of a narrative progression. There's a real opportunity for new creatives to produce profitable low budget videos. It used to be that music video producers were at the cutting edge of production because of it.

High energy music videos need not cost very much at all. They can be created using lower cost equipment with little but human resources. If there's one area in video/film production where an individual can carve a niche without the by your leave of an established 'production company' it's music videos. If you have the basic nouse and talent just make some videos with a great but only just started band or artist for only the resource that you and they can muster. That's your CV and calling card. No need for movie industry megabucks cameras or even much in the way of grips and lights. There's no audio issues either as the sound track is reproduced. Whilst a degree of craft skill is necessary it's more about creative imagination and the quality of the artists being presented.

6 years, 8 months ago - Meredith Bond

Thank you all so much! your advice has been great.