How to Get Into the Music Video Business
I started in music video production over 12 years ago first doing music videos for independent artists in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, but after my 4th "indie" music video I had my first major music video for U-God of the Wu-Tang Clan which aired on B.E.T's Rap City.
I got into music video production because I would see music videos on TV made with high budgets that turned out crappy. I would always say "I could do way better with a lower budget". So I put my money where my mouth was, brought a camera and an editing computer and 17 music videos later the rest is history.
Getting into music video production is very easy. Think about it. No matter where you live, there are music artists looking to pay someone to shoot and edit their music video - so you already have a starving market. But when most directors get their first music video, whether it be indie or celeb, they get 2 important things wrong. Let me explain.
First, if you want to get into music video production there's one thing you need to know. Keep It Simple Stupid. Again, when I started I only had a camera (Canon XL1) and an editing computer. I didn't have all the bells and whistles that most people in my field had.
When I got my first music video I kept the concept simple.The song had 3 verses so I shot 3 different performance scenes (the scenes where the artists are seen performing the song) for each verse and we went to a lot of different locations and shot b-roll footage (scenes that you see in music videos where no one is performing ie: car driving in slow motion or sexy girl slow grinding on someone in the club). It only took 2 days. By the time it was all said and done, I submitted it to B.E.T and it aired on Uncut and Rap City. You understood me right. My first music video aired on national TV.
I am a firm believer in "making it work with what you got" and as a film maker, you should always keep that in mind. Bigger budget does not always mean better final product. When you don't have unlimited resources you're forced to think and make do with what you've got, and some of the hottest music videos are born from that seed.
Next, you must know that to make a good music video you need good locations, extras, and props. Most importantly you need to know that you don't have to pay for any of these; atleast I never have.
Lets talk about my first music video and one of it's major locations, crazy props, and extras. I needed a church scene where a funeral was taking place and the choir was singing in the background. That meant I needed floral arrangements, a casket, an extra to play the guy laying in the casket, a church, a Reverend, and about 20 people to fill in the pews. All I did to get these items was simply ask.
To get the casket I went to a funeral home and told them I need a casket for someone to lay in for a music video shoot. Keep in mind when setting up a scene you have to think in real world time. Make your scene look the way it would in real life. That's when it hit me that I needed flowers to go around the casket, so I asked the funeral home where could I get flowers to decorate the scene. They pointed me to a flower shop they worked with and they gave me a slew of floral arrangements made just for funerals.
My next feat was getting a church. This was a little more difficult being that it was a rap video and most churches don't agree with that type of music. After being turned down by 3 different churches, I found a church that said yes. I had access to the choir and their reverend.
I had everything I needed for my scene all without paying a cent out of my budget. To achieve this, simply say "I need to use (name of item) for a music video shoot but we have exhausted our budget. If it's OK we would like to use (name of item) for our shoot and we can give you credit at the end of the music video."
I have never been told no (except for the 3 churches). Using this statement, I have used stranger's vehicles, schools, resorts, hotels and many other props, locations and extras that most director's pay for when they don't have to. All it takes is just asking.
Just knowing these two things will make your entry into the music video production field as easy as mine was and if you are already in the music video industry, use this info to keep more of the budget in your pocket.
Music takes center stage on the heels of the official registration opening for the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one-day running event taking place on August 31, 2008. The race brings together the power of sport and music to inspire and connect runners from every corner of the planet. Participants in this unprecedented event will experience an exclusive music performance by some of today’s top artists in each of the 25 designated race cities.
In Los Angeles, nine-time Grammy Award winning artist Kanye West will headline the run’s post race concert for the grand finale of the 25-city Nike+ Human Race. Runners will take to the streets passing the city’s most famous landmarks before ending at the LA Coliseum to see West take the stage.
“I’m hitting the stage in Los Angeles for the Nike+ Human Race, Nike's dopest 10k run ever. This race is bringing together hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to run and listen to some great music while serving a higher cause, and I’m excited to perform in L.A. as part of the grand finale.”
West’s performance will bring to a close, an unprecedented day of races and activities around the globe starting in Taipei, ending in LA and including cities across Europe, Asia and North and South America.
Beyond running and music, the Nike+ Human Race is also an opportunity to give back. Participants will be able to run for a worthy cause and support the three official Nike+ Human Race charitable partners: the Lance Armstrong Foundation – uniting people in the fight against cancer; WWF - the global conservation organization addressing the causes and impacts of climate change; and the UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign – bringing sport and education to refugee youth. Together, Nike and runners will raise funds to donate at least USD $3 million to the Nike+ Human Race charities. Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike.
The Nike+ Human Race will also feature an online pledge tool so individual runners can donate additional funds to the cause of their choice and invite friends and family to contribute on their behalf.
“As a committed runner and a cancer survivor, I’m proud to be participating in the Nike+ Human Race,” Lance Armstrong said. “The race offers the best of both worlds by bringing together a global community to run together and support worthy causes like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the UN refugee agency’s ninemillion.org and WWF in our combined efforts to have a positive impact on the world.
Other Nike athletes will also be joining the movement to run with the world and for a cause. Like Lance Armstrong, they will serve as honorary athlete ambassadors for the charities and join in Human Race activities. Six-time marathon winner and current NY Marathon Champion, Paula Radcliffe and middle distance runner Kara Goucher will be running to support WWF, while marathoner Meb Keflezighi will be representing ninemillion.org.
Nikeplus.com will be the official destination for the Nike+ Human Race and for all pre-race training needs. Here, runners can create a personal profile page or stay motivated by sampling and downloading the latest in Nike+ Sport Music offerings. Sport Music offers runners the best in original Training Run and Coaching Mixes designed specifically for treadmill and road runs. Beginning June 15, runners will also be able to visit Race City pages covering local race info and news, Training pages for information and links to in-city training runs, events with official race partners including 24Hour Fitness and Starbucks and Nike+ Coach training. Gear pages covering the latest in Nike performance training gear and Nike+ product will also be offered.
About Nike+ Human Race
On 08.31.08, Nike hosts a run like no other before with the Nike+ Human Race - the World’s Largest One Day Running Event. Nike’s first global race will take place over the course of one day, with a goal of one million runners, across 25 cities and featuring 25 top musical acts. The 10k event celebrates runners and their sport, offering participants across the globe the chance to run and compete together in an unprecedented race experience. Spanning multiple continents, Nike+ Human Race cities will include LA, New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver among others. Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists. Participants will be able to run for a cause as a portion of funds raised will be donated to three Nike+ Human Race beneficiaries: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign. The race will be open to anyone, anywhere. Runners outside of the 25 race day cities can join by logging into nikeplus.com. With the help of Nike+ and the Nike+ SportBand, every city and every road can become a race-day course. For more information, visit nikeplus.com.
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