Before getting to creating a music video, there are a few things I need to consider doing before filming which will benefit me in many ways:
- Gathering thoughts, taking down notes and sketching scene enables me to remember all of the ideas I came up with before as well as during pre-production and develop them further at later stages.
- Talking to the artist or band would have been a great way to find out how they want their music video to look but since I cannot do that, researching the artist thoroughly, looking at some interviews and watching other videos of theirs will allow me to see what kind of consistent theme all of their music videos possess and what sort of personality they have, so it can be represented through the video.
- Listening to the song many times is immensely beneficial as it allows me to discover the song and then think of a concept for the music video which would correspond with it. It also makes me narrow the focus. For instance if there is a bass, I would only listen to the bass the first time and the second time, I would then listen to the guitar for instance which makes me analyse the musical composition further. This is also an important aspect to consider whilst creating a music video as my chosen song is an up-tempo song, during post-production, I would want to cut to the beat consistently so acknowledging the rhythm is key.
- Refining and sharing ideas. Making a list of all the ideas that I thought of and then see what in terms of types of shots and mise-en-scene would be straightforward what wouldn't. Looking for filming locations is also important. For example notifying neighbours, talking to the owners or the management if they are OK with the shooting, and checking if the wanted location is free to use, available or even safe.
- Creating a storyboard. Storyboards are effective video-planning tools as they are consulted to direct the video's action. Music video often employ cinematic choices or visual effect so incorporating them into my storyboard will enable me to remember the effects to be added later on in the post-production.
