A great music video starts with a strong concept
By exploring, challenging, building or commenting on it, a strong concept creates a bond between the song and the visuals.
I want to help you create the concept – the vision – so that your music video will get a coherent expression and aesthetic that fits the song as well as the target audience and hold its gaze.
What is a concept?
The concept for a music video can usually be broken down into one or two sentences.
“Playing every member of the band, Andre 3000 performs in front of 100 screaming girls.” (Outkast – Hey Ya)
A great music video starts with a strong concept
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id enim massa. Pellentesque finibus lorem a lorem sodales dictum auctor non mi. Nam at posuere quam. Fusce vehicula condimentum eros nec feugiat. Nunc egestas at lectus quis tempor. Nam tempor, velit sit amet sollicitudin vulputate, orci tellus finibus lectus, ac fringilla justo metus quis nisl. In sed lectus lacus. Cras viverra ex diam, a mattis mauris iaculis eget. Aliquam a risus eget nisl hendrerit venenatis. Maecenas tempus blandit massa id tempus.
A great music video starts with a strong concept
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id enim massa. Pellentesque finibus lorem a lorem sodales dictum auctor non mi. Nam at posuere quam. Fusce vehicula condimentum eros nec feugiat. Nunc egestas at lectus quis tempor. Nam tempor, velit sit amet sollicitudin vulputate, orci tellus finibus lectus, ac fringilla justo metus quis nisl. In sed lectus lacus. Cras viverra ex diam, a mattis mauris iaculis eget. Aliquam a risus eget nisl hendrerit venenatis. Maecenas tempus blandit massa id tempus.
A great music video starts with a strong concept
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id enim massa. Pellentesque finibus lorem a lorem sodales dictum auctor non mi. Nam at posuere quam. Fusce vehicula condimentum eros nec feugiat. Nunc egestas at lectus quis tempor. Nam tempor, velit sit amet sollicitudin vulputate, orci tellus finibus lectus, ac fringilla justo metus quis nisl. In sed lectus lacus. Cras viverra ex diam, a mattis mauris iaculis eget. Aliquam a risus eget nisl hendrerit venenatis. Maecenas tempus blandit massa id tempus.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id enim massa. Pellentesque finibus lorem a lorem sodales dictum auctor non mi. Nam at posuere quam. Fusce vehicula condimentum eros nec feugiat. Nunc egestas at lectus quis tempor. Nam tempor, velit sit amet sollicitudin vulputate, orci tellus finibus lectus, ac fringilla justo metus quis nisl. In sed lectus lacus. Cras viverra ex diam, a mattis mauris iaculis eget. Aliquam a risus eget nisl hendrerit venenatis. Maecenas tempus blandit massa id tempus.
A great music video starts with a strong concept
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id enim massa. Pellentesque finibus lorem a lorem sodales dictum auctor non mi. Nam at posuere quam. Fusce vehicula condimentum eros nec feugiat. Nunc egestas at lectus quis tempor. Nam tempor, velit sit amet sollicitudin vulputate, orci tellus finibus lectus, ac fringilla justo metus quis nisl. In sed lectus lacus. Cras viverra ex diam, a mattis mauris iaculis eget. Aliquam a risus eget nisl hendrerit venenatis. Maecenas tempus blandit massa id tempus.
Insight into the process
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Features
Listen-through
I usually start visualizing the song and its universe in this first phase.
Unmixed records and demos are fully acceptable.
Brainstorming
Close dialogue and discussions are important in this phase where we need the vision to be defined.
Planning
This phase is filled with to-do lists, storyboards and sticky notes. Getting the right people together for the project is just as important as the underlying idea.
Execution
Shooting days are often long, strenous and require tremoundous amounts of energy. But they’re also incredibely fun, filled with creativity and good vibes on set.
Cut
Cutting and editing is kind of like putting in pieces in a puzzle. The better you know the final picture, the easier it is to lay the pieces. But knowing the final picture can also be dangerous, so I always try to keep an open mind at this stage.
Color grading
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