Top tips on how to create a music video within school.

1. HOW TO CREATE A LOW
BUDGET MUSIC VIDEO!

2. Costume
• Due to not having a big enough budget to buy elaborate costumes, you’ll
still be able to make sure characters in the music video look good.
1. Make sure that the colours of everyone's outfits compliment each other
well. If most of the characters are wearing bright clothes, make the rest
wear bright. Unless of course you want to make one particular person
stand out.
2. If you’re presenting a certain type of person/stereotype in your video,
make sure the costume they’re wearing fits their personality
• For example, a student could wear a school uniform

3. Props
Balloons
• The use of balloons can be quite effective, if you’re wanting to create
an upbeat, happy environment covering the location with balloons
would work. People also use big letter balloons in order to spell things
out that link with the song, however these types of balloons may be a
little more expensive.

4. Lighting
• The contrast of light and dark works really well and is easy to do.
For example if you were filming a slow song and you want to create a gloomy
atmosphere, you can film in a dark setting and use different objects to create
small areas of light such as:
• Torches
• Candles
• Phones
• Also if you were creating an upbeat dance music video and wanted to create
a party atmosphere, you could use a strobe light – you can make it
yourselves by using an iPhone flashlight and sticking different sheets o see
through, coloured plastic over the top.

5. Setting
• Try to film in several different settings to make the video more
interesting rather than filming in the same location .
• Try to avoid blank backgrounds and make sure something is happening
in the background at all times.
• Make sure the setting links in with the overall concept of the music
video.
• Try and juxtapose the video. For example if you have someone singing
a sad son, place them in a busy, happy setting such as a party, this will
single them out, and emphasise the sadness.

6. CONTENT/ SEQUENCING TRICKS!
By looking at previous A2 music videos and researching I found:
Quite commonly the establishing shot was of an object or
location, however it was still a recurring shot in the music
video whether it changed to a different angle or wider shot.
This could be good particularly in videos that are based in only
a couple of different settings as the audience gets closer shots
of things in that location and becomes aware of the where
abouts, it was commonly used in slower songs to for example:
Royals- Lorde. Starting videos like this will be suitable for
school as you can use items within the area and the outside
locations to, with permission.
I also saw with some videos that they applied the enigma
code, this meant that there was a narrative to the video but
the opening and closing shots were the same/similar
because the establishing shot starts from the end of the story
back to the beginning, this allows the audience to gets a
grasp of what the song is about but doesn’t know the full
story, therefore needs to watch it to know. To do this within
school is possible as long as the narrative fits the meaning of
the song and works on the editing. This idea will make the
video interesting.
Below is an example of A Team- Ed Sheeran

7. CAMERA TRICKS AND MOVEMENTS
The Dolly Zoom:
This camera technique is much like a dolly camera
movement, however, as you dolly in to the target
you are filming, zoom in at the same time to
create a ‘vertigo effect’.
Underwater Effect:
Doing this effect on a budget, you would be able to
film things through a clear glass beaker, or glass,
with the subject behind it, this will create and easy
underwater effect. From doing this a good
underwater shot is created, as well as a distorted
view of the setting and subject in the shot.
DIY Dolly:
To create a DIY Dolly movement, you can use a
skateboard, or anything flat with wheels on, then
just slide the skateboard over a flat and straight
surface to create your own dolly movement.
Appear to walk up walls:
This trick can easily be done, with the use of
having a wall like setting on the floor, and filming
the scene with the camera on the floor and
turned on its side.
Clone yourself:
You can do this by overlaying two different videos
with yourself on them. You film the scenes with
the subject in, then the editing technique is
where you overlay each video over each other to
create a clone of yourself.
Soft focus Effect:
Using nude tights around the camera will allow a
soft focus effect around the subject of whom
you are filming.

8. EDITING TRICKS!
SOFTWARE: When it comes to software, it can often be very
expensive to download a program that is of high quality and
will allow you to experiment. Programs that already come
with your computer/ laptop are usually very basic (Movie
Maker and iMovie), so this can be solved by downloading a
free 30 day trial of a more professional program, such as
Adobe, Final Cut or Sony Vegas.
HOW TO EDIT WELL: Programs offer many different transitions
and effects and sometimes it is easy to go overboard with
these, however in my opinion, subtle and slick editing is key. By
simply editing the colour of a shot can transform what was
once a dull and mundane scenario, into something much more
visually pleasing. Making sure your shots are cropped perfectly
and that the timing is efficient is another crucial element.
Epically if the artist of you video is miming to the lyrics of the
song, it is important to carefully match the lip movements to
the song to create a professional overall finish.
ACHIEVING THE RIGHT MOOD: It is also very important that your video fits the song. For
example, if your song has a very slow pace, it would not look very professional if you used very
fast paced cuts or fancy transitions. Before you begin to edit, decide on the overall feel of the
song itself and the emotion you want to capture. Then align your editing with the feel of the
song in terms of transitions, timing and special effects. Below are a few ways you can fit the
genre of the song to the way you edit your video.
A slow, romantic song: Slow paced cuts, black and white or sepia to show the past or a
contrast in time
A happy, upbeat pop song: Sharp and short cuts, bright coloured tones, increasing subtlety
the brightness of the footage
This is successfully done in ‘Breakeven’ by The
Scrip, as shots of the present have been edited
into black and white to create an emotional
mood and that he cannot live with out her.