This 10 step guide provides instructions for creating a music video. Step 1 involves practicing different camera techniques, lip syncing to the song, and watching other music videos in the same genre. Step 2 is about carefully choosing a song that is short and stimulates visuals, and getting group agreement. Step 3 is pitching the idea simply and realistically. Step 4 involves storyboarding, planning elements, and rehearsing. Later steps provide directions for filming, organizing footage, editing, getting feedback, and sharing the final video online. The overall guide emphasizes preparation, efficiency, and getting feedback to create an effective final product.

1. Pete Fraser’s 10 step
guide
BY LAUREN BUTTON

2. Step 1:
 Try out different camera techniques and angles.
- By doing this we can find out which techniques we can do well and include in our music video also the
techniques we maybe don’t think fit with our genre or the narrative of our video or we can not achieve.
This will overall save time when were filming our final product as we would have already sorted out what
we wish to include and we don’t have to decide when we are filming taking away from our filming time.
 Learn to lip sync with a small segment of the song we are using.
- By practicing lip syncing with our song it will again save filming time when we are filming the lip syncing
parts of the video as we will already be familiar with the process of singing in time with the music, what
emotions we need to convey whilst doing so and also we will have practiced editing the music to fit with
the performer.
 Watch other music videos which are the same genre as yours.
- By doing this we are able to extract some ideas of camera angles and techniques which fit best with the
style of video and we know what not to do as well as what to include.

3. Step 2:
 Be careful about which song you choose.
- By this it means make sure the song you have chosen isn’t just because your favourite artist sings it. The artist
may be very popular and therefore when at the grading of music videos it could mean yours lacks originality.
 Make your song choice short.
- By making our song choice short it means that we wont run out of ideas of what to do and also we can spend
more time on making sure the overall footage we have is the best it can be and we can focus more on the
smaller things.
 Choose a track which stimulates some visuals.
- By choosing a track which stimulates some visuals means that we can draw some ideas from the lyrics and can
make a narrative performance music video. If we chose a song which didn’t really stimulate any visuals or story's
we would struggle to make a interesting and good music video.
 Make sure the whole group agrees on the final choice.
- If the group did not all agree with the final song choice it could create some tension when deciding on other
important aspects of the music video such as the story and experience we are going to create. In order to have an
effective music video groups need to work together to input important ideas and bring each individual skill into the
creation of our music video.

4. Step 3:
 Pitch the material with a strong and simple idea.
- By pitching our material with a strong and simple idea it means that we have a clear vision of what we
want to achieve in our music video and if others whom your pitching too understand what your idea is
then it means the rest of your target audience will also understand and it will make the music video
interesting and understandable and will be more efficient when filming.
 Be realistic in your plans.
- Being realistic in our plans is very important. The reason for this being if we had unrealistic views then
when filming the music video we would realise we are not able to do it therefore have to re evaluate our
ideas wasting filming time.
 Be original.
- Being original in our ideas is very important also as it will allow us to stand out from the other music
videos.

5. Step 4:
 Story board.
- Creating a story board is extremely helpful as it allows us to have a vision of the way we want to film
things and what we plan it to look something like. You can always add more after if you think your ideas
are missing something important but following this plan will help everything get completed more
efficiently, and then give you more time to add things if needed.
 Plan people, places, props and costumes.
- Again planning this will help us to be efficient when filming as we will know exactly what we want to use
in every scene and wont have to waste time deciding who we want to have in the scene or what props
and costume we need.
 Rehearsal.
- This is key, by rehearsing before we start filming we again gain filming time and we have already tried
different ways of performing and what ways we like and what ways we dislike and therefore are ready and
know exactly what were doing.

6. Step 5:
 Research your genre.
- By researching our genre it enables us to know the techniques which work best with the genre and allow
us to get ideas of what doesn’t work as well.
 Videos that influence you.
- On our blog showing the videos which influenced us will show the research put in and also give people
an idea of what we were thinking about aiming for in the video.
 Post all of your ideas and research.
- By posting all of our ideas and research on our blog it will allow us to look back on our first ideas and
compare them to what we have now and allows us to show the examiner how we have looked into our video
and spent time on our ideas.

7. Step 6:
 Shoot the performance a number of times trying out different angles and
techniques.
- By shooting the performance a few times in different ways we can explore which ways we want to include
in the music video and what fits best.
 Use a variety of shots.
- By using a variety of shots it makes our performance more interesting and shows the examiner how we
understand the different types of angles we can include and the effects it has on the story etc.

8. Step 7:
 Organise.
- Learning from our past blog in year 12 we know we need to be organised. When filming and posting blogs it is very
easy to fall back on blog posts so it is helpful if you plan out what posts you need to do and who’s doing them so
you can easily find out what to do in the time between filming.
 Break tasks into manageable chunks.
- If you film footage and its not in order when you go to edit it can make editing very difficult as you can get confused
which footage was for what bit. It’s best to try and film everything in order, if you have filmed all the shots which are
needed to go next to each other in the music video then you can easily se what its looking like and if you need to
change or add anything to it, if you film bits and pieces from different parts of the music video then you will most likely
miss things out and then you wont know whether you should of added something to a certain scene till the end and the
you have a limited amount of time to film and edit things.
 Be critical with your footage.
- If you are not critical with your footage then you could end up including things in your video which aren't an asset to
your music video but either makes it look out of place and it’s only making your music video longer and the more it is
dragged out the less interesting it is for the audience. Being critical means you can work on new ides quickly and
significantly,

9. Step 8:
 Sync up the performances first.
- By synching up the performances first it means you don’t later have to worry about the lip synching or performance being out of
time with the music or not fitting. You can then add extra things in once you have done the important task of synching the music.
 Get the whole picture rather than tiny details.
- This step is very important and is often forgotten when caught up in the creative side of making the video. It is common for groups
to have a vision of what they want to achieve and have ideas for tiny details which would add to the effect of the overall video,
however getting caught up in the tiny details rather than the whole picture can often lead to the whole picture not actually turning
out the way it was planned as the group hasn’t had enough time to film the other scenes which they also wanted to add tiny details
too but ran out of time as they were focusing on another scenes details for too long then the whole picture usually is rushed and /
or unfinished. It is much more efficient to have the whole picture done first and then to add the details in at the end, this way at
least if you run out of time at the end you have a completed simple piece which still shows the story of your music video.
 Cut and cut again.
- It is important to make sure to cut any footage which isn’t needed, your music video does not become too busy and you
can focus on the footage which fits.
 Aim for a dynamic piece of work.
- Using different dynamics in the music video is key, without using different types of dynamics the music video would be
very flat and boring.
 Do any effects work last.
- Again this point ties in with the second point, doing effects work during each moment of editing takes time away from
editing the whole thing and again it usually ends up rushed due to focusing on small details rather than the whole video.
 Upload rough cut and get feedback asap.
- This step is very useful, by getting feedback early on means you have plenty of time to make and changes necessary.

10. Step 9:
 Get feedback as soon as you can and from whomever:
- Getting feedback is key. You want to get feedback from a wide range of people, this way you can get different
views. You want feedback from your teachers as they can give you an examiners view you also want to get
feedback from your target audience as you are trying to make the video appeal to them so you need to keep
updating them to see whether they would enjoy your video and it was exiting enough.
 Upload video to your blog via YouTube.
- YouTube is a easy to sue software which enables a variety of people to find your video and can easily be
embedded onto the blog.
 Post all links to social media platforms.
- You can keep people easily updated with all your progress and you can also get feedback via social media.
 Send it to actual artists.
- Although very rare you will get a response if they by any chance do respond you will be getting some amazing
insight feedback.
 Ask for honest opinions ( not just your friends ).
- Although friends feedback is helpful they might not always be brutally honest this is why it is important to get a
range of feedback from different people , parents are a good source of feedback and different teachers not just ones
you are familiar with.

11. Step 10:
 Produce and evaluation.
- You will have to produce and evaluation of your final project to so you need to keep and open mind and
be able to critic your work as well as know what you did well.
 Take advice about what to include in your evaluation.
- In case your not sure what to look for to evaluate you can ask your teachers or look at the blog bible to
ensure all aspects of your work are up to standard.
 Make sure you always use the blog and when your finished order it.
- It’s easy to drop back on blog posts when your filming but it counts for a big part of your grade more than
your final piece so it is important to make sure you are always keeping it up to standard and not dropping
the quality of the posts, if you are not ordering it as you go along it is important to look over the posts you
have done and order them in relevance to makes it more organised.