Filmmaking Within the Music Industry Precisely How Song Videos Are Made

The music business is a multi-billion industry, generating jobs for a lot of people from composers, recording artists, record producers, musical directors to recording engineers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, etc. Promotion is necessary in such a lucrative business in order to increase profits and generate more revenues. With this knowledge, recording companies invest in the promotion of the records they produce. Promotion may take the form of posters, websites, shows, guestings, etc. In the 1980s, a promotional film clip called music video became a prominent medium of promoting music. Music videos were popularized by music television (MTV), which based the format of their show in this medium.Since then, music videos have become a norm. It is almost impossible to find a popular recording artist without a music video of his popular hits. Music videos of songs are available and even downloadable through the internet in digital format. Like any other film, creating a music video involves several stages. The first stage is the development stage. In this stage, the producer of the video decides on a storyline. This may not be a difficult task in the case of a music video since the song to be featured will already provide the theme, the mood, the storyline. With this, the producer then works with the screenwriter to create a synopsis. The screenwriter proceeds with the writing of the screenplay, thereby making the dramatization and characters clearer and more concrete for its target audience.The next stage, pre-production stage is characterized by the various preparations for the shoot. In this stage, the hiring of the crew and supporting actors (if any), selection of the site for the shoot, setting-up of the site and preparation of props and accessories take place. The over-all design of the shoot is planned. As soon as the pre-production stage is completed, the production stage may commence. This stage involves the actual creation or shooting of the film or video. The crew initially sets up the equipment while the singer and supporting actors are prepared for their shoot. They are dressed in appropriate outfit and their hair and make up are done. Actors are also given instructions by the director as to how they are supposed to deliver their lines and what their blocking will be. When all is set, the shoot is done and the raw shots are collected. The director may require as many takes as he desires until he is satisfied.The post-production stage involves film editing. In this stage, the film editor selects the best shots from the raw film, with the guidance of the film director. These shots are then trimmed to make transitions smooth between scenes and produce a seamless cut. After which, the music, voice recording, sound effects and visual effects are combined and synchronized with the picture. The draft is previewed and when approved, the final film is locked and finished. The final product, the music video is then released as part of music albums or shown in music television. This may also be made downloadable through the internet. Creating a music video is no mean feat. Indeed a lot of work goes into making every single one of them.