Let’s face it—doing it yourself is going to be the cheapest way to go (although in these circles, it’s better to say “lower budget” and to avoid using the word “cheap”). Now, this assumes that you have all or most of the hardware and software you will need for production. If you need to equip a full music and video production project studio, even in a bedroom in your house, and you are starting with nothing, then your startup costs will be quite different. But, as stated earlier in the book, I’m assuming you already have a head start on all of this.

So, back to the budget. Providing you have the basics, there will still be some additional expenses, which may include costs for the following items (some of which are shown in Figure 4.1).

Figure 4.1. Among the items you’ll need to consider in your budget are extras like tapes (or other storage) and batteries.

For equipment and accessories, you may need the following:

For the cast, you may need these items:

For the crew you may need these amenities:

Didn’t anyone mention salary? Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that everyone is going to pitch in for free. This will be a major variable based upon the type of production you’re doing, the level of experience of the people involved, and obvious issues, such as whether everyone involved is an integral part of the project—the band, the manager, the roadies, and so on.

In a do-it-yourself project, many of these items will be up to your sole discretion. Of the categories just mentioned, the first one—equipment and accessories—may have items that are unavoidable, such as batteries, cables, and so on. The other categories may either be completely unnecessary or an absolute requirement, such as wardrobe. These items will be determined by your script and whether you need any wardrobe changes or additional crew members.

There was a time that the idea of self-producing a music video with professional-looking (and sounding) results was impossible. That was before we had the tools that are available to us today. It may sound like a cliché, but you have more computer power on your desktop than the astronauts had available to them on their moon landing (and all you’re doing is making a music video—you’re not even attempting to get into orbit). Moreover, laptop computers have become so powerful that they provide you with the capability to take your production on the road (see Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3. Now the computer power on your desktop is accessible anywhere you go.

The tools, in the form of hardware and software, clearly create an advantage for the do-it-yourselfer of today and more than that, make it even possible. See Chapter 5, “Tools for Do-It-Yourselfers,” for a more in-depth look at audio and video production tools.

Maybe you’re not a control freak, but if you’re technically and creatively savvy, you can be a control geek. (Combine these with ambition, and you could be the guy in Figure 4.4.) A clear advantage in doing it yourself is that you will have more control. At the very least, you are the director and in some cases, the producer, the writer, the camera operator, the editor, and so on. Sure, you might have friends or colleagues who take on some of these tasks. But when you’re in charge, you’re in control. So add another advantage to the DIY (do it yourself) column.

Figure 4.4. Conductors are the type of control freak that you might not mind having as a friend.

An argument can be made that if you’re doing an expensive professional production, you might be in control as well. True, but if you are sharing the expense with others in a team environment (say, members of a band), then you will have more chefs in the kitchen, chefs that are much more vocal because they have dollars at stake.

There’s nothing like on-the-job training, and making a music video will give you plenty of it. When you think about the disciplines involved—audio recording and video production to name a couple—you are only scratching the surface of music video production. There is also the writing, the casting, wardrobe, and many other tasks that will challenge your creativity and technical chops.

If you’re an accomplished music video director/producer, then you already know these things, mostly from experience. But if you’re just starting out, you will need to “push the envelope” and work on tasks you may never have attempted previously. In addition to books, such as this one, you will benefit by reading about other parts of the process in more specialized areas. For example, what do you know about make-up? Special effects? Camera moves? In addition to this type of self-education, there is the prospect of doing a lot of research on the Internet—before you begin your production, as well as during it, to get information that is very up-to-date. Even if your first project does not meet your expectations, you will have gained valuable experience you can use on your second production. Hiring a professional crew is certainly great, but it won’t give you as much direct, hands-on experience as a DIY production does.

After you’ve got at least one music video project under your belt, you can honestly say that you’re a music video director and/or producer. You can add it to your resume, put in on your business card, and introduce yourself that way at cocktail parties. I would not recommend doing so until you have a production that you think is very deserving of the director or producer title. But, at some point in your career (even if it’s not your life-long goal to direct music videos), you will be able to tout your music video production capabilities.

A DIY production becomes more than an item on your resume when you realize that what you are really creating is a reel. A reel these days means a digital file rather than a physical reel that spins around and around (see Figure 4.5). But then again, many refer to their latest CD as their new record, a term that at one time meant something vinyl that also spun around and around. Nevertheless, the clips that you continue to build up in time will become part of your reel or portfolio or demo—whatever name you want to call it.

Figure 4.5. A reel, by any name, is a reel.

Additionally, because you are thinking about posting it on the Internet, you will automatically have a promotional and marketing tool you can use to your heart’s content.

The clear advantage of teaming up with student filmmakers is that they already have some training and experience, not to mention the confidence that comes with having that experience. They are likely two steps ahead of you, assuming that you’ve concentrated most of your efforts on songwriting. The film student already knows about camera moves, lighting, file formats, aspect ratios, and post-production—things that you may know something about but not enough to call yourself experienced. Teaming up with a student filmmaker might yield more professional results and, at the very least, save you a lot of time in every aspect of the production.

Why would a film student want to work with you in the first place? Well, he or she may not. This part of the formula relies on the strength of your act, persuasive capabilities, as well as your ability to network. Getting in touch with film schools and posting your project may be one way to find a student filmmaker. Another is to use the Internet to post an ad for a student filmmaker on websites such as www.craigslist.com or www.mandy.com. You could offer the film student some amount of composing for his productions as a trade for his services. And remember that you can also sweeten your offer with some amount of cash, even in a low-budget production.

A natural built-in advantage to teaming up with a film student is access to equipment that you don’t have to buy or rent. The filmmaker may not have a full audio production studio, but hopefully you do. Where the student filmmaker comes in is on the video side of things, and she may come not only with a camera, but also with lighting, reflectors, additional lenses, and so on. But it doesn’t stop there. If the student filmmaker wants a lot of involvement in the project, you can enlist her to participate in everything from pre-production to final product. Your particular needs may vary as much as the student filmmaker’s capabilities do, so approach this method with some flexibility.

One problem with the DIY method is that you often work alone and may not have anyone to bounce your ideas off of—a sounding board of sorts. With a film student, you automatically have a sounding board with whom you can bounce, debate, discuss, and challenge ideas. This is not to say you won’t have this advantage in other methods, except that the DIY method may not present as much opportunity to do so.

Just as in the case of watching other types of music videos outside of your particular genre, working closely with someone like a student filmmaker can help you “think outside the box” and reveal ideas you would not ordinarily think of.

Sometimes a student filmmaker comes with other student filmmakers. If there is enough interest in your project, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to enlist other film students in executing many of the tasks from pre- to post-production. You could potentially have more than one student to help you—you could have a crew, again, depending on your persuasive abilities and the quality of your music. You might even have a scenario in which you hand off the directing chores to student filmmaker number one while you take on the role of executive producer. It feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t rule it out.

Film students may have a number of connections that can be beneficial to you. It may be that they know someone in the business. Or maybe they know someone who knows someone. Although it is totally possible that they know no one at all (of any consequence), at the very least, you have networking potential here that you may not have in the DIY scenario. Many composers today are working with filmmakers whom they either knew from film school or worked with early on. Those relationships are important. If you think you may be doing more music videos in the future, these relationships should be nurtured. When you look at feature films, as an example, you’ll notice that directors seem to work with some of the people—especially composers—time after time. If there seems to be synergy between you and the student filmmaker, think in terms that are beyond the scope of this particular music video. You could, in fact, be working in a professional situation with this person years from now, and during those years, the connections that you have will continue to grow.

As always, use the Internet as a resource, too. Just by Googling “student filmmaker,” I came across a great site called www.studentfilmmakers.com, which can be a great jumping off point for increasing the size and reach of your network.

Based on your budget, you may be able to hire a professional to help you with your music video. Also based on your budget, you might be hiring one videographer or a production company that has a full staff of professionals. For the sake of clarity, I’ll use the word “professional” to mean either one, unless otherwise specified.

One assumption you can probably make is that hiring a professional will yield professional results—more professional than the other alternatives. In most respects this is true, but there are other things to consider that go beyond the word professional.

This is a potential advantage when hiring a professional. I say potential because although the pro can likely work faster than you on some of these tasks, turn-around time also depends on the current schedule of the pro or production company you’re hiring. This is something to talk about directly in your initial meeting. If his or her schedule is full and yours in on a deadline, you don’t have a match. If, on the other hand, the pro can get you in on your schedule, the tasks—especially post-production—should go faster and give you a good turn-around time.

Similar to the scenario of the student filmmaker, using an outside resource—in this case, a professional—provides a means of having someone to give you feedback, not only before the shoot, but after it as well. And in this case, your sounding board has a great deal of experience with which to give you ideas, techniques, and who knows—maybe even a connection or two for distribution. Working in isolation can work well, but working as part of a team (providing the synergy is there) can make it even better.

You may be hiring one producer/director for your project or a team consisting of writers, cameramen, soundman, film editors, and more. It is likely that you are in the former group (one producer/director) rather than the latter. But if it is a production company—even a small one—ask questions about the structure of their organization and whether other people can be utilized at a reasonable cost. This not only provides faster turn-around time, it gives you the advantage of people who specialize in a particular discipline.

The professional comes with a great deal of technical knowledge, knowledge that you may not have about the variety of formats, file types, and other technical “gotchas.” As I point out in the earlier DIY section, these are things you can certainly learn yourself. But if you are more creatively gifted than technically astute, this built-in advantage to using a professional may be your cup of tea.