Learning how to make a music video is not difficult if you just know the correct steps to take. This page contains information, tips and step by step instructions on how to go about the making of a music video.

Music videos have not always been as important as they are today. In the 60's and 70's music videos consisted of footage of bands playing music in sound studios. With the rise of MTV[ in the 80's, the music video became an essential part of music production and promotion. Today music videos actually tell a story, they are basically like short films that support the music. The first modern day music video was produced by Michael Nesmith in 1979. Nesmith made short musical films for Saturday Night Live.http://www.1st-free-music-download.com/music-video.html

When you see a music video on MTV or VH1, it seems like they are easy to make. However, artists like the late Michael Jackson, pulled out all the stops with his music videos. The music videos for Thriller was longer than the average music video and resembled a short film. The 1983 video cost $500,000 which was considered a lot of money for a music video at that time. The average music video cost $50,000 in the 80's. However, to this day the Thriller album is the biggest selling album of all time. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24314870/

If you are interested in producing your own music video there is some preparation needed. You will need to take certain aspects into consideration, including how much of a budget you have. Below you will find some steps to get you started.

Before you can start making a music video, you will have to start with a blue print. This basically means that you will be planning out your steps. To prevent forgetting anything along the way, it is a good idea to put some pointers on paper.

Budget: Figure out how much you want or can invest in the making of your music video. Keep in mind that equipment and actors, dancers, models and props that you want to use, can all cost money. If you are on a low budget, try using friends or family in the video or include yourself in the video. Renting equipment is another way to save money. A simple home camcorder can be used for filming. Most camcorders nowadays are digital making the transfer of the video to the PC easy.http://www.timtv.com/mv-101.html

Song Choice: Choose a song for your music video. Make sure it is a song that you are familiar with. Listen to the song, write down the song lyrics if needed. You need to be able to lip sync to the song and also familiarize yourself with the song's beat. If you plan on dancing in the music video, this will be an important factor.http://musicians.about.com/od/musicindustrybasics/ss/makeavideo.htm

Storyboard: Write down what the video clip will be about. What is the story line? Write a short script. Make sure whatever story you come up with fits with your choice of music. For instance, if the song is very sad, you don't want to portrait someone being happy.http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/mg_makeavideo.htm

The next step towards the production of your music video is the casting of the people whom will appear in the video. If you are the lead in the video, you might want some background actors or dancers. These can be anyone from friends or family members to professional dancers, actors, actresses or models. If you decide to hire professionals, make sure that your budget allows this.

Besides hiring people for in front of the camera, you might also want some help behind the scenes. A director can help direct the shoot, someone to handle all the lighting will come in handy also and maybe a camera man might be useful. If you don't have the budget to hire these people, and you are doing things on a more amateur level, you might want to consider doing all these things yourself. Another option is using film students. They often will work for free just for the experience and credit.http://musicians.about.com/od/musicindustrybasics/ss/makeavideo_2.htm

Thinking of various filming locations is a good idea also. Keep in mind that when you film outside various other factors come into play. For instance, the weather. If it's raining, your video might not work if it's suppose to be set in a summer scenery. The lighting might also be affected. Filming inside allows you to control the scenes more.

Once you have planned every step out, you can start filming your video. Keep in mind that if you change clothing a lot during filming, you will have to do more work when editing the video. If you just stay in the same clothing less editing will be needed. Make sure to play the music in the background so you can hear the beat clearly and lip sync along with the music. While editing the video, you can take care of making sure the music sounds right. Tape the scenes several times, so that you have footage to pick from during editing. It makes the editing process easier.

To edit the video you want to load it into an editing system and turn on the music so you can edit to it. Editing software can get quite expensive, but there are also cheaper versions like iMovie or Final Cut Express. You can add special effects, like slow motion movements, or correct the color. You can insert recordings from live performances. Also make sure to add the video title and name of the performer. I you want, you can now upload your video to YouTube.http://www.howcast.com/videos/35928-How-To-Make-a-Music-Video