Being Picky: Story Flow On A Budget

You are shooting a very low budget video, so, unfortunately, there are going to be things that are not possible for you, and that’s ok.

Lots of actors, high tech stunts or effects, and things like crazy props or costumes are out of the question for you right now. Imagining yourself in front of a team of aliens? Keep imagining because this isn’t the time.

That doesn’t mean those ideas aren’t good, or that you shouldn’t use them someday. Remember them. Don’t bend over backwards to fit all of your ideas into one video; choose the ideas that are doable right now and make sense for the song, and save the rest. Many people have a cool idea that they really hang on to and drag into the wrong video. Don’t do this. It ruins the idea and it ruins the video! Everything has its place and your ideas will never go bad.

No ideas are bad if they are inspired by your music and coming from your brain, but you need to be picky in choosing which ideas you decide to use in order to not set yourself up for failure or disappointment while making your music video.

Make Sure You Maintain Perspective

Know what is important and what isn’t in terms of ideas and things you want for the video.

Even established directors and producers lose sight of perspective during their productions all the time, costing millions of dollars and hours of lost production time as they cling to difficult shots or set-ups they really want to put into their films or videos. Make sure you know what’s worth the stress in terms of executing ideas and what’s not.

At this stage in your video making career, simpler is going to be better every time.

How do you make sure the audience feels like they are entertained without spending money on practically anything extra aside from equipment.

It’s easier than you might think.

Your video doesn’t have to be a story but it should follow some kind of story flow, even if it is as simple as you walking through your neighborhood.

If you are struggling because you have a really cool idea but it’s too complicated to pull off at your current level, take the general feeling behind the idea and leave behind the complicated part.

Here’s An Example:

Your song is about people out to get you, or the feeling that people are against you in your life, and how you work against that to prove them wrong.

You have an awesome idea for the video – it’s you, walking through a crowded place, looking over your shoulder. Men are following you in a car. They attack you and kidnap you in broad daylight, pulling you into their car, shattering the windshield. You escape and run through the streets as the final bars of the song play.

This is an awesome vision for a video but impossible to do with a tiny budget. However, all is not lost.

You can still have the same feeling, vibe, or theme, just with different events in your video that are actually doable for you at your current level of resources and expertise.

So: same song about the feeling that people are against you in life. We still want to make that paranoid, dangerous feeling a part of the video. How do we do that?

First, pick a gritty location, like a shady-looking parking lot, old train tracks, or a parking garage. Perhaps some alleys or dirty streets with litter and lots of fences (but make sure you are safe!) Second, have your camera person shoot you as if they are a person following you – almost like a stalker. Look over your shoulder as you sing/rap suspiciously, like you are worried about someone following you or coming to attack you.

You can even have shots where you are hiding behind walls, under a bridge or back alley. These choices will create a mini story – you, the rapper, are running from something or avoiding a certain possible event.

The audience never finds out what it is, preserving a sense of mystery and interest. Remember the initial meaning of the song in this example – the feeling that people are against you in your life. The audience watching the video will feel someone is out to get you as they watch the video, which matches the message of the song. It will make them feel like they understand you or are on your side, connecting them more to you. This is what we want.