A Guide on How to Make a Music Video

DO's:

• The first 30 seconds of the video are crucial, make sure you make the opening sequence appealing and something you yourself would want to watch.
• The Nightclub Theory: If you're going to be dancing etc, make sure you make it colourful and eye catching. Incorporate good lighting and other camera techniques.
• Logistics: Location; make sure you scout your locations and inspect them first. Prepare for any eventualities (For example, building works being done where you want to film or the area not accessible on that specific day). Also be sure to time everything perfectly, create schedules for filming and prepare yourself for if one of your group members can't turn up.
• Planning: Plan down to the smallest details, make sure you have your shotlist and storyboards and that the director knows what he wants to do beforehand. 
• Storyboard: When creating the storyboard, you can not only draw it but you can also take digital stills instead. Have you actors act the scenes they would at the location and take stills, analyse them and decide on whether or not they're suitable for what you're trying to achieve.
• Always have a back up plan in case the unexpected happens, make sure that if you can't do what you were hoping to you can you have something else to be getting on with for the time being.
• Make things different and unique, don't copy from other music videos etc.
• Realism! Don't make it look ridiculous and don't try and do wacky things that could endanger yours or others lives.
• Add a twist to it, make it different and eye catching. Nothing is worse than a boring video...
• Work with the lyrics: Do not make a video completely unrelated to the song - it's not a Lady Gaga video!
• Shoot the performance footage first! Make sure you work around it, the lip syncing is the main part of the video and should take priority.

DON'Ts

• Not planning your video. If you don't plan the video properly, it will be rubbish. Planning is a major part of creating a video!
• Health and Safety: Make sure there aren't any dangers that your actors might face, you need to make sure there aren't any wires to trip over and no dangerous stunts.
• It's not a short film! Don't make the narrative of the video too cliche and ridiculous, it isn't a short film and doesn't require it to be so complex.