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Ultimate Guide on How to Plan and Storyboard a Music Video

Planning and storyboarding is the most important part of creating a music video. Here are some easy tips for planning and storyboarding a music video in Filmora.
Liza Brown
Liza Brown Originally published Apr 11, 23, updated Oct 09, 24

Do you want to bring your music to life on the big screen? Do you want to create something visually striking? Making a music video seems like a big task. Sometimes, the artist you're working with might not have a clear idea for their music video. It's your job to help guide the creative process.

But don't worry! This guide is going to make it easy for you to plan and storyboard your music video step by step with the help of Filmora. So let's get started and make an amazing music video together!

In this article
  1. Plan and develop initial ideas
  2. Choose a style for your music video
  3. Storyboard your music video

Plan and develop initial ideas

The first and essential step in creating a music video is planning. This is where you will lay the foundation of your music video. You need to figure out what your video is about and what you want to convey to the audience. It involves a concept or theme for the video, research, and reference material. You can also explore different ideas to make your video unique and engaging.

graphical text of initial ideas
Step1Research and gather information

You can begin by researching and gathering information from other music videos. This will help you to know what has been done before and what is currently popular. You can also figure out how you can do it differently.

Step2Brainstorm and concept development

Once you understand the current trends and styles in the music video. It's time to start brainstorming ideas. You can do it alone or with the help of your team. But remember that you have to think out of the box to make it creative.

Step3Consider the lyrics and message

In the planning stage, it is also important to consider the lyrics and message of the song. It would be best if you plan according to the feel and vibe of the song. It will help you to create a concept tied to the song and will help enhance its meaning.

Step4Experiment and find the right direction

Once you have a general concept, it's time to develop it further. You can do it by creating rough sketches or storyboards. You can also film test footage to see how the concept will look on screen.

Step5Effort and attention to detail

Remember, this step is the foundation of your music video. So, take your time and don't rush through it. By putting in effort and attention to detail, you'll be able to create a visually stunning and closely tied to the song's music video.

Choose a style for your music video

While creating ideas for the music video, it's also important to consider the style of the music video. There are two main styles of music videos:

types of music video style

1.Performance-style music video

If you want to showcase energy and charisma in your music video, go for a performance-style music video. This video style focuses on you and your band performing live in front of an audience. You can shoot a video in a single take with minimal cuts or feature different angles and shots. The key is to capture the raw energy and emotion of the performance.

2.Narrative-style music video

A narrative-style music video tells a story or conveys a message along with the music. The story can be a visual representation of the lyrics or a multi-layered narrative. You can choose this style to convey a deeper message or story.

You can shoot this video in different locations and can include different scenes. The main motive is to create a video that emotionally connects with the audience.

Once you have an idea of what you want your music video to be about, you can put together a treatment to show the artist what your initial plan for the music video is.

treatment of the plan

If the artist approves the direction of the video, it's time to move on to storyboarding!

Storyboard your music video

Once you are done with the style and concept of the video, the next step is storyboarding! It allows you to break down your music video visually and highlight key visual moments. It can save time and money and convey a clear idea to the team. You can do this on paper, a computer, or a tablet, whatever works best for you. Let's see how to do it with the help of Filmora.

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graphical text of storyboarding
Step1Draw your ideas

You are supposed to break your video idea into different scenes. For each scene, you should draw a picture of what the shot will look like and draw them within the rectangles.

drawing pictures of the scenes
Step2Take pictures

After doing your storyboarding on paper, take photos of each shot in a sequence and import them to your computer.

take pictures of the sketch

Before going to the next step, make sure to download Wondershare Filmora. It is powerful editing software that can help you easily make a storyboard. With its wide range of features, you can also customize your clips with special effects, transitions, and more.

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Step3Import pictures to Filmora

Now import all the scenes and music to Filmora. You can also create separate folders if you have multiple concepts for a single video.

importing song and scene pictures to filmora
Step4Drop your media onto the timeline

Drag and drop the song to the audio timeline. Then press shift, select all images, and drop them into the picture timeline. If you realize you are missing enough clips to complete the song, you can draw and add more shots.

dropping song and pictures into the timeline
Step5Adjust the frame

You can right-click on the picture's timeline and select Crop to fit to adjust the image on the screen. You can also adjust the scenes according to the song.

selecting crop to fit
Step6Add effects

You can also simulate transitions and effects in the clips. Let's suppose you want to show a zoom-in shot. Then you would click on the picture frame and the keyframe option just above the timeline. Now keyframe the position and scale of the clip according to you.

adding keyframe to the pictures

Once you feel like your clips sync with the song, you are ready to start planning for the production of your music video.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has given you a better understanding of how planning and storyboarding can help make your music videos better. You can ensure that your vision is clearly communicated to the audience by planning and storyboarding your music videos properly. Now that you know what to do, it's time to put that knowledge into action. Take a pencil and paper and start sketching the shots and scenes you want to create.

Liza Brown
Liza Brown Oct 09, 24
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