"Trapped in a cycle of repetition and risk, Neesh navigates a world where the lines between opportunity and downfall blur, as he finds himself submerged in a pool of cannabis."

when budget is an issue, it's important to focus on one element of the "rule of thumb" (character, plot, or setting)

Around the same time that the "Freeway" music video was released, Neesh sent me a song called "Badbeat." Some directors avoid listening to the song prior to developing their plot, as it can be distracting. However, as someone who is generally musically inclined, I prefer to learn about the dynamics, tone, and texture of the song before seeking the artist's input. In the case of Neesh's "badbeat," the repeating sample throughout the track gave me a sense of repetition, which inspired me to develop a concept around that theme. Additionally, Neesh had provided me with a reference edit from a Kendrick Lamar video, which gave us a solid starting point for our concept development.

One mistake I often see music video directors make, especially early on in their careers, is to focus too much on having a plot in their music video. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, when budget is an issue, it's important to focus on one element of the "rule of thumb" (character, plot, or setting) in order to create a solid idea for the video.

Another mistake is making things too literal.

At the end of the day, we need to know what we are executing and what the central focus and final product is.

Many times, we think our visual idea should be at the heart of what the audience wants to see, but mistakenly it is the song that is the final product the audience wants to connect with.

This means that the visuals must serve that purpose, or else it becomes the director's product, and that is not what the artist pays us to do.

Knowing that the budget is an issue and we can only maximize on one element (plot, setting, or character)

and knowing what the song is about, it's important to exaggerate within the chosen element that the creator chooses to maneuver within. For example, the song "Badbeat" says, "where do you want to escape to? Anywhere you go, you get a 'bad beat'." This gives me a sense of being trapped, stuck, and unlucky. Neesh also wanted to show a relevance between the visuals and his life and day-to-day experiences.

When creating a lookbook and sending it to Neesh, I suggested putting him in a pool of weed instead of the cliché scenes of artists in a pool of money, luxurious materials, or milk tubs. Neesh was blown away and instantly hooked on the idea. We also picked a lot of relevant props that could add to the texture of the video. If money is an issue, one tool I always use is to shrink my frame size.

When breaking down the cost of each scene, I break it down into foreground, mid-ground, and background, and if I can't afford to dress all of them properly, I compress them by getting as close as possible to the subject.

For example, if I wanted to show a full body shot of Neesh in the pool of weed and add other elements on a larger scale, the cost would have skyrocketed. However, I didn't have to sacrifice my idea. Instead, I got as close as possible to the subjects and left the rest to the power of association that the audience can build on their own.

This is one of the major ways I approach building a music video idea. It's important to come up with anything that serves the final product in order to ensure that the video will leave a positive impact on the client's brand. You can be smart and do it in a way that serves your brand as well, but that should not be the center of the selling point. If you ever want to conduct a study, take a look at the number of views a music video receives on an online platform compared to the views its corresponding song receives. Typically, the video gets far fewer views, indicating that people have a shorter attention span for videos than for audio content. Additionally, viewers want to connect with the song and embark on their own journey, rather than investing themselves in the video and constantly watching it every time they listen to the song.

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Thanks for reading!

Shahrooz

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