On Recording Music for Instagram:
One might assume that recording a minute long music video for Instagram would be quicker and easier than writing a song for an album. And depending on the circumstance, you could be right! But only if you let yourself accept that not everything needs to be perfect like it does on a record.
Why would a musician today want to make a minute long music video for social media?
The answer is simple: because we can and because it will get us in front of people’s faces.
In the past, making a high quality music video was a very costly endeavor. But with the advent of affordable cameras and editing software, as well as prosumer level music production gear available to anyone who saves enough for it, almost anyone can make a decent looking music video to share their skills with the world.
But what makes an instagram video different than a song?
The key difference is in the way our listening experience is designed to be consumed.
A song – especially within the context of an album – is designed to be listened to multiple times, in a linear fashion, from beginning to end. It’s meant to be an immersive experience that pulls the listener in to the narrative which is being woven by the song’s constructor.
A quick little video that you scroll through on the other hand , is designed to be consumed in a very different way.
It’s meant to be a quick hit, a little something to tide you over until the next thing comes along.
It’s designed to be consumed in a non linear fashion, where the viewer can scroll through at their leisure if they’re too impatient to sit through the whole thing.
The first obvious factor to consider is the length of the video. One minute may not seem like a lot of time, but when you factor in the time it takes to set up cameras, lights, and other equipment, as well as the time it takes to actually record the video, it can add up quickly. That being said, the amount of work you have to put in to make a video that’s only a minute long is significantly less than writing and recording an entire albums worth of material. If you’re recording multiple takes of the same thing, it can take even longer.
Short videos can be turned around very quickly, but the impact of a listening experience goes beyond just the length of the video.
People use the word content all the time when talking about videos and social media, but what does that actually mean?
In order to create content that people will want to watch, you need to give them something that they’re interested in.
The best way to do this is by creating a video that’s visually interesting and engaging. It’s sad, but most of us will scroll through our feeds silently until something that sparks our interest comes up.
Making our video more colorful or full of tasteful movement can help, but we need to think about the audio as well.
An engaging song will usually have some kind of hook, progression or melody that pulls the listener in and keeps them engaged. Thats where your skill level comes in to play.
Even if you have all the bells and whistles of a professional music video production studio at your disposal, if you don’t know how to play your instrument, your video is going to be tough to watch. Just because you can make a cool looking video doesn’t mean that people are going to want to spend time listening to it. In order to make a good impression, you need to have both good visuals and good music with a high quality of production.
The last thing to consider is the way you want people to consume your content.
Are you trying to get people to listen to your album? Watch your music video? Buy a ticket to your next show?
All of these are valid options, but you need to be clear about what you’re trying to achieve with your video.
If you’re trying to get people to buy an album, it might be a good idea to include a link in the description so they can do just that.
The same goes for concert tickets or anything else you might be selling.
But if you’re just trying to get people interested in what you do, then a simple call to action like “subscribe to my channel” or “like this video” can be enough to get the ball rolling.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide what kind of content you want to create and how you want people to consume it.
There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you take the time to consider all of these factors, you’ll be one step closer to creating something that people will actually want to watch. Thanks for reading!