A music video can make or break an emerging band. As The Buggles professed in their 1981’s music video, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” music videos are almost as well known as the bands or singers they represent. Remember Robert Palmer’s robot-like women featured in each of his videos, or Ok Go’s recent treadmill theme video for “Here It Goes Again?” Music videos are essential for any band, but creating them can be a very expensive enterprise. Here are a few suggestions for bands trying to save money and make their own video.

Always start with a great concept. With millions of videos posted daily on Youtube it is important for yours to stand out above the crowd. No matter the budget constraints' people will watch a video with an interesting concept. Spend the time developing your killer idea before you begin shooting. If you are working on a shoe-string budget, rent a high-quality camera along with a good audio recording system instead of purchasing a new one or hiring an entire crew. Video and Audio quality is important so spend whatever money you have on the best equipment. The audience may love your concept, but they will not watch 3 minutes of a poor video with bad sound.

Ask your friends to help out. Put them to work on the set or use them as extras in the background. Friends can usually be bribed into helping out with food and drink.

Spend time rehearsing your video. Having at least one rehearsal will help your project run very smoothly and cut down on wasted time and energy. This will also save time during the editing phase. For a non-edit video consider following the trends of many bands, and shoot your video in one take. One shot videos save time and money on the editing phase.

Most of all have fun and enjoy the process.

For more information check out this article on making your own video.