Indie Ambassador

There was once a time when the idea of wedding music and video was so mind blowing it gave birth to an entire television network. But, humans get bored easily, and soon enough music videos were so painfully mediocre and commonplace that no one cared. Eventually, finding a music video on any TV channel (especially MTV) at all became a serious challenge. Then came this brilliantly simple idea: maybe it’s possible to make an incredibly catchy video with almost no money at all!

"Great art in general thrives off limitation. Small budgets and limited resources can be really beneficial because it forces you to use your imagination in ways that you might not have otherwise." -Mike Gill

Enter OK Go. Whether you think it started with them or not, their video for single “A Million Ways” breathed new life into their career and the stagnant music video scene, simultaneously bringing them worldwide Internet fame as the video went viral and attracted millions of views to date. Misty’s Big Adventure’s video for “Hey Man,” consisting of the band rocking out in the back of their van as it goes through a car wash (where the biggest expense was the car wash fee) was so well received that it premiered on MTV Europe. We recently sat down with seasoned music video director and drummer Mike Gill of circumVision to discover how bands with little to no budget can still make a killer video.

Episode 1 Quick Tips:

• If the lights you use are too bright, bounce them off walls or other surrounding fixtures to dilute them to an appropriate level.
• Learn about post producton filter possibilities to aid your lighting design.
• If you don't have the resources to shoot in HD, don't worry about it! Use limitations to your advantage and be aware that many concepts and desired looks can be achieved in standard definition.
• Use professional services wisely. Doing so is beneficial for many reasons, but mostly because someone with an outside perspective can come in and interpret your song visually with no previous influences. Find a creative director and consolidate services into a single, talented individual. This will help save you money!
• Utilize local resources to build your creative team and production crew.
• If you like a band's video ask them who directed it. Referrals can help you!

Aidan Rush, Chris Cave and Ben Maitland-Lewis contributed to this article.