Music is a language that crosses all barriers; telling your viewers exactly what they should be feeling, and when they should be feeling it. A powerful tool when used correctly, the trouble comes in when the options are practically endless. The music in your video is important can be the making or breaking point of your final product, but finding the perfect sound doesn’t have to be as hard as you might think.
Before heading to any destination, you need a map to know how to get there. Finding music for your video production uses that exact principle. Make a guideline for yourself by looking at these two factors.
With the sheer amount of songs available for use, the thought of picking just a few can seem impossible. Make this process less daunting by mapping out the story arc of your video – before even thinking about finding the perfect sound. Take notes on how the mood shifts, when different characters or subjects are brought up, and where you want the viewers to be feeling certain emotions.
Your video’s mood can go from confusing to sad to hopeful, or from anger to inspiration to peace. Look up emotive words and get specific about the emotion for each scene of your video.
Look at any movement you may want to emphasize. A tilt of the head or a shift in gaze can become more than a simple action if you decide it should. Think of what type of sound you want at that time point – a pause before looping back to a part of the previous song? A change of songs entirely? Choose what mood you believe the movement conveys and add that to your map.
Once you’re done, you will have a guide to exactly what sort of sounds you are looking for, which narrows down your search considerably.
Everything in video is about feeling. Music has the ability to invoke nearly every human emotion, and taking advantage of this will take your video production to the next level. Are you vlogging and talking about overcoming your issues with lost luggage? Throw in something inspirational. Are you advertising a product that will change your viewers’ lives? You can’t go wrong with upbeat tunes. Is your video showing someone going through a rough patch? String instruments and a slower melody will tug at your viewers’ heartstrings.
Make your viewers feel exactly what you felt while creating each part of your video. When it comes to conveying emotion through a video, music is a very powerful tool that adds to what the viewer is seeing and amplifies emotion.
Your music choice can either compliment what’s happening in your video or it can be a distraction. When your video is informative and explanatory, choose instrumentals rather than songs which have lyrics. Lyrics can steal your viewers’ attention and they will end up leaving your video having missed the point entirely.
On the other hand, if your video has no voiceover or dialogue, lyrics can be what tells the viewer about the feeling behind each shot. A song with a simple love story can get your audience thinking further about the couple they see dancing in slow motion. Some motivational lyrics might inspire them to join the gym you’ve made a video advertisement for.
The music must add to the video and its purpose, without being distracting and stealing the spotlight.
While different sounds and genres of music can add to your video, they can also change the interpretation of your visuals entirely. Using a contrasting sound can lighten the mood, or make the viewer aware of an approaching change in atmosphere. This concept is harder to implement than matching the mood to the music exactly, but will add an interesting dimension to your video, especially when used in more comical settings.
For example, a cheery ukulele tune during a stressful or frustrating section can keep your viewer from feeling the same negative emotions that are being portrayed visually. This keeps them from having to feel emotions they might decide to click away from, and causes them to see the situation as humorous instead.
Search for music using the mood and movement map you made earlier. Then, have your video playing in the background while listening to potential songs and see if you can imagine the two working well together. Take note of emotions you feel while watching this rough idea of what the final production will be. If you aren’t feeling what you want your viewers to feel, the song isn’t the right one.
Patience and perseverance will ensure your video production has the perfect soundtrack to go along with the message you want to share. Keep looking until you find music that inspires you and invest in the guidance of a great video production company like The Michael Group!
