Since the beginning of MTV in the ’80s, people have enjoyed watching their favorite stars playing their favorite music first on television, and now on media like YouTube. A creative idea is to make your own music video, which is by far one of the coolest things that you can do. Time to make one as a gift for that special someone.
You really have to know the person well and have been dating or already married before you do something as grand as making a lip-sync music video for them. This is where we separate the men from the boys (and women from the girls) when it comes to creativity. You can put the video onto a DVD/Blu-Ray or just give them the video file and then they can watch it over and over again. If you are brave you can upload it to YouTube as well, although you may have copy-right issues to worry about. Many times the copyright holder will allow it but they may run ads on your video and keep all the proceeds.
What you need for this music video idea:
There are a few equipment needs that you will have. You need some sort of video camera, whether it is a video camera, DSLR, or a phone. To edit the video you need a computer. Most computers come with some sort of editing software. The one I prefer is Adobe Premiere. This a professional editing software, so most likely something cheaper will suffice for your needs. If you have Windows, the chances are good that your computer came with something like Microsoft Movie Maker, which is very basic software but will work fine. You’ll also need to bring a portable radio with you or an iPod, or just your phone, as long as it’s not also your camera.
It is very important that you rehearse the song over and over so that your lips match up well with the words, otherwise, it looks really funny. Then you go out with a friend and film yourself lip singing with the song. If you can’t find anyone to go with you use a tripod to hold the camera or phone. I usually film it in many different locations so that I can edit them together.
My commentary on this idea:
On two occasions growing up, my older brother made a music video for his girlfriend. The first one was his high school girlfriend. The second was for his wife. Some songs he made videos of include: “Ice Cream Man” by Van Halen, “Girl You Know It’s True” by Milli Vanilli (yeah, this dates my brother), “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, and many other songs. He did a Chicago song, too. The music video gifts were of course well received. I have yet to make a music video for a girl that I like because this sort of thing would probably creep a girl out unless you’d been dating awhile.
While still in college in Utah, I helped my buddy make a lip-sync music video for his wife for Valentine’s Day. I planned out the whole thing for my friend because he didn’t have too much experience with this sort of thing. But don’t let lack of experience deter you from this awesome gift idea. The song was examined and locations were written down for each set of lyrics. Then we drove around and filmed at those locations. I edited the video, which took a decent amount of time, then put it on a DVD for my buddy. He got his wife flowers and then gave her the present. She absolutely adored the video. Who wouldn’t? This kind of gift takes a tremendous amount of effort and will definitely amp up your gift-giving game.
What are you waiting for? Grab a camera or your phone, pick a song, take a friend and go film yourself a music video.
Have you created a music video before for someone as a gift? What song did you choose and how did that person like it? Let me know down in the comments.