Learn How to Create Your Own MTV-Style Videos

Learn How to Create Your Own MTV-Style Videos
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Making Your Video

Are you tired of your videos looking like vintage footage of the Beatles? Want to spice them up and make them stand out from the crowded World Wide Web? Well, you can learn how to make MTV-style videos using some simple software and a little creativity.

To start off, you will need to take some rock star video clips and decide which footage that you want to use. You should also decide what type of music would work best for your footage. For example, Celine Dion would not go with a NASCAR event. If you’re creating a professional video to share with clients, use music that matches that tone as well.

Once you decide on your footage and music, it’s time to decide how you want to edit and create your video. If you have your own editing equipment, that’s great. You can coordinate the clips to match the length and intensity of each section of music. If, however, you do not, you can choose from a few different software programs.

Get Ideas

Before you start creating your video, watch other successful music videos on YouTube. Find the ones that are the most viral, innovative and interesting to gather ideas of your own. Don’t copy these videos directly. Instead, use them for inspiration. Successful videos usually have a pattern. For example, some of the most watched videos on the Internet are funny animal videos, but that doesn’t mean that you should have a LOL Cat in your video. It just gives you an idea of what people like to watch.

Available Software Programs

If you’re the type that wants full control over their material, you can choose an editing program like Pinnacle to splice together your footage. These programs will usually allow you to preview your video with the music. This method, however, can be labor intensive, and you need to know what you are doing.

For users that need a little more assistance, muvee autoProducer ($59.95 retail) and iMovie for Macs (free) does most of the work for you. You simply upload your video footage and choose the music that you want to use. These applications will synchronize your clips to the beat of the selected music.

The downside to these applications is that you have to use their music. muvee autoProducer does not let you edit clips out or change scenes, and you have to use a predefined template

With Fliptrack, you can only embed your videos on Web sites like MySpace, Facebook, your own blog or website. You can, however, send your video via email. Plus, there is no way to search for you or your friend’s video on the site.

But, whatever you decide to use to make your videos, you need to be creative. Shoot footage that is interesting and can be easily set to music. These make for the best, most viral videos out there.

Promoting Your Videos

Once your video is completely done, you need to promote it. Very few videos just go viral on their own. Most require a little help from their creators. One way is to use social networking sites. It’s best to have a large following, or ask a friend who does have a large following to help you promote your video.

The goal is to get as many people as possible to view, rate and comment on your video. The best rated and viewed videos are listed first on YouTube. Email all of your friends, direct message your Twitter friends or post to your Facebook or Google +. Ask people to rate, comment and view your video. People may view the video if they see it on your wall, but they may not comment on YouTube itself. Instead, they may comment on your Facebook posting or just respond to your email. Tell them what you want, and they’re more likely to do.

For example, you can ask your followers to retweet your Twitter posting or Share with their friends on Facebook. Be sure to have the instructions in the message so your friends’ followers will also know what to do.

What the Future May Hold

While most videos on YouTube fade into oblivion once their 15 minutes of fame is done, others create successful careers for their creators. If you learn how to make your own MTV-style videos, and your video goes viral, you may be set to jump from the very small screen to the big time. A number of people have created their own television shows based on their original YouTube videos. Some have even become household names. Anyone recognize the name of Justin Bieber? So, are you next?

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