Creative Direction for Music Videos
A course by Lyona Ivanova, Audiovisual Director
Learn to realize your artistic vision from shoot to post-production
What could be more inspiring than music to jumpstart your creativity? Being able to imagine and create an entire visual world from a song is exactly what Catalan filmmaker Lyona does when she directs music videos. This field allows her to express herself artistically while exploring different creative techniques and styles. Since 2004, she has made more than one hundred music videos for bands like Love of Lesbian, Amaral, Leiva, Sidonie, Lori Meyers, and Carlos Sadness.
In this course, Lyona shows you what’s needed to create a professional music video, both conceptually and artistically. She shows you what the creative process of music video production is really like: from conceptualizing the idea and writing the script, to pre-production, planning, and development of a storyboard, and finishing with the filming and editing.
What will you learn in this online course?
27 lessons & 15 downloads
What's included in this course?
First get to know Lyona's work in the music video world, how she got started, her references, and the music videos that have helped her develop her unique audiovisual language.
Make first contact with the music for your project and learn what the creative process of coming up with ideas for a music video looks like.
Lyona talks about how to write and structure a script, taking into account the rhythm, melody, lyrics, and duration of the song.
Start working on the artistic direction of the project, creating a dossier that can be shared with the musician or band as well as your own team. Collect images and audiovisual references referencing how you imagine the technical and aesthetic elements of the video, including the costumes and sets, the visuals, the production, and the look of the protagonists.
Find out how to run a meeting with your team, review the functions of each role, and learn techniques for communicating and delegating pre-production tasks.
In pre-production, understand how to outline the artistic direction of the video (costumes, sets, photography, etc.), how to find your cast, secure locations, and develop a storyboard that documents each shot of your music video. Learn how to create and structure a shooting schedule while keeping things organized and optimizing working hours.
Once on set, Lyona shares some tips on how to work as a team, why you should take advantage of the resources you have, and how to direct actors effectively.
Wrap things up by seeing how Lyona edits and completes the post-production process of a music video. See how to make color adjustments, add graphics, and export the final project. Finally, Lyona gives some advice on how to promote your music video on YouTube.
- 99% positive reviews (440)
- 14,633 students
- 27 lessons (5h 37m)
- 15 additional resources (8 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch · Turkish
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
Recommended software & tools for this course
Adobe PremiereWhat is this course's project?
Carry out the artistic direction and production of a music video based on the music of your choice.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Filmmakers, photographers, editors, creators, or anyone with a basic knowledge of audiovisual production who would like to explore the music video format.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, basic knowledge of photography, editing, and cameras is required.
As for the materials, you will need a camera that is capable of recording digital video and a computer with Adobe Premiere installed.
Reviews
Lyona Ivanova
A course by Lyona Ivanova
Lyona is a filmmaker specializing in directing music videos. Since 2004, she has made more than 100 music videos for bands and artists like Love of Lesbian, Amaral, Leiva, Sidonie, Lori Meyers, and Carlos Sadness.
She is passionate about cinema and music, finding the creation of music videos to be the perfect fusion of both. Her work with artists and record labels allows her to create unique visual worlds based on a song.
Lyona is also an illustrator, collaborating on story books and publishing some of her own, including Alyona with Lunwerg Editores or Sex-¡oh! with Random Comics.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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What will we do in the course?
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U2
Concept pre-production
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First contact with music
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Prepare a script 1
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Prepare a script 2
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Creation of visual treatment
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Creation of visual treatment 2
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Creation of visual treatment 3
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U3
Technical preparation
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Scouting and casting
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Planning: Technical Script Creation 1
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Planning: Technical Script Creation 2
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Storyboard
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Shooting plan
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U4
Production
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Materials and preparation: tips for filming
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Organization and management of the human team
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We shot 1
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We shot 2
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We shot 3
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We shot 4
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U5
Postproduction
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Display and selection of material 1
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Material display and selection 2
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Editing intended for video clips: distinction between narrative and playback editing 1
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Editing intended for video clips: distinction between narrative and playback editing 2
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Editing designed for video clips: distinction between narrative and playback editing 3
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Color retouch and final master
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Organize your reel and promote it on social networks
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FP
Final project
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Creative Art Direction for Music Videos
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
You’ll learn how to conceptualize, plan, shoot, and edit music videos, combining visual storytelling, editing, stop motion, actor direction, color grading, and audiovisual promotion techniques.
The course is designed for those with intermediate audiovisual knowledge but is also accessible to motivated beginners eager to learn advanced concepts and techniques.
Professional gear isn’t required; having a camera, basic editing software, and for stop motion, materials like clay and a tripod is recommended. Programs like Dragon Frame are suggested for animation.
You’ll learn to break down a song into sections, structure the intro, development, and conclusion, and create storyboards and technical scripts tailored to the music’s rhythm and narrative.
The course teaches frame-by-frame animation with clay and objects, use of specialized software, plus lighting and stability tips for professional results.
Yes, it covers using digital and analog textures, image overlays, color grading, and how these choices affect the story and mood of the video.
Absolutely, you’ll explore ways to overcome creative blocks, generate original ideas, use visual references and metaphors, and draw inspiration from personal and musical experiences.
Adobe Premiere
cuanta información tan valiosa hay aquí que me parece literalmente regalado el precio que pague por tanto
excelente me encanta este curso
Me siento identificada con ella, es de las pocas "docentes" de Domestika con la que he conectado de verdad. No es que me dedique a ello directamente a gran escala, pero sí pertenezco a una asociación de producción audiovisual desde hace poco. Y me está siendo tan inspirador el curso que ya ando aplicando cosas aparte del videoclip.
je suis mannix je suis passionne par la realisation en etudiant ce cours je suis convaincu que j'aurai de connaissance et je le recommande a jeune talent aussi comme
merci
La profe es alucinante!