How to Write a Song About Music Videos

You want a song that feels like a music video even before it gets filmed. Maybe you want the lyrics to wink at the camera. Maybe you want the chorus to be a cinematic moment the director can cut to a slow motion pile of confetti. Or maybe you are just tired of writing breakup songs that sound like every other breakup song. A song about music videos gives you permission to be cinematic, meta, silly, dramatic, and obsessed with frames and lighting. This guide teaches you how to write that exact kind of song so your listeners can see the video in their heads and your eventual video will feel inevitable.

This article is written for artists who want practical, unapologetic tools. You will get clear structure advice, lyrical templates, melody and prosody tips, genre adjustments, production notes for film friendly demos, and real life prompts you can use right now. Every term is explained like you are standing in the room with a confused but curious friend who loves snacks and bad jokes. You will leave with multiple chorus ideas, verse sketches, and full workflows to finish a song that celebrates or critiques music videos.

Why Write a Song About Music Videos

Songs about music videos are a delicious paradox. They are inherently visual but must stand on audio alone. That contradiction is creative gold. These songs let you talk about spectacle, the artifice of fame, the DIY spirit of bedroom filmmaking, and the weird rituals around shoots. They give you permission to be both confessional and theatrical at the same time.

There are a few powerful reasons to try this angle.

• Immediate imagery Music videos are loaded with recognizable images. You can mention a camera crane, a single spotlight, or a band on a rooftop and the listener will fill in the rest.
• Meta storytelling You can write about making a video while also telling a relationship story. That layered narrative feels modern and smart.
• Sync friendly Songs that reference visuals can be attractive for placements in other videos, trailers, and short form content. Music supervisors like songs that give clear visual moments.

Pick Your Angle

Before you write anything, decide the attitude. This is songwriting not philosophy. Your angle shapes vocabulary, tempo, and melody. Here are reliable options with examples you can steal and adapt.

Celebration of the Music Video

You love the medium. The lyrics are gleeful and lush. Think confetti, neon, choreographed chaos. Tone is bright. Melody is big.

Example title ideas: Cinema For Me, Roll Camera, Confetti Heart.

Satire of Music Video Tropes

You are poking fun. Call out the ridiculous. Use irony. Rhythm might be bouncy and sarcastic. Lyrics can list clichés with escalating absurdity.

Example title ideas: Slow Motion Kiss Again, Brand Placement, Same Rooftop.

Behind The Scenes Confessional

You use the video shoot as a frame to reveal vulnerability. Maybe the camera catches the moment you break. The song can switch between glam and raw. Melody should shift between public bravado and private softness.

Example title ideas: Cut, Take Two, Camera On My Chest.

DIY Bedroom Video Anthem

You are celebrating low budget creativity. This is for creators who know the grind. The song sounds like it was made on a laptop at midnight. Use specific props and real life TikTok or YouTube references to feel authentic.

Example title ideas: Phone Light, One Take Wonder, Viral in My Kitchen.

Romance With Filmmaking

You fall in love with someone on set. The song uses film imagery as metaphors for intimacy. Keep the language cinematic and tactile.

Example title ideas: Hold My Shot, Focus on Me, Kiss From The Lens.

Find the Core Promise

Write one sentence that states the song. This is your core promise. It keeps the song from turning into a list of cool shots. Say it like a text to a friend. Be specific.

Examples

• The camera loves me but I love the frame more.
• We used fake rain to hide how much we were crying.
• I put my heart on a tripod and called it art.

Turn that sentence into a title or a chorus seed. Short titles that sound good to sing are ideal. If a friend could shout it across a crowded bar or paste it in a bio, you have a working title.

Structure Choices That Support Visual Storytelling

Music video songs should give directors and listeners payoff in clear places. You want a chorus moment that is cinematic and a bridge that changes camera angle emotionally. Here are structure templates that work well.

Structure A: Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Bridge, Final Chorus

This classic structure gives space for a build and a reveal. Use verses for scene setting. Use the pre chorus to lean into the image. The chorus becomes the cinematic tag line.

Structure B: Intro Hook, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Post chorus, Bridge, Chorus

Open with an earworm that also doubles as a visual motif. The post chorus can be a chant that becomes the video hook for the TikTok split screen trend.

Structure C: Cold Open, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Break, Final Chorus

A cold open with a small cinematic detail can grab attention before the first verse. Use the break to cut to a different visual style in the imagined video.

Write a Chorus That Is a Visual Hook

The chorus should feel like a shot you want on repeat. It must be concise, singable, and image heavy without being over complicated. Aim for one strong sentence and one memorable tag line that can be used as a TikTok caption or a YouTube thumbnail text.

Chorus recipe

1. State the core promise in plain language.
2. Add a short visual tag that the listener can picture immediately.
3. Repeat a single word or phrase to create an earworm.

Example chorus ideas

We shot it in slow motion, your hand in my hair, lights like an ocean. Lights like an ocean, lights like an ocean.

Make the repeated line simple to sing and easy to edit into a one second clip. Think about short form video while you write. A phrase that works as a hook on radio and as a loop on Instagram is ideal.

Verses That Paint Frames Not Essays

Verses should give specific frames. Avoid long exposition. Use objects, camera actions, and quick time crumbs. Imagine the line as a director saying roll and cut. If you can see a thumbnail in your head, you are doing it right.

Before versus after example

Before: We filmed all night and it felt sad.

After: The catering ran out at two AM. You wore my jacket as a cape and the lighting swallowed us whole.

Use camera verbs as metaphors. Words like frame, fade, zoom, cut, roll, focus, and close up can be literal or metaphorical. Explain any jargon you use. For example the word treatment means the short written plan that explains the video concept. If you say it in the lyric, make sure the listener can guess the meaning from context or the line will feel like name dropping.

Pre Chorus and Bridge: Change the Camera Angle

The pre chorus should increase tension. Think of it as the moving dolly before the reveal in the chorus. Use shorter words, higher melodic movement, or quicker rhythm. The bridge should change the lens. Maybe the camera goes from theater to handheld. The sonic and lyrical choice should reflect that shift.

Pre chorus example

Lights flare. We fold into the same old script. The take keeps rolling. The truth is in the scratches on your vinyl.

Bridge example

Cut to me alone in the monitor light. I rewind my lines and forget how to speak. The director says keep going. I am pretending to be fine again.

Real Life Scenarios Writers Will Recognize

Nothing beats specificity. Here are real situations you can borrow and twist into lyrical moments. These are written like the people we know who have shot everything from glossy videos to phones on a rooftop.

• The One Phone Video Your whole budget was your phone. You used a ring light that kept overheating. The chorus can celebrate the DIY energy while the bridge admits nervousness about not being seen as real because you could not rent lights.
• The Overnight Set You wrapped at dawn. Everyone smelled like coffee and glitter. Use details like the catering being stale and a crew member falling asleep in a dolly. Those small truths make the scene alive.
• The Viral Fail Your video hit a spike and then crashed. You learned more about comments than about art. The song can be both triumphant and exhausted.
• The Big Budget Lie You pretended you had more than you did. Use the contrast between fake rain and real tears as a lyric device.

Use Visual Lyric Devices That Work Like Camera Tricks

Here are devices that make lyrics feel cinematic. Use them intentionally.

Ring phrase

Repeat a small phrase at the start and end of the chorus. That feels like a shot that returns. Example: Cut to us. Cut to us.

List escalation

List three props or shots that escalate emotionally. Example: Glitter on the floor, cigarette in the ashtray, a Polaroid with edges burned.

Callback

Bring back a small line from verse one in verse two with one altered word to show time passing or perspective change. The listener will feel the arc without heavy explanation.

Montage chain

Create a rapid montage in lyrics. Short clipped lines mimic quick edits. Use this in the build to a chorus to simulate the cut montage in the imagined video.

Prosody and Melody: Make the Camera Sing

Prosody is how the stress in words matches the beat of the music. It matters a lot. If you put a heavy word on a weak beat the line will sound wrong even if you like the words. Speak the line like normal speech and mark the natural stresses. Then align those stresses to the strong beats in your melody.

Melody tips

• Raise the vocal range for the chorus to give a lift that feels like a crane shot pulling back.
• Use a leap into the title phrase then move stepwise to land. A jump feels like a camera kick.
• For satire, use a sing song rhythm that makes the words land like punchlines.
• For confessional parts, keep the melody narrow and intimate so the voice feels like a close up.

Harmony and Production Notes for Video Friendly Demos

You do not need a major budget to make a demo that hints at a video. Still, production small choices can suggest cinematography. Use them to sell the song to a director or a label.

• Space Leave a brief pause before the chorus phrase. Silence makes the return more cinematic.
• Texture change Move from a sparse verse to a wide chorus with strings or synth pads. That change reads like a color grade shift.
• Signature sound Pick one sound that will be the song's visual motif. A clicky footstep, a camera shutter, a sampled countdown can become the video motif too.
• Ambient detail Add field recordings that imply set life. A murmured director shout, a camera whirr, or distant claps can add realism without clutter.

Language Choices: Avoid Jargon Without Losing Authenticity

You want to sound like someone who knows videos but not like a credit list. When you use industry words explain them by context. For example if you use the word treatment add a line that clarifies it, such as the treatment with the neon heart that the producer loved. If you namecheck a gear term like gimbal, use it as texture not thesis. The listener should feel the image not the technical lecture.

Rhyme Strategies That Keep It Modern

Perfect rhymes are fine. Overuse screams amateur. Mix perfect rhyme with family rhyme and internal rhyme to keep momentum. When you want to deliver a punchline or an emotional hit, use a perfect rhyme and place it on a long note.

Example rhyme chain

camera, candor, sanded, standard. Only a small vowel or consonant relationship keeps lines fresh without sounding random.

The Crime Scene Edit For Visual Songs

Run this pass on every verse and chorus. Treat it like you are cutting a music video down the line. Remove anything that feels like filler or that does not add another frame.

1. Underline abstract words. Replace each with a concrete image you can point to on set.
2. Add a time or place. Even small crumbs like two AM or the backlot make the scene believable.
3. Swap being verbs for actions. Action equals motion which equals edit choices later.
4. Remove lines that only explain. If the same detail appears twice, delete the second instance unless the change in perspective matters.

Before edit: The video felt like an ocean of feelings that I could not control.

After edit: We filmed by the pool at two AM. Your glittered jacket clung to the banister and the camera drank it up.

Examples You Can Model

Below are short song sketches to show how the ideas above land in practice.

Example 1: Celebration chorus

I want a camera on my laugh, lights like a carnival flood. We move like a festival and the rooftop wears our blood. Lights like a carnival flood, lights like a carnival flood.

Example 2: Satire verse

We bought a backdrop that said summer, rent a boyfriend for two takes. The director smiled and called it honest, cut, and then we baked fake cakes.

Example 3: Confessional bridge

Close up on my lip. The mic catches the lullaby I sold to the crowd. The monitor shows me smiling but the tape remembers when I bowed my head and left the set alone.

Songwriting Exercises and Prompts

Use these timed drills to build a hook or finish a chorus quickly.

• One frame drill Pick one prop in your room. Write four lines where that prop appears and performs an action. Ten minutes.
• Camera pass Write three lines that use a camera verb in each line. Make the verbs do different things. Five minutes.
• Vowel melody pass Hum the chorus on vowels for two minutes over a chord loop. Mark the moments that want to be the title.
• Montage list Write six short clipped lines that could be six cuts in a montage. Make one line an emotional reveal. Seven minutes.

How To Work With a Director or Videographer

When you hand a song to a director for a video, you want to be helpful without being controlling. Here is a short practical workflow.

1. Give them the song with a short treatment idea in plain language. A treatment is a two or three paragraph description of your visual idea plus mood references. Use images or URLs to similar videos.
2. Identify the chorus moment and suggest three visual ideas for it. Keep one silly, one literal, and one emotional.
3. Be open to change. Directors will see things you cannot from the frame. Trust the craft and offer notes tied to the song promise not to ego.
4. If you have a small sound motif in the demo like a shutter, agree whether that will be in the final cut. Sounds in the song and sounds in the video should support not compete.

Legal and Credit Realities

If you reference brands, people, or copyrighted works in your lyrics be aware of the risk. Using a brand name in a lyric that could be seen as endorsement or defamation can trigger problems. If the lyric is obviously fictional or compliments the brand you are likely fine. If you are making a claim about a real person or copying a melody or sample, get clearance.

Credit clarity

• When the director brings additional music or sound design release a simple agreement that states who owns what. You do not need a law degree. A short written credit and payment plan protects everyone.
• For sync licensing to other videos, make sure your publisher is registered with performance rights organizations. If you do not know what that means, ask a manager. They will explain. Performance rights organizations collect money when your song is broadcast or used publicly. Examples include BMI, ASCAP, and PRS. If you are international check your country equivalent.

Distribution Tactics If Your Song Mentions Video Culture

Leverage the native platforms of video to promote the song. Make sure you have a one line clip that can be clipped for short form video. Create at least three vertical edits of your chorus for TikTok and Instagram reels. Make a 15 second cut and a 60 second cut. Offer a director cut that shows behind the scenes footage to make the track feel human.

Common Mistakes and Quick Fixes

• Too much description If every line describes a new prop you will exhaust the listener. Fix by choosing three strong images to carry the song and let the rest imply.
• Jargon overload If your lyrics read like a call sheet you will lose people. Fix by grounding technical words in emotion or replacing them with sensory detail.
• No clear chorus If the song never lands on a single image the listener cannot hold on. Fix by writing a chorus that repeats a one line visual tag and uses a lift in melody.
• Prosody friction If a line feels off sing it and listen for awkward stress. Fix by changing the word order or the melody so stressed syllables sit on strong beats.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Write one sentence that states the core promise. Turn it into a short title.
2. Choose an angle from the list above and write a one paragraph treatment for your own imagined video. Keep it human and specific.
3. Make a basic two chord loop. Do a vowel melody pass for two minutes. Mark the moments that repeat.
4. Draft a chorus that states the promise and includes a simple repeated visual tag. Keep it singable.
5. Write verse one with three concrete images and one time crumb. Run the crime scene edit. Replace abstract words with objects.
6. Draft a pre chorus that tightens rhythm and a bridge that changes lens. Make the bridge an emotional reveal or a camera trick.
7. Record a demo with a small set of ambient details that sell the video idea. Send it to a director or a trusted friend and ask what single image stuck with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a song about music videos be subtle

Yes. You can be subtle by using video imagery as metaphors instead of literal descriptions. Focus on one strong visual image and use it to reveal emotional undercurrents. Subtlety often reads as sophistication. A single recurring image can be more powerful than a laundry list of shots.

Should I name specific platforms like TikTok or YouTube in the lyrics

You can, but think about longevity. Naming platforms makes the song feel very of the moment. If you want the song to be timeless use the platform as texture not the thesis. For example mention "a screen that knows my midnight" rather than naming a brand. If you name the platform you may gain immediate relatability and shareability among creators right now. It is a tradeoff.

Is it better to write the song with the video in mind or write the song first

Both approaches work. Writing the song first gives you pure musical focus. Writing with the video in mind can create tighter visual hooks and make the demo more attractive to directors. If you are making the video yourself, plan both at once so production choices support the song rather than fight it.

How long should a cinematic chorus be

Keep chorus lines tight. One to three short lines give a director a clear visual anchor. If your chorus is long you will risk losing the hook. A short memorable hook also works better in short form video clips where attention spans are limited.

Can a music video song be comedic

Absolutely. Comedy and music are natural partners. Satirical songs that call out cliché video tropes can go viral because they are shareable and feel like insider jokes for creators. Use specific details to land the jokes and avoid punching down. Smart humor tends to feel inclusive not mean.

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