Music Video Production Timeline: How Long Does It Take?

Overview: How Long Does a Music Video Take?

The most common question from artists approaching their first music video is: "How long will this take?" The honest answer is that a professional music video — one that will genuinely serve you artistically and commercially — takes 6–10 weeks from your first briefing meeting to final delivery.

That timeline surprises most artists. People assume that because a music video is short — 3–4 minutes — it must be quick to make. The reverse is true. A well-executed 3-minute music video requires as much planning and craft as a 30-minute short film. The difference is that you're solving a creative problem within the constraints of a fixed piece of music, often with less time and budget than a short film would receive.

Understanding the realistic timeline before you start planning prevents the most common mistake in music video production: booking a shoot date before the pre-production work is done.

Phase 1: Pre-Production (4–6 Weeks)

Pre-production is the longest phase of any music video. This is where the creative vision is developed, the crew is assembled, the locations are secured, the storyboard is built, and the logistics for the shoot day are locked. At 171 Entertainment, we spend more time in pre-production than in any other phase — and it's why our productions run efficiently on the day.

Weeks 6–5 (Creative and Crew):

• Creative brief and concept development: 3–7 days
• Director selection and treatment review: 3–5 days
• Budget approval: 1–3 days
• Key crew booking begins: ongoing from Week 5

Week 4 (Planning):

• Full crew booking: 5–7 days
• Initial location scouting: 2–3 days
• Storyboard and shot list development: 3–5 days
• Wardrobe and art direction planning begins

Week 3 (Logistics):

• Location agreements signed: 3–5 days (some permit applications take longer)
• Film permit applications lodged: allow 1–3 weeks for approval
• Equipment booked and confirmed: 1–2 days
• Production insurance confirmed: 1–3 days
• Wardrobe and props finalised

Week 2 (Final Preparations):

• Technical recce with full key crew: 2–4 hours per location
• Shot list and schedule updated post-recce: 1–2 days
• Pre-production pack distributed to all crew
• Casting and extras confirmed

Week 1 (Shoot Week):

• Day-before confirmation calls and equipment check
• Call sheet distributed by 6pm the evening before shoot

For a task-by-task breakdown of every pre-production step, read our complete music video pre-production checklist.

Phase 2: Production — The Shoot (1–3 Days)

The shoot itself is the shortest phase in terms of calendar time, but the most intense in terms of activity. Music videos are typically shot in:

• 1 day (8–12 hours): Single location performance videos, simple concept pieces, tight budgets. Achievable with 1–2 major lighting setups and 20–35 total shots.
• 2 days: The standard for professional music videos with 2–4 location setups, varied wardrobe, and a mix of performance and narrative elements. 40–60 total shots.
• 3 days: Productions with complex set builds, multiple artists, extensive narrative, intricate choreography, or locations requiring significant travel time between them.
• 4–5 days: High-budget productions with VFX elements, large-scale art direction, or multiple story timelines. Reserved for major label and commercial productions.

A single well-organised shoot day typically runs as follows:

• 06:00–07:00 — Crew call time, equipment setup begins
• 07:30–08:30 — Hair, makeup, and wardrobe for artist
• 08:30–13:00 — First major setup (8–12 shots)
• 13:00–14:00 — Lunch
• 14:00–18:00 — Second major setup (8–12 shots)
• 18:00–20:00 — Third setup or coverage shots (6–10 shots)
• 20:00 — Wrap, equipment pack-down, media backup

Phase 3: Post-Production (2–4 Weeks)

Post-production begins the evening of the shoot, when the media is backed up and handed off to the editor. A standard post-production schedule looks like this:

Days 1–2 after shoot:

• Media ingested, labelled, and organised
• Footage review and selects (editor and director review all footage together or separately)

Days 3–7 (Week 1 of Post):

• Rough cut assembled (first full edit, every shot in place) — delivered to director/artist by end of Week 1

Days 8–14 (Week 2 of Post):

• Client feedback on rough cut received: allow 2–3 days
• Revision 1 completed and delivered: 2–3 days
• Revision 2 (if needed): 1–2 days

Days 15–21 (Week 3 of Post):

• Fine cut approved by all parties
• Colour grade session (1–3 days depending on complexity)
• Audio sync check and final sound pass
• VFX completion (if applicable — add 1–4 weeks for complex VFX)

Final delivery:

• Master files exported to all required platform specifications
• YouTube 4K (H.264 or H.265), Vevo deliverables, Instagram/TikTok cuts
• All raw footage and working project files archived

Timeline by Budget Level

Budget directly influences both the scope of production and the time required. Here's a realistic timeline by budget tier:

• Low budget ($2,000–$10,000): 3–5 weeks total. 2–3 weeks pre-production, 1 shoot day, 1–2 weeks post. Compressed timeline is achievable but requires an experienced and efficient team.
• Mid-range ($10,000–$50,000): 5–8 weeks total. 4–6 weeks pre-production, 1–2 shoot days, 2–3 weeks post. This is the standard professional timeline.
• High-end ($50,000–$200,000+): 8–16 weeks total. 6–8 weeks pre-production including set builds and casting, 2–5 shoot days, 4–8 weeks post including VFX and complex colour work.

What Causes Delays?

Understanding the most common causes of timeline extension helps you plan to avoid them:

• Creative brief changes after pre-production begins: Changing the concept mid-pre-production restarts multiple tracks of work simultaneously. Lock the brief before any bookings are made.
• Permit delays: Film permits in some councils or government departments can take 3–4 weeks. Apply earlier than you think you need to.
• Location loss: A location falls through close to the shoot date, requiring last-minute scouting and new agreements. Always have backup locations identified.
• Weather on outdoor shoots: Build weather contingency into your schedule, particularly for exterior locations. Have an indoor backup plan or a confirmed reschedule date.
• Feedback delays in post-production: The most common cause of post-production overrun. Set firm feedback deadlines in the production agreement and stick to them.
• VFX complexity underestimation: Visual effects take significantly longer than non-VFX practitioners expect. Get a detailed VFX estimate from your post house before committing to a delivery date.

How to Compress the Timeline (Without Sacrificing Quality)

If you have a hard deadline — an album release, a press premiere, a broadcast slot — here's how to safely compress the production timeline:

• Lock the creative brief immediately: Every day spent refining the concept is a day lost from pre-production. Approve the brief on Day 1.
• Book crew before the brief is finalised: Get your director and DP on hold as soon as the shoot date is set, even before the concept is locked.
• Run pre-production tasks in parallel: Location scouting, permit applications, equipment booking, and wardrobe planning don't need to happen sequentially. Run all tracks simultaneously.
• Simple concept, exceptional execution: A high-concept narrative video requires significantly more pre-production than a performance video. If time is tight, a brilliant performance-based video beats a rushed narrative every time.
• Set feedback deadlines and stick to them: In post-production, assign a 48-hour window for each round of feedback. Delays here have a compounding effect on the delivery date.

Planning Your Release Around the Production Timeline

Work backwards from your desired release date when setting your shoot date. For a video you want to release on a specific date:

• Allow 3 weeks before release for final post-production, approval, and upload to platforms
• Allow 2–4 weeks before post-production completion for the shoot and initial edit
• Allow 4–6 weeks before the shoot for full pre-production

In practice: if you want to release your video on 1 March, you should be starting pre-production by 1 January — approximately 8 weeks out. Planning to start pre-production 3 weeks before your desired release date is a recipe for a rushed production and a video that doesn't reflect your artistic standards.

For album campaign releases where multiple singles will have videos, plan each video's timeline separately and stagger productions to avoid crew and equipment conflicts.

At 171 Entertainment, we've guided artists through music video timelines at every budget and complexity level. If you're not sure how to plan your next production's timeline, contact our team for a free consultation — we'll help you build a realistic production plan that delivers exceptional results on schedule.