Issue Date: April 6, 2008
Videos still sizzle: 5 simple rules
Two of Nashville's biggest stars shed light on country video essentials.
Whose video will be this year's breakthrough? You can help decide!
To vote for USA WEEKEND Breakthrough Video of the Year and other CMT Award nominees, go to cmt.com.
WILL IT BE ...
Bucky Covington, "A Different World"
Luke Bryan, "All My Friends Say"
Kellie Pickler, "I Wonder"
Chuck Wicks, "Stealing Cinderella"
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With six Country Music Television (CMT) Music Awards between them, country stars Brad Paisley and Gretchen Wilson have learned a thing or two about music videos in their careers. Actually, they've learned at least five -- the five "rules" of making a great country video -- and, exclusively for USA WEEKEND Magazine, they're sharing them this week.
Rule #1: Bring out the heart of the song
Wilson: "We don't write fancy music. We reach out to people and say things in their own language and speak to what people feel in their hearts. That's why the video itself can be so plain, yet so striking at the same time. I love "Independence Day" by Martina McBride. It's about an abused mom and her daughter. It was a sensitive subject when she did the song, and it's sensitive now. At the end, you see a fire burning their house down, and it's heartbreaking."
Paisley: "For me, that song would be Kenny Chesney's "That's Why I'm Here," where he plays a recovering alcoholic very powerfully. It's very true to the song and enlightening."
Rule #2: Get real
Wilson: "Fans catch on when a video seems phony. The first one I made was "Redneck Woman." John Rich of Big & Rich and I co-wrote the song. The first day of shooting was a live performance of me doing the song, and the whole lip-syncing thing didn't feel real to me. So John said, 'Just sing the song out loud then. I know that when you sing, you got your veins popping out of your throat. That's what I want to see.' And he cranked up the volume of the song on speakers really loud so I'd have to scream to hear myself over it. It was awesome. It looked and felt real, and that made the video work."
Rule #3: Make 'em laugh
Paisley: "Life is funny when you look at it closely. Pop and rock are less interested in this side of music, but we've always embraced it. That's because our music is more down to earth. If the humor works, it has to be that way, too. I don't always set out to be funny, actually. But I do love it when we get that 'elbow-somebody-next-to-you' moment in a video."
Wilson: "Brad's had a lot of them, too, with "Alcohol" and "Online." Now, you don't want to go for laughs in every video, but when you can, go for it! With "California Girls," we had a great time, bringing in a funny Paris Hilton look-alike with a little dog. It shows audiences how much fun we can have. And we do have fun making these videos because we bring our friends and crew members into the shoot."
Rule #4: Sprinkle in cool cameos
Paisley: "Cameos are fun. When you have Jason Alexander playing a sci-fi geek and William Shatner playing his father in "Online," it just works. Those are two worlds colliding. If we had two unknown actors in those roles, I don't think people would have watched it as much. I remember my first try at a cameo. It was called "I'm Gonna Miss Her," and we got Dan Patrick from ESPN to sit behind the SportsCenter desk and make like he was announcing a sporting event. I never even met Dan, but I heard he liked my music, so I called his voice mail and said, 'Hi, this is Brad Paisley. I got to ask you to do something ...' "
Rule #5: Be sure the song is great
Paisley: "The music has to be there. Our lyrics are integral to our style, and the videos depend upon those words as definitive direction for the script itself. The best videos follow the song in an illustrative way, yet do an artistic job of painting in new details."
Wilson: "The music comes first, always. You don't spend money on a shoot if the song isn't rockin' you to begin with. Many of these video productions cost $150,000 to make these days and take two days to film. But all of the editing tricks and cameos and special effects can't make a great video if the song isn't great, too."
Look for Paisley on the CMT Music Awards April 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
To vote for USA WEEKEND Breakthrough Video of the Year and other CMT Award nominees, go to cmt.com.
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