Some singers are more involved in deciding what kind of video they want, some less

Once the producer has listened to the song and gotten a feel for its mood, tempo, and message, the process of conceptualizing the video can begin.

“Some singers are more involved in deciding what kind of video they want, some less,” SHLOMO RIVKIN of RIVKIN MEDIA explains.

“There are those who say, ‘I’m in your hands, you do whatever you want,’ but actually, I prefer to work together with the client and get his input, so we can both be happy.”

When the video is in service of an organization, consultations begin by developing a concept at that sweet spot between promotion and entertainment. Moshe Finkelstein, who worked with Chasdei Lev, a nonprofit organization that helps rebbeim and their families before Yom Tov, to produce the “My Dear Rebbi” video starring Benny Friedman, explains that “it has to get the point across without being too ‘sales-like,’ because no one wants to watch sales. We use stories and creativity so there is enough entertainment value for people to enjoy watching it.”

At Crunch Time Media, Moshe actually spends most of his work days on campaign and commercial videos. Producing music videos is a change of pace for him, a chance to work on something completely different and creative. “Music videos certainly demand creativity, but often campaign work is even more demanding. It takes a lot of imagination to break the standard mold and produce something original and attractive for a pretty fixed genre.”

Shlomo Rivkin feels that the current today is moving away from videos with plots and storytelling. “Does the audience want to have to follow something, to be entertained by a storyline? I don’t think so. Today, we often have the ‘story’ as just another layer of vibe, like in Mordechai Shapiro’s ‘Abba,’ where we had kids coming on, but not in a plot-line kind of way. Even on Bonei Olam’s ‘Vezakeini,’ The characters aren’t so much the story about a couple, but visuals offering another layer of emotion.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, issue 907)