Music video production in Vienna: from treatment to final cut

Artists and labels often arrive with a very clear vision and a long list of process questions. Unlike commercial work, music videos rarely come with a polished brief — but they almost always come with a fixed release date. That combination is what makes the workflow exciting and demanding at the same time: you have to be creative and deliver hard at the same time.

Phase 1 — Treatment and vision

It all starts with the track. We listen multiple times, read the lyrics, talk it through with the artist and then develop a treatment — a 5–15 page document describing mood, look, story beats, locations and casting. A good treatment isn't a vibes-only mood board; it's a binding concept that artist, label and production can all walk along together. We commit to honest treatments — no mood-board mirage we can never deliver on set.

Phase 2 — Pre-production

Once the project is greenlit, the heat turns up: book locations, run casting, list gear, finalize the schedule, lock costume and production design. On Vienna music videos we often work with local spots — industrial halls in Simmering, apartments in Ottakring, nature locations on the outskirts. That keeps costs in check and gives the video a recognizable face. Anyone who finds music videos generic has usually seen productions shot in generic studio setups.

Phase 3 — Production

Music videos are typically produced in one or two intense shoot days. 12–14 hour days are the norm because many different setups have to be powered through quickly. Performance, story beats, detail shots and cutaways all have to live within one consistent look. We deploy compact crews of experienced DOPs, gaffers and 1st ACs who've shot a lot of music videos and switch fast.

A music video is only as good as its weakest cut. So we'd rather plan one setup less and shoot the rest with full attention.

Phase 4 — Post-production

This is where you find out whether the footage really delivers on the treatment. Edit, VFX, color and final mastering usually run in parallel with the promo phase of the release — under pressure. We typically work with two cuts: a more narrative one and a more performance-driven one. From those we build the final cut together with the artist. Color grading is disproportionately important on music videos because the visual look often sticks in viewers' memory longer than individual story beats.

Phase 5 — Master and release

At the end the track needs masters in multiple formats: classic 16:9 for YouTube and Vimeo, vertical cuts for reels, shorts and TikTok, sometimes square versions for feed posts. We deliver those cuts in one batch and make sure resolution, codec setup and loudness values are correct for each platform. A release today isn't a single video — it's an asset bundle, and that's how we produce.