Banks Films wants more ‘professional’ music videos

Known for his music video productions for hit songs such as Shabba Mada Pot, Morning Love and Fall in Love, director Banks Films has cautioned that music videos should not be undervalued and should be shot professionally.

The well-known director, whose given name is Don McGregor, said that music videos can add a lot of value but can also take away from the artiste.

"In the day and age that we live in now, a visual, I would say, is very important, because people tend to gravitate to a song based on what they are seeing," he said.

He added, "So a person may like a song but when they see a video, there becomes more of a mental attachment through the visuals," he said. "Artistes will try to get me to shoot for little and nothing with the product being something that can never die. So when mi dead and gone, these images will survive, yet some artistes want to pay the least amount of money for something that stays forever."

While he remains steadfast that music videos are integral, he admitted that the attention span of consumers is fleeting.

"I also think artistes should not rush to get videos out, because of the fact that they will last a lifetime. I realise that people a fight fi put out tonnes of music, not realising that this music you are putting out en masse is not resonating. So it will be hot now but it won't register years from now," he shared.

He also advised that artistes should be patient and work alongside their music video directors.

"We need to put more effort in our videos. The artiste dem jus wah do the same thing. Dem no wah siddung and collaborate with a director and see what dem can do different and just brainstorm and see what they can do differently," he said.

He opined that there are some artistes who will allow directors to do what they want "because they realise that this is a whole different creative section in the creative process".

"So they don't shadow the director, they allow the director to work. They take instructions better typically and allow the director to work," he said. "I think if more directors get to shoot what they want to, things can turn around."

There is also the challenge of some persons wanting to do everything by themselves.

"So an artiste also waah direct him own video, so him want him name pon everything. You even have artistes who buy their own equipment to try and convince you to shoot fi likkle and nothing," he said.