This question comes up in almost every first conversation. Sometimes in the very first message, before anyone has even talked about the song. The honest answer: from your first message to the finished master file, it usually takes me three to four weeks. That's not a number from some guide. That's the average across more than 250 projects since 2017.
What surprises most people is that the shoot is the shortest part. A music video is usually made in a single day. The other three weeks are prep and post.
What actually happens in those three to four weeks
After you reach out, I listen to the song. Several times, without building images in my head yet. Then the concept goes out, usually within three to five days. You read it, you tell me what you think, we adjust. That loop rarely takes more than two days if you're reachable.
Then comes prep. Locking the location, permits, booking the team, packing gear, building the schedule. Budget close to a week for that. If a location needs an official permit, that's exactly where projects fall apart. City offices don't work at your release pace.
The shoot day is one day. After that, reviewing footage and a rough cut, three to four days. You get a watermarked preview and send feedback. Then color grading, VFX, fine cut, export. Another week or so.
What runs in parallel and what doesn't
A lot overlaps. While the concept sits with you, I'm already scouting locations. While you're waiting on the preview, backups and the vertical cuts are running. That saves real days.
Three things can't be parallelized. The shoot day has a date and its own weather. Color comes after the edit, never before, otherwise you're grading footage that gets cut later. And I can't approve the video for you.
The most common reason a video runs late isn't the production, it's a client who takes three days to reply to the preview. I say that upfront now, because it's fairer than bringing it up afterwards.
Why express projects still work
When the bottleneck is waiting rather than work, a project can be compressed. On an express project that means the concept within 24 hours, a fixed window for your feedback, and post done in one block instead of spread over two weeks. I've taken videos from first message to master in eight days.
That only works if you keep up your end. Express means you reply within hours and you don't rewrite the concept halfway through post.
When to reach out
Count backwards from your release. If you want to pitch your song to Spotify, you need it in the system early anyway. Spotify asks you to submit at least seven days before release so their editors have time.
My recommendation: reach out six weeks before your release date. That gives you four weeks of production plus two weeks of buffer for trailers, snippets and all the things people always underestimate.
If your release is in ten days, message me anyway. Sometimes more is possible than you'd think.
For the step by step version, read my post on the music video production process. And if you want to know why time pressure tends to show up on screen, read why some videos look cheap.
Got a date in mind? Tell me what you're planning and I'll tell you straight whether it's realistic.