Shooting a Music Video in Spain: A Step-by-Step Plan for Turkish Artists

For a Turkish artist who wants to shoot a music video in Spain or Barcelona, the most efficient model is this: the technical crew is put together locally in Spain, and the artist and a small core team fly in from Türkiye. That lowers the cost of flights, accommodation and shipping gear, and the local crew brings its knowledge of locations and permits. In this post I explain how to plan a music video shoot from Türkiye, which permits you need, what goes into the budget and how to get the video ready for release.

Why Spain for a music video

Spain offers very different visual worlds within short distances. The historic streets of Barcelona, its modern architecture, Mediterranean beaches and the mountain scenery just outside the city, places like Montserrat, let you build several different moods in one music video. The light is good for shooting most of the year, and the country has experienced technical crews and a solid equipment rental infrastructure.

A word of caution here: a beautiful location does not mean you can shoot there. Some historic sites, natural parks and private properties require separate permits, and some may be closed to filming at certain times. That is why I always review the location list together with the permit status.

Choosing the type of music video up front

Before you start planning, you need to decide on the type of music video, because the crew, the number of days and the locations all depend on it:

• Performance video: the artist performs the song in one or more locations. It is the simplest and fastest type to shoot.
• Narrative video: actors tell a story, with the artist inside or outside the story. It requires a script, casting and more shooting days.
• Road or city video: the artist is filmed at different spots in the city, on the coast or in nature. Spain's variety of locations shines in this type, but it is also where permit planning gets the hardest.
• Dance and choreography video: requires a choreographer, dancers and a rehearsal day.
• Hybrid model: performance footage combined with short story or city scenes. It is a popular balance between budget and impact.

Planning a music video shoot from Türkiye

Working for years on digital strategy and distribution with artists like Murat Boz, Ebru Gündeş and Emre Altuğ, I have learned this: a music video gains value when it is treated as part of the song's release plan. Planning usually goes in this order:

1. Song and date: the song's release date should be set, and the video schedule is built backward from it.
2. Concept: the story or visual idea is finalized to fit the artist's image.
3. Location scouting: locations that fit the concept are listed along with their permit status and travel distances.
4. Crew: I put together and manage the crew in Spain. Director, director of photography, lighting and sound crew, drone pilot, actors or dancers if needed, makeup and wardrobe.
5. Travel: a small team comes over, such as the artist, the manager and, if needed, the artist's own stylist. Everything else is handled locally.
6. Shooting schedule: which scene is shot on which day, at what time and in what light, planned hour by hour.

Keeping the artist's days in Spain as few as possible has a major impact on the budget. That is why we finish most of the prep work before the artist arrives.

Film permits

If you are shooting on a street, in a square or on a beach, you need a city permit. In Barcelona, Barcelona Film Commission acts as the link between productions and city departments and provides information on filming conditions. In Madrid, Madrid Film Office offers a similar service. For other cities, the Spain Film Commission network, which brings together film offices across the country, is a good starting point.

A shoot with a small crew and one that closes off a street and sets up equipment fall under different permit types. For private locations, such as a café, hotel or home, you get written permission from the owner. If you use a drone, the pilot must be an operator registered with AESA, and the required notifications must be filed for flights in urban areas. Actors, dancers and extras who appear in the video sign an image release, because in Spain a person's right to their own image (derecho a la propia imagen) is protected by law. This is a general overview; since rules can vary by city and over time, I confirm them with the relevant office on every project.

How a shoot day goes

Music video shoot days are usually long. Sunrise and sunset, the golden hours, are the most valuable windows for city and beach scenes, so the day sometimes starts very early. The day before, everyone gets a call sheet: who, what time, which location. The artist's hair, makeup and wardrobe prep is built into the plan as its own time block.

On set, the song plays back and the artist performs specific parts of it again and again in each scene. The director runs the scene, while I keep track of the production as a whole: time, the hours written on the location permits and communication with the artist's side. If the artist's manager or someone from their team is at the monitor, approvals happen on the spot and there are no surprises in the edit. At the end of the day all footage is backed up, so nothing is at risk on the way back to Türkiye.

What goes into a music video budget

I don't quote numbers here, because a simple one-day performance video and a multi-location narrative video are worlds apart. But your quote should include these items:

• Concept, script and pre-production
• Director and technical crew fees
• Camera, lighting, grip and drone equipment
• Fees and usage rights for actors, dancers and extras
• Location rental and permit fees
• Flights, accommodation and local transportation for the artist and core team
• Catering and insurance
• Editing, color grading, effects and versioning

Don't think of the budget separately from the song's promotion budget. Spending everything on the video and leaving no money for promotion at release is a mistake I see often. Planning the video and promotion budgets in the same spreadsheet removes that risk.

Vertical versions for Reels and TikTok

A music video is no longer just a 16:9 video watched on YouTube. The places where a song really spreads are often Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. That is why I plan the shoot with both formats in mind from the start:

• Shooting key scenes so they work in both horizontal and vertical framing, and using a second camera for vertical if needed.
• Preparing separate vertical clips for the chorus or the strongest 15-30 seconds of the song, built to grab attention in the first second.
• Capturing behind-the-scenes footage during the shoot that the artist can share from their phone.
• Getting extra shots for a lyric video or a vertical "visualizer".

I covered how these clips are edited and formatted in my video editing post. In my video production in Spain service, where I handle the shoot, the edit and the versions in one place, vertical clips are part of the plan from day one.

Rights, contracts and ownership

When you focus on the creative side of a music video shoot, the legal side easily takes a back seat. Yet whether the video can be used without problems later depends on these documents. Before the shoot I clarify the following: who will own the rights to the footage, on which platforms and for how long the actors' and dancers' images can be used, the scope of the location owner's permission, and the status of any brands or logos visible in the video. If the artist has a record label or management, their approval processes go into the schedule too. Once these documents are in place, you can use the video freely on YouTube, digital platforms and ad campaigns. I recommend having the contracts reviewed by a lawyer for your specific situation.

The video is ready: the release plan

A music video's success depends largely on how it is released. The song's distribution to digital platforms, uploading the video to YouTube and the schedule for social media clips should all be planned together. To get your song onto the platforms, see my music distribution page, and for promotion, check out my posts on how to promote a song and how to promote a song on Spotify. Your YouTube channel's structure, Content ID and channel setup also affect how much the video gets watched. Since I have managed Avşar Film's YouTube structure, including an MCN agreement, more than 50 sub-channels and Content ID, I see this side as part of the job too.

Common mistakes

• Writing a location into the concept without checking its permit status.
• Planning the artist's stay in Spain longer than necessary.
• Shooting only horizontal footage and cropping vertical versions later.
• Setting the video's release date independently of the song's distribution schedule.
• Not putting usage rights in writing with actors and dancers.

If you are thinking about shooting a music video in Spain, share your song and your idea, and I will put together a plan for locations, crew and schedule. You can find the scope of the service on my video production page. If you have a brand collaboration in mind, my post on commercial production in Spain will also help.