A music video has a locked clock: the master. If the board ignores timestamps, the edit will invent a second video.
Drop the track first
Import the audio before you draw. Mark:
Each mark is a frame or a hold. Chorus repetitions can reuse frames with a note (CHORUS 2 — same blocking, tighter CU).
- Intro, verse, pre, chorus, bridge, outro
- Downbeats you must hit (title, costume change, explosion, product if it is a paid placement)
- Any lyric that has to be literal on screen
Duration is not a guess
If the chorus is 22 seconds, the chorus frames must add to 22. This is why still PDF boards fail music videos: nobody adds. An animatic is the deliverable. Still frames are the appendix.
Coverage on a budget
Music videos run out of setups. Board the hero ideas at full care. Board the connective tissue as reusable location + movement (handheld WS, warehouse, 8s) so the producer can see what is actually a new setup.
Review with the artist on the track
Send a timed MP4, not a PDF. Artists approve feeling. Producers approve setup count. You need both from one version.
FAQ
Do music videos need shot lists?
Yes if there is a crew. No if it is two people and a mirrorless camera — until the day it is not. Writing the list later from memory is how night exteriors get lost.