How-to guide · Director · Narrative, Lyrics Video or Visualizer
How to create a music video — from your song to a finished MP4, step by step
A music video used to mean a shoot, a crew and days in an editor. With Kenerate's Director you bring the song and a visual idea; it listens to the track, plans scenes on its sections, renders the shots and lays them on a timeline you can edit before you export.
- Your track or a Ken Music song
- Cut on the song's sections
- Edit on a timeline
- 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 up to 1080p
Updated by the Kenerate AI team
Made with Kenerate
On this page
Quick answer
Updated
How do you create a music video?
To create a music video, you need 3 things: the song, a visual idea and an edit that cuts on the music. In Kenerate's Director, open Music Video, pick Narrative, Lyrics Video or Visualizer, add the track and describe the look; it plans scenes on the song's sections, renders the shots and exports an MP4.
Key facts
- Music Video edits
- Narrative · Lyrics Video · Visualizer
- Song
- MP3, WAV or M4A up to 50 MB, or Ken Music
- Length
- 15 s to 4 min
- Formats
- 16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1
- Editing
- Timeline: reorder, trim, split, re-render
- Export
- MP4 · 30 fps · 480p, 720p or 1080p
- Plan
- Paid plans
Real results
The shots a music video cuts between
Performance, choreography and story clips made in Kenerate's video studio: the kind of coverage a music video intercuts on the beat.
Video studio clips, not Director exports. AI-generated performers. In a Director music video the clips render silent and your track is the soundtrack.
How to
How to create a music video with AI, step by step
- Time needed
- Steps
- 4 steps
Step 1
Plan the idea
Listen to the song and write one or two lines about the world of the video: a place, a palette, a performer or a story. One clear idea beats five.
Step 2
Open Music Video and pick an edit
In Director, choose the Music Video quick start, then Narrative, Lyrics Video or Visualizer.
Step 3
Add the song
Upload an MP3, WAV or M4A up to 50 MB, or describe a song in up to 300 characters and Ken Music writes it. For Lyrics Video, paste the lyrics too.
Step 4
Describe the look and set the frame
Write the visual direction, add up to 10 reference images (artist photos, locations, a moodboard), choose 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 and a length from 15 seconds to 4 minutes.
See it in the app
Open Director and describe the film — the story, the look, the length and the sound.
Watch the tour · 3:32
Brief, questions, script & plan, cast, rendering & review, timeline, music & voice, preview, export & share
Chapters
Checked 6 October 2026
Ways to make a music video: which is best for what
Filming it yourself and the three edits in Director's Music Video quick start, side by side.
| Film and edit it yourself | Director: Narrative | Director: Lyrics Video | Director: Visualizer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Real footage of you or your band | Songs with a story or a performer | Releases where the words carry the song | Electronic and instrumental tracks, DJ sets |
| What you need | Camera, locations, people, an editor | The song and a visual direction | The song, the lyrics and a direction | The song and a mood |
| What's on screen | Whatever you shoot | Cinematic scenes and performances cut to the rhythm | The lyrics in sync, on title cards and in scenes | Abstract light, colour and particles on the beat |
| Where you edit | Any video editor | Director's timeline | Director's timeline | Director's timeline |
Edit descriptions are the Director's own. Use only songs, lyrics and likenesses you have the rights to.
Sources: Kenerate Director · Kenerate Ken Music · Kenerate Auto Subtitles · Wikipedia — Music video
Engines
What the Director uses for a music video
The models behind each part of a Director music video, from its model catalogue. You can change the shot model in the project settings.
- Default
ByteDance
Seedance 2.0
- Input
- Shot prompt + reference images
- Output
- Video shots
The default: cinematic motion that holds characters
Open Seedance 2.0 
ByteDance
Seedance 2.5
- Input
- Shot prompt + reference images
- Output
- Shots up to 30 s
Top quality shots
Open Seedance 2.5Alibaba
Wan 3.0
- Input
- Shot prompt + reference images
- Output
- Shots up to 30 s
Strong consistency at the best value
Open Wan 3.0- Title cards
OpenAI
GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst
- Input
- A line of text + the look
- Output
- Title cards
Clean lettering for titles and lyric cards
Open GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst 
Kenerate
Ken Music 1.5
- Input
- A song description
- Output
- Songs up to about 3 min
No track yet
Open Ken Music 1.5
Music video clips render silent; your track is the soundtrack of the export.
Tips
Music videos that hold attention
What makes the difference between a slideshow and a music video.
Upload the mastered track, so cuts land on the real hits.
Keep one world: one location family, one palette, one lead.
Give the chorus bigger moments than the verses.
Add reference photos to keep a performer looking the same.
Pick 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts; 16:9 for YouTube.
Use only songs and likenesses you own or have the rights to.
Example uses
How creators use How to Create a music video
Illustrative examples of typical workflows, not customer reviews.
Singer-songwriter
A singer-songwriter could make a Narrative music video for a new single from the mastered track and a one-line idea, then trim the cut on the timeline before release day.
Electronic producer
An electronic producer could pick the Visualizer edit for an instrumental track and export a 9:16 version for short-form clips and a 16:9 version for YouTube.
Music teacher
A music teacher could have Ken Music write a short song about the school year and turn it into a music video for the end-of-term assembly.
FAQ
How to create a music video — questions
8 questions
How do I make a music video with AI?
Open Kenerate's Director, choose the Music Video quick start and pick Narrative, Lyrics Video or Visualizer. Add your song, describe the look, choose the format and length, and start. The Director analyses the track, plans scenes on its sections, renders the shots and puts them on a timeline you can edit before exporting.
Link to this answerCan I make a music video for free?
Not with Director: it is on Kenerate's paid plans, and free accounts can open it and watch the examples. Ken Music and Avatar Talk work on the free plan if you want to make the song or a singing clip first.
Link to this answerDo I need my own song?
No. Leave the upload empty and describe the song instead, for example "dreamy synth-pop, female vocals, about summer nights". Ken Music writes it, and the Director cuts the video to it.
Link to this answerDoes the video cut to the beat?
When you attach a track, the Director analyses it first, tempo, sections, energy, hit points and lyrics, and plans the scenes and cuts around that. Check the timeline before exporting and move or trim any clip that lands off the beat.
Link to this answerIs there a music video editor, or is it all automatic?
Both. The Director makes the first cut, then the timeline lets you drag clips to reorder them, trim their edges, split at the playhead, replace a take, change speed or volume and undo. The song can be moved on the timeline too.
Link to this answerHow long can the music video be?
The Music Video form takes 15 seconds to 4 minutes, in 5-second steps. For a longer song, make it in parts or cut a radio edit first.
Link to this answerWhat format and quality does it export?
An MP4 at 30 fps in 480p, 720p or 1080p, in the format you chose: 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1. A 9:16 export at 1080p is a 1080 × 1920 frame for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Link to this answerCan I add subtitles or lyrics captions after?
Yes. From the export list, send the video to Auto Subtitles, which burns timed captions into the picture. It is built for speech, so check sung lines; for designed lyrics, use the Lyrics Video edit instead.
Link to this answerIn depth
Making a music video, explained
The three parts of any music video, and how each one works in Director.
On this page
Start with the song's structure
A music video follows the song: intro, verses, choruses, a bridge, an outro. The simplest plan gives each section its own kind of shot, calmer coverage for verses, bigger moments for the chorus, a change of scene for the bridge. With a track attached, the Director does this mapping for you from its analysis of the song's sections and energy.
Pick the kind of music video
Most music videos are one of three types, and Director's Music Video quick start has an edit for each.
- Narrative: a performer and a story intercut, cut to the rhythm.
- Lyrics Video: the words on screen in sync, on title cards and inside scenes.
- Visualizer: abstract shapes, light and particles pulsing on the beat.
Keep the look consistent
A music video falls apart when every shot looks like a different film. Write the visual direction as one world (a place, a time of day, a palette) and add reference images, up to 10, of the performer and locations. The default shot model, Seedance 2.0, is chosen for holding characters from references.
Fix the edit, then export
The first cut is a draft. On the timeline, drag clips into a new order, trim them so cuts land on the hits, split a clip at the playhead or replace a take with a re-render. When it plays right, export the MP4 at up to 1080p; add captions afterwards in Auto Subtitles if you need them.
Make a music video
The six steps above are the whole job: plan, pick an edit, add the song, describe the look, render, then edit and export.
Music video editor
Director's timeline is the editor: reorder, trim, split, replace takes and move the song. For footage you filmed yourself, use a conventional video editor.
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