CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF

A MUSIC VIDEO

The purpose of a Music Video◦ To promote-Normally a single, albumTo promote an artists or band ◦ Creates and adapts into the star image◦ Entertains the audience ◦Gives more of a meaning to the song itself

Structure of a Music Video◦ A music video is usually 3-4 minutes long and combines a mix of narrative,

performance and other visual imagery including graphics and animation.◦Narrative is exemplified in Adele's ‘Hello’ where we see her singing but also the

back story behind it we see this throughout the video, which not only gives us more of an understanding about the video but it makes it more enjoyable and interesting for the audience to watch, we have something to follow and we feel part of the song because it most likely is a relatable story line.

Performance◦ A performance video would be Candy Man by Christina Aguliera, throughout the

video we see pretty much the same thing- Christina dancing or singing along to the song. The fact that she dances a lot instead of giving the video a narrative makes more sense a) to the song and lyrics and b) to the style of music, it’s an easy style to dance to and the video makes much more sense because it isn’t a video we as an audience and used to seeing on a day to day basis, which gives it a repeatable feel.

Star Image ◦ 50 Cent- Just a Little Bit is a good example of star image because as a rapper we

associate their video with lots of girls around the rapper, cars, sun, beaches etc. and in this video it pretty much lives up to the expectations that an audience has of a rap video.

Camera ShotsVery Wide shot – This is were the artist is shown visible (barley) but the emphasis is still on placing the artist in the location/setting.Wide shot – This is

were the artist is shown taking up most of the shot but the location/setting is still focused on.

Mid shot – this shows the artist from his/her waist to head, and focuses mainly on the subject but still giving an impression of the location/setting.

Medium close up- this shot is half way between a mid shot and a close up, showing the artist from chest to head.

Close up – this shot shows the artists face or can show an object that the artist is holding, or something were the camera focuses closely on.

Extreme close-up – this shows the artists face extremely close , for example eyes, or mouth to identify something it can have the effect of showing the audience the artists thoughts and feelings or even showing a lip sync commonly used in music videos.

Over the shoulder shot – this is a good shot used , specifically in narrative based music videos usually when the artist is acting and speaking to another person you tend to see an over the shoulder shot to display the conversation , or to show something the character is looking at.

Cut in – this shot can be used in music videos to show something that the lyrics might be saying for example I will shoot you with my gun ‘ and a gun comes in’ It shows the object in detail, similar to a n extreme close up, but used very quickly, or and object that relates to the subject or narrative.

Eye-Level – this is a very common view being the real world angle that we are all use to seeing, it shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life.

High Angle – This is were the camera shows the subject from above, and the camera is angled down towards the subject, which has the effect of making them appear less powerful, less significant and or even submissive.

Low Angle – This is were the subject is shown from below, giving the impression of being more powerful o r dominant.

Bird's Eye – this angle is showing the subject/ scene from directly above, and its is completely different and can be from an unnatural point of view which can be used to add a dramatic effect or showing a different spatial perspective. It can also show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, enabling the viewer to see things the character might not see.

Slanted – this is when the camera is slanted also known as a Dutch angle were the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle, this is creative in making interesting dramatic effects. Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV-style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.

Mise En Scene ◦ The mise en scene can vary from music video to music video and from genre to

genre. The mise en scene includes outfits, props, lighting, location, body language, makeup etc.

◦ In a music video these things can enhance a stars image and also the genre. In a rap video we normally would expect to see the rapper in baggy jeans and a baggy t-shrit, with lots of girls cars, outside most likely somewhere sunny with chilled body language.

◦Whereas a girl group with a young target audience would wear outfits that are much more relatable and believable to their audience- you wouldn’t see them in skimpy outfits dancing ‘sexily’ it wouldn’t be believable for their target audience.