Conventions of a music video.

Camera shots

Music videos contain many different camera shots: close ups, mid shots and long shots. The variety of different camera shots allow the video to put emphasis on different elements at different times eg. The artist, the narrative and emotions. The close ups

Camera movement

Tilts, tracks and pans are some of the camera movements used in music videos to follow the artist(s) throughout the video.

Mise en scene

Mise en scene means the use of performers or props in the production of a music video in this case. The mise en scene also includes the clothing, lighting, location, make-up, sound, props, colour. This shot below from Beyonce’s If I Were A Boy is an example of mise en scene. The location of her against a white wall shows her isolation and her dark make-up shows the upset she is feeling.

Editing

The main editing technique used in music videos is the jump cut as it allows a quick change from one scene to another which is needed in a music video as they usually contain narratives and need to fit within a 4 minute song on average.

In my group we will focus on the pop/R&B genre.

Ellie Goulding - Burn

Location, lighting & colour.

Throughout the Burn video, the video has a warm effect on it which links in well with the whole narrative of the song. The location looks like an abandoned runway and we know they aren’t supposed to be there as we see them climb over the gates.

Clothing.

Goulding juxtaposes her outfits to the environment she is in. For example, in the above image the location is light and Goulding wears dark clothing to make the light the main focus in link with the name of the song. Goulding uses the same technique in the below image while the location is dark and she wears brighter clothing the same colour as the lights on the floor to link with the lyrics.

Props.Ellie Goulding’s Burn follows the convention of using props parallel to the lyrics. Goulding sings ‘we can light it up’ as these lights are shown in the video.

Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop

Location, Colour, Lighting.The We Can’t Stop video is shot predominantly indoors establishing a house party. Some of it is shot outdoors in a pool which again shows the house party environment. The whole video has bright lighting which allows us see exactly how wild the party is.

Props

Miley Cyrus’s We Cant stop song is all about partying and the video props show things Miley and her friends do at a party which is a lot of random fun things. The props also can work parallel to what we see. For example, the image of spaghetti reading twerk is followed by Miley Cyrus and her friends twerking together.

Make-up

Miley Cyrus has dark eye make-up and a bright red lip. The dark eyes gives her an essence of a dark side which links with the lyrics ‘We cant stop’ while partying. The red lip also gives the impression that Miley Cyrus has danger around her which links in with the controversies we see her in the news with lately.

Clothing.Miley Cyrus wears little to no clothing in her video which fits in with her new ‘bad girl’ image and the things she wears and dances to try and present herself as a sex figure for males which fits in with the controversies of her in the news lately.

Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines

Location,Lighting,Colour.Blurred Lines video has a simple location of being against a backdrop. The video we see has a warm effect which draws the audience in. The lighting is bright so we can see the people in the video clearly and what they are doing but overall the video is very simple.

PropsMake-upCostume

Robin Thicke includes random props which juxtapose with the simplicity of the location. The girls are used almost as props in next to no clothes to attract a wider audience. The girls have simple makeup apart from a harsh red lip to show natural beauty.

Girls.

The girls in this video aren’t needed as they aren’t singing/rapping in the video. However, they have been used to attract people to watch the video as they are models. As well as the men looking like ladies men by having girls dancing around them, boosting their egos.

ClothingThe males in the video are mainly wearing black suits with dark sunglasses indoors which establishes them as the main people within the video. The females are wearing either white or no clothes at all which shows them as sex objects in the video and as having no use other than to look good and show the men as ‘ladies men’ in the video

Daft Punk – Get Lucky

Location, light, colourThe Get Lucky video follows a simple location of being shot against a black drop throughout apart from the random shot of them against a backdrop of a sun. The video is very repetitive showing the same shot multiple times. The lighting is harsh on the performers which makes them stand out against the black background. There is a motive of the colour blue as the performers clothes light up projecting that colour. As well as the colour orange for the text and the sun. This contrasts as the blue makes a cold tone and the orange creates a warm tone.

Costume.The performers wear black suits with lights on and then some wear masks. The black blends them in to the background but then the lights make them stand out against the background.

Props

The only props used in the video are the instruments; guitar and drum kit. The images we see of them are also repeated throughout the video.

Jason Derulo – Talk Dirty

Location, light & colour

The Talk Dirty video has a simple location as it has all been filmed on set. There is a juxtaposition between cold and warm with oranges and blues.

Girls.

Girls are used in the Talk Dirty video seductively which links in with the lyrics as it is talking about a girl.

Clothing.

Jason Derulo changes outfits throughout the video. He usually changes outfit with a change of set which creates a new scenario. The video is clearly filmed on a set therefore the change of clothes is due to Jason Derulo just giving himself status and wearing expensive clothing to show off.

Camera angles.Different camera angles are used to explore different things in the video. For example the angle used in the image below just allowd us to see the silhouette’s dancing clearly while the first image to the right has a low angle which makes the female look superior which links in to the music as it is all about girls. The low angle image allows us to see Jason Derulo clearly flirting.