Music video styles and conventions

Purpose of music videos –

- Promotional

- Promote a message/values

- To feel more involved with the artist

- Artist becomes more recognisable and develops iconography and motifs

- Company gains money from views

- Free way of advertising – online sharing

- Brand image

- Entertainment

- Promotes an album

- ‘star image’ - Sets the meanings of a song by the use of images

3-4 minutes, combines a mix of live performance, narrative, visual imagery (computer graphics and animation). It does this to advertise the band/artist and song

- Performance (e.g. bon jovi – you give love a bad name)

- Narrative (e.g. Taylor Swift – you belong with me) - Concept; thematic, symbolic

- Cutting to the beat of the music

- Visually stylish

- Experimental use of camera and editing

- Often break the rules of continuity editing - Digital effects

Conventions of performance based music videos;

- Shots of the artists performance

- Live stage performance

- Real life situations e.g. Warming up

- Close up shots of artists

- Particular visual style (a motif) - Can appear to perform in an unusual place – all lip-synched

Conventions of narrative based music videos;

- Tells a story (usually linked to lyrics)

- Mini film

- Can promote a film

- Promotes an album and single

- Very fast paced, lots of shot and cuts

- Intertextuality with films, TV and other videos

- Mimic other film and tv genres

- Sometimes the story can contradict what is seen for effect - Sometimes the artist is part of the story, or an observer or completely separate

Conventions of concept based music videos;

- Thematic (follows a theme)

- Symbolic (deeper meaning)

- Idea based

Narrative or performance is not the most dominant aspect

- Depends on genre (genre themes)

- Deeper meaning

- Fast pace

- Lighting often suggests mood

- Lots of use of montage

- Lots of symbols used

- Visually stylish – ‘artistic’

- Experimental use of camera and editing - Often breaks the rules of continuity editing