TYPES AND STYLES OF MUSIC VIDEOS

•Performance based

•Narrative based

•Concept based

Types of Music Videos:

Narrative based music videos

Narrative based music videos attempt to tell a story that features in

the lyrics or that is suggested in the lyrics and then dramatized in

the video itself.

Narrative based videos are often found when they feature footage

from a film.

Narrative based music videos often establish a clear relationship

between the lyrics and the visuals of the song.

Either the actors are acting according to the story or the music

artists are performing. Narrative based music videos might include

performance of the actors or the musicians, but they focus mainly

on the narrative.

Narrative based music videos require the viewer to understand the

lyrics of the song clearly and these types of music videos are easily

understood and enjoyed by the audience.

Examples of Narrative based music videos

You Belong With Me by TAYLOR SWIFT

The Hearts Wants What It Wants

by

SELENA GOMEZLast Friday Night by KATY PERRY

Perfomance based music videos

Performance based music videos are only, or mostly, the artist/band performing their song.

These include dancing, lip syncing, live concerts or musicians playing music instruments.

Performance based music videos mostly build a relationship with the audience to show off the star identity.

These videos don’t have any specific message for the audience or there is no concept or idea behind the song or the video.

There is no connection between the lyrics of the song, as we can just see well dressed artists performing on their song.

These types of videos mostly include close up shots of the artist and the artist making direct eye contact with the viewer.

Performance based music videos are the most common among all the three types.

Examples of Performance based music videos

Single Ladies by BEYONCE

Concept based music videos

Concept based music videos are based on a specific concept

or a theme.

The concept can be magic, supernatural, historical, religious,

scientific or any other idea which is based on a concept or a

theme.

Mostly concept based videos intrigue a specific class or

target audience, according to the idea of the music video.

These videos are not as easy to understand as the other two

types are and they are more difficult to produce.

Concept based music videos can be very interesting if the

content is fully understood by the viewer.

The unusual content of the video is what attracts most of the

people.

Examples of concept based music videos

Take Me To Church by Hozier Elastic Heart by SIA

Paradise by COLDPLAY

Styles of music videos

ANIMATION

INTERPRETIVE

IMPRESSIONIST

INTER TEXTUALITY

SURREALIST

ALLUSION

Animation

Animated music videos have an animated film, or cartoons, with the

soundtrack playing in the background.

These videos usually don’t have anything real to show to the viewer,

even though the song is produced by the original artist.

The animations in the videos are designed by using different

softwares and these music videos are usually cheap as they are

entirely digital.

For example, Rude Boy by

Rihanna

Interpretive

Interpretive music videos can be interpreted by

the audience in many ways.

Each person can see this video in a different

way and understand a different meaning

according to their mentality.

Impressionist

An impressionist music video can be used to

show a particular theme to the audience.

It includes random and peculiar shots and

images to express the theme of the video.

Abstract features are mostly used in an

impressionist music video.

For example, Girl from Mars by Ash

Intertextuality

References used from some other media

product, some mythology, history, or any other

existing thing is taken and shown in this type

of music video.

For example, Dark Horse by Katy Perry

Surrealist

Similar to impressionist music videos, surrealist music

videos are very abstract and may not have a relation

with the music itself.

A surreal music video contains artificial, unreal or

supersticious elements in it.

A surrealist music video gives a very dream-like effect to

the audience.

For example, ET by Katy Perry

Allusion

It is similar to intertextuality to some extent.

An allusion music video gives reference of

another thing sometimes directly and

sometimes indirectly.

It depends on how the audience see the video,

and how they make a connection between the

video and other similar things they have seen

before.

For example, Avril Lavigne’s Rock n Roll