General Conventions of a Music Video

What are codes and conventions in terms of music videos?

Codes and conventions are what’s used to construct the meaning within a music video in which there are two types

There are two techniques that are used within music videos; Technical and Symbolic

Technical techniques are used in terms of the filming and editing of the video. For example, how the camera is positioned can determine strength or weakness, or diegetic and non-diegetic sound can easily change the mood of a video

Symbolic techniques are used to show meaning but going beyond the typical facial expressions and body language, but they will analyse the colours used and the meaning behind them for example

Why are they used?

Codes and conventions are used in order to make a connection with the audience

Codes and conventions can create some sense of familiarity as various genres of music videos will use different conventions

Music videos of the pop genre will typically use bright colours, feature videos with dance routines and have direct contact with the audience through the use of eye contact with the camera

Whereas music videos of the Indie or alternative rock genre may decide to have a performance based video with darker clothing and wider shots to feature the band who would typically be featured in the video

Camera Shots, Movement & Angles

There are a variety of shots, movement and angles that can be used in a music video. The visual director will choose what they think will be suitable for that genre of music, the artist and the song featured within the music video. For example, in a slow song, close ups and high angle shots may be used to reflect the pace and sadness within a song as seen in ‘Birdy-Skinny Love.’ Other areas where close ups may be used is when there is just one person featured in that video – commonly in narrative videos where a story is being told throughout.

Whereas, in a fast and upbeat video, there will be a high use of wide angle shots, especially with band and artist performances as the director would purposely want to feature all members of that band. It will also give the audience a good view of the props as most likely there will be various instruments used.

Commonly, in all genres and styles of videos there will be close up shots used at the beginning of the video to introduce various ‘characters’ or artists who are in the video. Also, there will be various important props shown to the audience, setting the scene and mood for the video.

Props and Costume

No matter what the style or genre a music video is, there will always be props and costumes in it. The stylists and visual director will purposely choose what clothes the artist or actor(s) would be wearing or what guitar they would be playing as they would want it to fit in with the genre of that song. Sometimes they might choose something quite simple in order to reflect the character of the artist of the video such as Ed Sheeran, or they might decide to choose something completely wacky and quirky for an artist such as Lady Gaga or Katy Perry who are both known for their extravagant costumes. Depending on what styling is used - for example is it a parody – could also be an affecting factor as to what is worn. (An example of a parody music video is ‘Fancy-Iggy Azalea’ where she puts a modern twist on the film ‘Clueless.’)

Performance Videos

A performance video will consist mainly of the artist on either a stage or some sort of set where they are singing the song

This style of video is not as common as narrative based videos as it could be deemed that it is harder for the artists’ audience to relate to and understand the video

Examples of performance based music videos are; Vampire Weekend – Cousins, The White Stripes – The Hardest Button To Button and Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait

Narrative Videos

A narrative video is one that follows the story line, commonly fitting in with the lyrics of the song

There are two types of narrative videos; Linear and Fragmented

A linear narrative video goes from beginning and to the middle and then to the end

A fragmented narrative video does not necessarily start at the beginning of the narrative like a linear narrative, it might decide to start at the end and work backwards for example.

Narrative videos are more commonly chosen by artists as it is easier to express the meaning of the song and for the audience to connect with the artist and their song

Examples of narrative based videos are; Katy Perry – Roar and Bruno Mars – Grenade

Some music videos have a mixture of performance and narrative, an example of this is All American Rejects – Give You Hell,

General Conventions

Lip Syncing is used in all music videos

The colours that are used in a music video can reflect what genre of music that artist performs, e.g. pop will have bright colours whereas rock will be quite dark

In a narrative music video, will be rather suggestive as to what the story being told in the music video is through a series of events that will make sense to the audience but is in keeping with the pace of the song and genre of music

In a band performance, the performance must be authentic and believable. The director will attempt to do this through close ups of the lead singer ‘singing’ and through the miming of playing instruments such as the guitar or drums. There will also be the use of various camera movements such as panning to draw attention to the bands performance.

In a solo artist performance, the performance must also be authentic, and will use similar conventions as to those listed above for a band performance. However, it is common that a dance will be choreographed in which the solo artist will perform, and commonly will have back up dancers. The director will try and have a first person mode of address which will help draw the attention of the viewers through various gestures by the solo artist who is performing in the video. Sometimes, there will be cutaways between a solo performance and a narrative so to make it seem more realistic the solo artist will be featured in the narrative’s story.