Conventions of Music Videos

Camera Shots/Movement/Framing

• Music Videos (no matter what their genre) all use a mixture of different camera shots.

• Certain camera shots are used more than others, such as: -close ups/extreme close ups-long shots (establishing shots)

• Close ups are used in music videos as they help emphasise the meaning of the lyrics- especially if there is a extreme close up of the artist lip syncing. They also help for promotional purposes as they draw attention to the artists’ face

• In terms of framing, the artist (or the main singer if it is a band) will usually take up most of the shot, to represent their dominance in the song- if it is a video that uses performance.

• Music videos will also use a range of different camera movements to follow the artist in their video. Such as; tracks, tilts and pans. Pans may be used to stress a location in a video, and a track may be used to follow the artist in what they are doing.

Editing

• Music videos tend to use montage editing, so they use a variety of different shots, that may not necessarily all appear in chronological order.

• Jump cuts are the one of the most frequent edits used. For example, it could cut to the location of the artist, then to the artist performing, and then maybe another cut to a different scene, all within 5 seconds of a song

• No matter what type of edit is used, the edit is always in sync with the beat of the song- the technical aspects of the song heavily depend on what song it is; it’s genre, the beat and many other factors all affect on not only the narrative of the video but also how the video is edited.

Mise-en-scene• The mise-en-scene of the video mostly

depends of the genre of the song and the narrative or the song.

• The representation and ideology that the song is trying to give also depends on the mise-en-scene used; for example in RnB songs women are usually represented as sexual objects, there to make the artist look good.

Girl bands and pop artists will also use this kind of ideology to sell their music… such as Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’ video

Mise-en-scene continued…

• The lighting used tends to be very artificial light. The reason this is used is to make the artist look as dominant and enhance their appearance. Music videos can also use the lighting to indicate a shift in the song (e.g. from a verse to chorus). Depending on the genre, lighting can also be used to make the mood appear more upbeat (usually found in pop or dance videos)

• Props are also another essential part of music videos, they can help promote the ideology of the song. Again in RnB music videos, the props are an important part because they can make the performer look good (e.g. if he has lots of cars or woman around him he will look dominant and successful).

• The costume of the artist can be used to mostly reflect the genre of the artist, most of the time in music videos the costume the artist wears will make them look good, as well as helping the audience establish the genre of the music. Colours of costumes is also another important part as they can help represent the genre; e.g. rock music videos will tend to use darker colours or colours such as red to connote the ‘danger’ and ‘rebellious’ aspect of their music.