Conventions of Music Videos

There are several types of music video which each carry their own conventions:

Performance - Throughout the video the artist plays to a crowd, almost like a filmed concert, or simply to the camera. This form of music video is used largely within the genre of rock, but a good example is Beyonce - Love on Top.

Narrative - These videos act out the lyrics in a song by involving a narrative. This video type is used in a wide range of genres, and Katy Perry commonly uses this for her videos.

Mixture - In this type of video the camera cuts between a performance and narrative but the artist is only singing.

Cameo - This video is the same as mixture with the performance and narrative. The artist still performs but they also feature within the narrative, for example The Calling - Wherever You Will Go.

Animation - To create entertainment within the music video. Animation scenes, characters and objects can be edited into music videos.

Each video type uses different camera angles to make their type clear. Some of these are:

Crane shots - Crane shots are mainly used within performance based videos because it gives the audience a sense of watching the artist on stage.

Close ups - To enhance certain words within a song close ups of the artists mouth are used. Close ups are also used during narrative videos to enhance the characters feelings and emotions. Other close ups are used for focusing on instruments and props.

High angle shots - High angled shots are used to give a birds eye view, these shots can be used to show a variety of things from towns or cities to a birds eye view of the stage.

Establishing high angle shots - These shots are mainly used to identify the location of a performance or setting the narrative location.

Pans/Tilts - During performances, pans/tilts are used to move between different band members from one position. They are also used to show the location by panning around and tilting to bring objects into view.

Tracking - Tracking is used to follow an artist whilst there on stage, e.g. if the lead singer moves across the stage the camera shall stay in front of them.

Editing of music videos: 

Jump cuts - the most commonly used as its purpose is to jump from a scene of the location to the artist to the instruments and vice-versa. 

Reaction shots - used with music videos with narrative as it expresses the relationship between two or more people. The pace of the editing is always in sync with the beat of the track.

Mise-en-scene:

Is associated to the inter-textual link of the music video, therefore it depends on the representation. For example, a video based on a sixties film (Madonna – “Material Girl” Is based on “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend” from a Marilyn Monroe film performance) would use iconic staging, characters, costumes and so on to represent the time. 

Mise-en-scene is also reflected through:

Lighting - Extreme artificial lighting is the most common type of lighting used in music videos as it helps to enhance the look of the artist or band through making them seem flawless, this is commonly used in pop music videos. Lighting switches help to indicate a shift from the chorus to verse. Finally, lighting also enhances the atmosphere as it can be used to give a bright and upbeat feel particularly in dance music videos or a dark and eerie feel which is used mostly in rock music videos. For example, Cheryl Cole’s video for “Fight for This Love” uses the lighting to show her flawless complexion.