Research on conventions of music videos

Research
Conventions of Music promo videos and their effect on the audience…

The conventions associated with music videos usually depend on the genre of the music or band and the image that is stereotypically associated with that genre. They also depend on what message the song is trying to portrait and what effect they want to give to the audience. However there are also some more general conventions that all types of genres conform to. From what I have seen so far in my research, I have found that there are always exceptions to these conventions but they are still widely used.

Style: The main styles used in music videos are…
• Performance - where the band or artist performs either to an audience or to the camera, this creates a ‘live concert’ atmosphere which provides the audience with an intimate relationship with the artist. This style is often used in rock videos such as the Kings Of Leon – On Call.
• Narrative – where the imagery is based on a storyline played by actors. This engages the attention of the audience and draws them into the narrative. The narrative is often linked to the meaning of the song or a persona the artist wants to create. This style is mostly used in the ‘indie genre’ for example the Arctic monkeys – Leave Before The Lights Come On. This creates a persona for the audience rather that having a connection directly to the artist. The convention is not widely used due to this fact as audiences enjoy making a connection.
• Narrative/performance – a mixture of performance and narrative usually with quick cuts between the two. It is often used with bands and sometimes individual artists. It provides both the connection with the audience to the artist and also the interest of the narrative, this means that it is a popular style for many videos of a variety of genres. However it is most commonly used in the indie and rock genres. An example of this mix of narrative and performance is demonstrated in The Lostprophets – Rooftops.
• Cameo appearances – where the artists appear in the narrative playing a character and often miming the song but not performing. This allows the audience to relate to the artist by seeing them as a character who can show emotion rather than a performer. It also has an advantage to the artist as they can have involvement in the creative process of portraying a character as they intended in writing the song (persona). In the video to Plan B – The Recluse the artist is playing the persona of the character ‘Strickland Banks’ that he created as the inspiration of his album.
• Animation – where imagery in the video is produced through drawings mostly electronically using computer software. The advantage of this is that images can be created that are of fantasy rather than reality which creates a more imaginative video. It can also be used to create cartoons of the artists so that the mixture of narrative and performance can also be used alongside animation, which is the case in the video for The Gorillas – Feel Good inc.


Camera work:
From the range of videos I have researched I have found that there is a wide variety of camera work used in music videos, a few conventions that I have found to be consistent are…
• Close-Up shots – usually used to focus on the artist in a performance or the main character in the narrative to show emotion. They are also sometimes used to focus on an instrument or an important prop. These close up shots make the audience feel involved in the video and can also be used to help the audience relate to the character.
• Pans/Tilts – these are used in all styles of videos and are used to move from different band members or to show a location and follow a character. This allows the audience to see clearly the location or the band members.
• Tracking Shots – used mainly in narrative styles to track a character and also used in upbeat dance music to show the energetic pace of the music. These shots allow the audience to feel involved in the action.
• Crane shots – usually used when showing a performing band as the angle of the shot can capture the whole band instead of focusing on just one member.
• Long establishing shots – used mainly in narrative and animation to show the audience the setting of the storyline.
• Extreme close ups – often used to focus on lips showing lip syncing. Also used a lot to focus on instruments.


Editing:
• Jump cuts – these are sometimes used in music videos to create a dramatic point in narrative but it is also used in more abstract music videos to create abstract imagery to mimic the song. However these shots have to be done with caution as it can look as though they are a result of poor editing.
• Cut to music – The transition between shots is normally done on a change of a beat in the music. This links the video to the song and provides a connection to the narrative and the lyrics in the song.
• CGI (computer generated images) – for example special effects or the display of images for example split screen. Split screen can provide the viewer with extra information within the narrative and can help portrait excitement which is often used in upbeat music. However, it can also overload the audience with information and confuse the narrative.
Special effects are often used in music videos where the meaning of the song is abstract and unusual which actors can not physically show eg. A character flying or a action n scene which involves a lot of violence. This is an advantage to the director as the narrative is not limited.
Also there is the obvious use of CGI within the animated style of film.
• Transitions – are often used as an alternative to simple cuts between shots. Common transitions between shots in music videos are fades and cross-dissolves. This can show extra meaning to certain shots and important moments in the video.
• Colour wash - these are often used in music videos to reflect a theme or to differentiate between past and present.


Sound:
• Rhythm – The rhythm of the music often affects the imagery used in the video. If the music is upbeat, the imagery often contains action or an upbeat narrative whereas, if the music is slower, the imagery is often romantic or negative. The rhythm also effects the editing (as stated above).
• Diegetic sound – used throughout music videos when actors or artists are miming to the song or playing instruments to the music. It is also sometimes used at the start of music videos where there is dialogue played by an actor or artist.
• Non-diegetic sound – sometimes added in the form of special effects to emphasise a dramatic point in the video. When doing research into music videos, I found that some narrative videos use non-diegetic sound in the form of narration or the intro to the music which isn’t shown on screen.
• Levels of sound – the levels of the song sometimes for narrative reasons or to emphasise the chorus. Also the music can be louder when other instruments of the song are introduced.


Mise-on-scene:
• Props – are often used in music videos, the most common ones I noticed were the obvious instruments, also stages and lighting where the performance style was used. Various other props are used throughout the video within narrative and performance.
• Costumes – the costumes change depending on the genre of the music and the storyline (if there is one). The artists costumes normally conform to stereotypes of that genre for example a rock band will often wear dark clothing whereas a girl band will wear colourful dresses with make up and groomed hair. Characters costumes change according to the narrative, although the style often matches the genre of the music even thought they are not the artists themselves.
• Location - Many settings are simple to give the audiences something they can relate to. If this I not the case, the setting is most likely the opposite, being overwhelming and grand to provide an eye catching and exciting image for the audience.
• Themes – are often based on an artist’s conception, following the meaning of the song. The theme of a song can effect everything about its video (location, editing, lighting, colours etc.)
• Lighting – strongly depends on the genre of the music. Solo artists and upbeat music such as dance music often have strong lighting to either enhance the artist or to reflect the lively narrative whereas bands often have darker lighting to fit the loud music and multi-layered sounds. The lighting gives a good indication to the audience about the type of music and narrative surrounding the genre.


Representations:
• Gender – gender representations change according to the target audience. Women are often represented to show their sexuality in genres such as hip hop, R&B and dance, this is because the target audience for these genres is dominantly male. This representation is shown through imagery of women wearing revealing clothing and often being seen as an object of desire. In a similar way, pop music which has more of a female target audience often has topless male dancers or a male actor who is seen as romantic.
Another gender representation is masculinity which shows dominance and provides a role model for the audience.
• Wealth and Power – this is represented, particularly in R&B to relate a desirable lifestyle to the music, this makes the audience look up to the artist and admire them.
• Social groups – differs for each genre, class is represented mostly stereotypically, showing higher classes to have more power. Social groups within society and particularly within the music and youth scene are also shown, eg. ‘indies’, ‘rockers’ and ‘chavs’ as these are representations that our modern society can relate to and understand which provides interest.