Conventions of a music video

Similarly to my study of films in the thriller genre last year, music videos also have a set of general conventions or 'rules' that directors attempt to follow for an aethetically pleasing outcome. Some conventions can be seen to have negative connotations or be stereotypical and are usually associated with certain genres of music. In the Rap/RnB/Hip Hop genre of music, a stereotype within the video would be expecting to see scantily-clad girls, flashy cars and extravagant displays of their wealth. This is a common example of a negative convention, as most music videos of this genre could be veiwed as quite similar and therefore un-original and prehaps slightly boring.

However it's not always negative, by knowing these conventions, we can learn from them and try to avoid them when making our own music video and create a sucsessful outcome.

Music videos always include several long shots, medium shots, close ups and extra close ups. This is to emphasis the artist or band themself to help promote them. It can also be to highlight the emotions behind the song. Close ups are used to not only show emotion and facial expressions but also to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the artist lips and even their eyes. Johnny Cash's 'Hurt' is a perfect example of using camera angles to reflect emotion.

Shot length can be used to connote the meaning of the song, for example quick face paced shots create a different effect on the audience than a shot lasting more than 5 seconds.

The shots need to be chosen wisely and match the music to the shots. This can make discarding rushes you have grown attached to, difficult to ‘throw away’. Lip syncing is the most common way an artist records a video, it is rare that a video is recorded live....unless it is footage of a tour and includes teh sound of audiences and fans cheering.

The mise en scene in a music video needs to be accurate as it needs to connote the style/genre of the music. All music videos contain props depending on the genre and type of song it is, such as, if it is a performance style video, there would be instruments, and stages and lighting. Also if it was a rap video, the video would usually involve several half naked girls dancing around teh artist with a very expensive car and large house in the background. Costume depends on the lyrics of the song as well as the genre and also to what the artist is comfortable in. For example, Justin Timberlake probably wouldn’t feel comfortable strutting around in his videos wearing what Eminem would wear. The setting for music videos sets the scene immediately and many locations that are used are simple locations where many people can relate to. For Example, Hip hop music videos use quite dark colours, simple settings and there are portrayals of women to show their sexuality, which appeals to males, which means they have a narrow target audience.