Conventions of a Music Video

Conventions of a Music Video

 

 

Cinematography

Although a wide variety of shot types can be used in a music promo there are typical shots that appear more frequently than others. Close-up shots are one example of this and are often used to show the musicians playing their instruments. This may be done to demonstrate the performers ability as well as the persona and character of the person playing it. Furthermore close-up shot types can be included to display a character’s emotion, such as their enthusiasm, and their characteristics (good looking, sleek hair, etc).  Mid-shots are also used, in some cases to broadcast the full band to the viewer and in others to allow the audience to view a combination of the performers hands and facial expressions. A director will often choose a planned location, or several, to shoot the music promo and therefore long shots will invariably be incorporated to set the scene of the video. In addition long shots may be used similarly to mid shots so that the complete group/band can be viewed by the audience; thus creating/following and showing the band’s ‘image’. Panning and tracking shots are two more widely used uses of camerawork. These may be embraced to transition surroundings and demonstrate movement.    

Editing

The most indefinitely used editing technique in a music promo are the straight cuts to rival the beat of the music. The two are synchronised together to help bind the audio and visuals of the promo creating a relative paced and sensical product. Jump-cuts follow shortly behind and are used to connect the performance aspect of a music video with the narrative. Technology plays a key role in determining the basis for a music video also and in such older videos will have a reduced volume of special effects. The green screen is one of these effects that is heavily used in more recent videos and can be done to change the setting of a video instantaneously. This would considerably reduce the cost of a video as only one location is needed (the green screen). CGI or computer generated imagery is connected with this technology and uses computers to incorporate virtually anything into a video. Animation, simulation and pictures are just a few to name to make a video appear more realistic or conversely add imaginary beings. However, the use of this method would greatly impact the budget set for the promotional video. Finally in post-production, the speed of the original video may be altered to ensure the actor/performer’s lips are in sync the vocal line of the song. This may be slowing down or speeding up the video. 

Mise-en-Scene

There are many roles to fill in this category of defining the key conventions and characteristics of a music promo. Location is perhaps one of the most important as it defines not only the surroundings that the narrative is set but also the nature of the video. The location can also be linked to genre, for example a dance video would most likely be shot in a nightclub/dance studio and a folk band in the countryside. 

Props are another vital element of a music video as the narrative must be told without regular dialogue. This means that other ways of portraying meaning and telling the ‘story’ must be used; including props. As well as ordinary and fitting objects musical instruments are the most continuously used props in videos for obvious reasons; to show who plays what and fill in the performance gap of a music promo.  

To define the ‘mood’ of a music video lighting can be used. Be it dark for a sad or terrifying video or bright and warm for a happy video lighting can also be used to create tension, sense emotion and as mentioned define the entire feel of the a music promo. 

Finally, costume is the last piece of the puzzle in building up the persona of a music promo. Costume can be used to depict a band/group’s image using leather jackets and sunglasses for a cool look, for example, and stereotypically bikini tops or revealing outfits for a mainstream popular artist. 

Narrative

Often the narrative of a promotional music video will be related to an artists brand image, as mentioned. This could be linking the narrative to a famous live gig or it could be to coincide with the story told in the lyrics. However narrative is not limited in music videos and the storyline could go any way.