Conventions of a Music Video

Everything produced in media has codes and conventions and music videos are no exception. A code or convention is like a guideline of rules that music videos often follow (but do not have to) That are always dependable on genre or style. The main conventions for music videos  Relate to Camera shots and angles, Editing, Camera Movement, Mise-en-scene.

Camera angles and shots 


Camera shots and angles are as important in music videos as in any other media text. Each specific shot or angle could mean a lot more than it does in things such as films or adverts though. For example Closeups (as referenced in goodwins theory of star image) help to promote and iconize a singer and to show each expression and emotion to help show the songs emotional meaning. closeups are often used to show the product placement and company names aswell, a technique that is very common in music videos to help earn more money to make the video or to just add more money to the profit revenue. long shots can be used to establish a scene or location in the music video as well as keeping focus on the main person/people in shot at the same time, these are often very useful as they do not break your attention away for too long and can have two different effects at the same time. for example if you had a closeup on an artist who was singing and then cut to a long shot your focus will stay on the artist themselves but will also show you their surrounding area, which can also further push along the meaning to a song because the location is often metaphorically linked to the lyrics and song. the video for lady gagas telephone has a lot of good examples for the closeups and long shots as some scenes show lady gaga alone singing up close but then cut to a long shot to show the scene and her fellow back up dancers and of course in relation to goodwins theory of star image, there is always at least one closeup of her in her many different outfits. and also lots of closeups on the product placement.






Mise-en-scene


This refers to the arragement of the performers and props on the stage or in a scene for the production of a music video or any other media text. Mise-en-scene puts importance on the represention of something. A example is Bad by Neyo. This mise-en-scene involes Neyo walking down a road in a isolated room. This refelcts the isolation of his lover. Also the props include hats and  dark clothing which represent the down mood of the song. Similarly, the lighting is kept very dark as it is black and white; this connotes the angry and depressed mood.






Edting and Effects

Editing is and always will be present in all videos unless they are all done in one long shot which is sometimes done. All shots are cut together like a puzzle to make the final product.  there are many editing techniques used in music videos but there is often not that many, usually music videos rely on effects more than editing techniques and transitions, they often just use jump cuts because most music videos can jump from scene to scene without ruining continuty and therefore do not need to de-emphasize the editing so more time can be spent on effects and stylizing the video. one of the most effect filled videos i have ever seen is natalia kills controversy. it is a very simple music video just showing natalia stood staring into the camera and moving slightly and then sometimes cuts to her jumping with a hat on. While this sounds extremely boring there is always something to look at because it has been seriously messed around with. there are lots of images and videos used in a reverse green screen sort of way where natalias outline becomes the frame for the images rather than the background. The video has been edited to show loads of static and old VCR multicolour errors and old video camera text giving the video a very low tech feel and style.