•Music videos tend to select specific shots depending on the type of video

being made and what the director is trying to represent to the audience.

However music videos tend to use a combination of long , mid and close up

shots which are used to create emphasis on the artist, location and

emotions, or a particular object that has a significance in the video.

•Camera movement is literally the way in which the camera is being moved

during each scene. These movements can include panning, tracking and

crane shots and tilts. In some videos, the camera may be relatively still

whilst the actors/performers within the music video move around more,

such as a dance performance video for example.

Close up shot used for detail

such as singing in music

videos

Long shot to give the audience a

sense of location and allows the

audience to see the whole look

and stance of the performer,

including costume

Medium Shot for

detail but not as

intimate as a close

up

•This is everything that could be seen within a video. From props to

costume to how a location looks in terms of what furniture is around. It

also refers to the positioning of performers and actors on stage or a

scene for production. This helps to form the genre and narrative of the

music video. I have displayed this using the examples below:

The table with cups and saucers

combined with the use of actors sitting

around a table wearing weird outfits

would relate to an ‘Alice in

Wonderland’ themed music video. This

demonstrates use of props and outfits

to create narrative and genre.

The use of lighting and scene

creates an eerie feeling as if

something bad is going to happen

due to seeming like Neyo is in a

dangerous place. To which he has a

fight with the bad people.

Editing is a key part of music videos. Jump cuts are highly popular and

used in almost every single music video. This is because they allow the

video to go from one scene to another which is ideal due to music

videos generally being quite short and having to fit a lot in such as

various scenes or locations. They are very quick but still allow a

narrative to flow. Other editing transitions can be used such as fade

and dissolve, as they capture the eyes of the audience as they are not

as well used as jump cuts.

Lighting is used to emphasise the mood and aspects of a video. For

example some videos may be filmed with dull and bleak lighting to

give it a sad or gloomy feeling about lyrics. Black and white can also

be used to make important aspects more clear. Black and white is

used as well as general lighting in Beyonce’s video ‘Single ladies’ to

allow the audiences ye to be drawn to Beyonce and her dancers.

Bright lightening can emphasise a happy mood and enhance the

appearance of other colours, such as in Alphabeats video

‘Fascination’.

In a music video this is usually just the song that the video is being

made for that is the sound, however if a director decides to make a

short film styled music video then some other audio may be

included, either a narration or a scripted audio. This can be seen in

Lady Gaga’s video as well as Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

•Use lip syncing in a fun outdoor party location, using a lot of cast and

actors

•Props such as cars or alcohol are used to represent money or wealth as

well as product placement

•Many females are used to attract a male audience due to the genre of

music being mainly stereotyped for a male audience

•Music artists tend to be the main focus of the video rather than using

actors

•Generally no narrative or story line

•Continuous long and mid shots are used with a still shot so that the

audience can clearly see wealth is involved in the video (such as a long

shot of a mansion with cars on the drive way)

•Use of low lighting and dark settings with minimal colour and

commonly made black and white

• Either mainly focus on the artist and band performance or

use a narrative and performance based video

•Long shots are used so that the whole performance can be

seen including all the members of the band for example

•Basic costume used that is based around what the artists or

band may wear on a day to day basis rather than a specific

costume

•Use of bright colours and a variety of outfits

•Usually follows a specific narrative that relates to a story or

theme of some kind

•May include the artist singing throughout the narrative or story or

may just be them acting

•A lot of jump cuts are used as well as a variety of camera

movements, this may be to go along with the up beat music

•Can vary from being really simplistic to involving various locations

and props

•Some use a lot of green screen and effects