Codes and Conventions

Narrative:The narrative is a tale or story told so that the elements are structured and organised in such a way that it makes sense to the audience. The narrative is essential when attempting to make your music video effective. Having a story that suits your music video makes the audience pay more attention as they wonder what the story and narrative is. They begin to wonder how the narrative will end. Some Music video’s with certain songs are hard to include a story line, for example; If there is a slow/calm song, it would be hard to find a narrative that would suit it. Our song by Ellie Golding is a fine example of this. Whereas if it was a fast, catchy song, it would make it easier to add a story along.

Performance:Like the narrative, it can be hard to link a performance routine to suit the lyrics of the song. In some cases it works, like for example, The great icon Beyoncé managed to pull it off as she performed to the song whilst thinking about miming to the lyrics. It does not have a real narrative but the song seems to speak for it’s self. The song performed by Beyoncé was a massive hit due to the fact that a performance was involved, that most people remembered and made their own versions of the routine.

Mise-en-scene:Mise-en-scene is important in music video’s as it set the scene and costumes.Props- All music video’s include a certain amount of props to some extent. The vary depending on the type of genre and the type of song. Location- The setting basically sets the scene for the whole video. More often then not music video’s will include a setting which most people can relate too.Costumes- The costumes, believe it or not, also depend on the type of genre used for the music video. Different performers will have different clothing and costumes, often suiting what they represent in the video.

Editing Techniques:The editing in music video is crucial and takes a lot of time and effort. Lip synching is the most difficult part of editing as you have to mime and look as if you are actually singing.Footage used in the video is edited to match what is said in the song.

Sound:Sound is extremely essential in video’s just like the camera and editing is.Many music videos use effects to show impossible outcomes such as flying.Changes the levels of sound- In some occasions the sound is faded or changes to suit the lyrics for effect. Diegetic sound- Towards the beginning or end of a music video, diegetic sound is sometimes used, especially when there are some scenes without any background music, to explain what may be going on or to being or end the narrative.

Camera Angles, movement and composition:

Depending on the type of music video it is, depends on what type of camera angle and movement is used. For example;Close ups- This kind of shot focuses on the musicians or artists mouths as they move to the lyrics. They also use close ups on the artists face to show their facial expressions which may hint into what they are thinking, and may suit what the song is about. There are normally also close ups on props, like for example in a rock based video, a close up would be shown of a guitar or some drums.Low angle shot- These are shots that are shot from a hg level so the camera is looking downwards and give an effect of a birds eye view. Tracking shotsTilts or Pans- These can be used to show the location which can be very effective in a video.Crane shots- Thee are used when there is a usage of stages. The crane shots are able to hover around the stage from many angles to capture what is happening.