Music video conventions

What are conventions?

– The conventions of a music video are the feature that are commonly found in a music video of a certain genre.

– For example music videos for a rock song will all be quite similar. Generally there will be a live performance with all of the band members.

– Quite often pop music will include voyeurism- Sexualising the female body.

– The genre that we are doing is electronica/pop music so we will try and stick to the conventions of this.

General conventions

– Camera- Generally music videos contains a wide range of shots from close ups to wide shots. Close ups can be used to show emotion and even to put emphasis on the artist or the object it is focusing on.

– Camera movement- The movement of the camera is used to track and follow the artist, band or actors involved. Movements include, tracking, panning, tilting and crane shots.

– Lighting- Lighting in a music video can be quite important as different colours/brightness could portray different emotions throughout. Some videos can also be black and white which creates a different mood.

– Editing- There is always a huge range of different techniques used when editing to keep the audience interested. Quite often in music videos there are a lot of fast cuts on the beat which makes it more satisfying and interesting for the audience to watch

Conventions of electronica music videos– Music videos for electronica songs tend not to have many conventions as there are so

many variations making it quite a broad theme, allowing more freedom when creating an idea.

– Quite often there is a range of different locations making it more interesting to watch.

– They can feature themes such as love, sexuality, youth culture (e.g partying), different things a younger audience could relate to.

– There is quite often a use of bright colours which can match the theme of the song.

– There can sometimes be narrative references however the storyline isn’t always connected to the lyrics.

Examples:

Disclosure- Latch

The Chainsmokers- Closer

The Weeknd- Starboy

Conventions of pop music videos– Generally there is a strong sense of narrative featured sometimes relating to the lyrics,

sometimes not.

– Actors costumes will quite often be fashionable making it relatable for the audience.

– This genre is often aimed at a more teenage audience.

– More often than not the artist is female- 6/10 artists in the pop industry are female.

– There can be a strong sense of voyeurism for both female and male artist in pop videos.

– Quite often the videos are bright and colourful reflecting on the song.

Examples:

Fifth Harmony-m That’s My Girl

DNCE- Cake

Charlie Puth- We Don’t Talk Anymore