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An Introduction to Music Videos

"They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art." - Charlie Parker

Very few music videos are entirely original, as to be unique music video producers would have to dare to break as many conventions as possible, consequently risking failure in the hope that their production would boom into the charts, and the chance of this succeeding is: very slim. This is why the conventions of music video do appear consistently, resulting in each video becoming recognisable as belonging to a certain genre, however; music videos would all be the same if they were to purely rely on this so it is down to producers to encode subtle media language to mark their individuality and be a cut above the rest, to primarily make it; on a big scale.

Conventions make the audience feel accustomed to certain genres and comfortable with what they’re watching. If conventions are challenged too far it is likely that the audience wouldn’t know how to react, resulting in them deciding to not react or even react in a negative way, which would make the targeted audience disconnect with the artist. Conventions are all about engaging and building a connection between artist and audience, so as to provoke preferred readings rather than negotiated ones.

The conventions of music video gently vary depending on the genre of music and consistently adapt with technological advances, however, some general conventions can be depicted and categorised into two types: technical and symbolic conventions.

Technical

Camera Angles – in current music videos, a large range of different shots and camera techniques are used in order to create a sense of temporal flow, primarily at a fast and exciting pace to suit the current, twenty-first century lifestyle.

"...moving; it starts almost invariably as soon as the video begins and only ceases towards the end" - Carol Vernallis

Music production artists are creative and unique by using camera techniques that can disorientate the audience and keep them highly engaged. The use of: high angle shots, mid shots, low angle shots, close ups, medium close ups, point of view shots, long shots and extreme close ups, are all used in music video production. Processes such as: tracking, panning, rolling, tilting, crane shots and the use of a dolly are also heavily featured, to add to the variation and ‘attention-seeking’ effect portrayed in today's music videos.

Editing - music video producers consciously make their editing really obvious and not at all seamless, in order to be instantly recognised as being from the music video genre, and not from a film or television programme. Some technological decisions can seem odd and unprofessional, although they are all deliberate and there to cause a desired impact. The most common edits involved in the music production process include: straight cuts, jump cuts, cross dissolve effects, fade up/out, matches on action, insert shots and wipes.

Sound - sound, though often discrete in music video, can still feature. Diegetic sounds can play as an introduction, during or even after a music video. Certain sounds are sometimes intensified to emphasise events or actions - this is not just a convention of music videos; it is found in films and television drama.

Symbolic

Facial expressions - conventional facial expressions differ with genre so it is hard to universalise them. There are a few however; in the majority of music videos, the band, artist or actors/actresses will look into the camera at some point during the video. This expresses a personal performance as the audience feel that these people are looking at them individually. The facial expressions need to express emotion with the assistance of intimate camera work, pop for example would featured animated expressions whereas rap would display more angry, agressive ones. Facial expressions help to highlight the genre of a music video.

Mise-en-scene - mise-en-scene also varies from genre to genre. Rap music videos would be situated conventionally in urban surroundings or club environments for example

Costume -

Types of Music Video

There are four main styles of music video although with current music artists facing the largest competition for success - ever - these types are more often than not merged together in an attempt to seem original.

Performance Video: purely focuses on the band or artist performing their music –Tiao Cruz – Dynamite

Narrative Video: features a storyline with actors, sometimes involving dialogue, and usually cuts to the band performing at regular intervals eg. Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends

Cameo Video: has the band or artist featured heavily in the storyline, usually a musical performance isn’t involved eg. Avril Lavigne – When You’re Gone

Animation Video: digitally created, sometimes cartoon eg. The Gorillaz