2. What are the conventions of a
music video?
The conventions of a music video are that they include
the artist or band.The shots for a music video tend to be
close ups, long shots and mid shots to either the location
of the music video to set the scene, to show the emotion
of the artist to show the emotion of the song and to
show the actions that the artist is doing for example
playing an instrument, dancing or miming the words.
3. The mise en scene of a music
video
The mise en scene of a music video can vary depending on the artist or band and
what genre of music they are in. For example rock bands tend to have a clip of them
performing live to their fans dressed up in their outfits such as metalcore music has a
stereotype of being dressed in all black to match the music they play. Whereas a R&B
music video you’d expect to see dancing, women and the clothing worn would be
more whites colours and the artist or band would have a crisp look to them. An
example of a RNB music video isTimbaland ft JustinTimberlake where there is a lot of
women, dancing and the outfits worn are crisp looking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRdHsuuXxfk
An example of a metalcore music video isArchitects - FollowTheWater where the
video is all performance based on one of their shows to a crowd of fans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS8sYmTcM4w&feature=relmfu
4. For the editing in music videos jump cuts are used to change
from one scene to another quickly.To edit a music video a
popular edit is a dissolve or fade into black to show the
audience that the music video has ended. Also music videos
sometimes have parallel narrative so that the music video is
able to show to sides of a story, perhaps a live performance
and a narrative.The lighting is important in a music video
because it sets the tone for the music video such as dark
lighting could be depressing to match the tone of the song
whereas bright lighting could mean the song tone is happy.
5. What is the purpose of a music
video
The main purpose of a music video is to sell the
song. By selling the song you advertise the band
which increase the CD sales if they like the single.
Another purpose for a music video is to help the
audience understand the meaning of the song but
the main purpose is the promotion of the band/cd.
6. Three types of music videos
The three types of music videos are concept based,
narrative based and performance based. Concept based
means a style of music video that is usually based around
a certain concept or idea. Performance based is where
the music video shows the artist performing throughout
the music video. Narrative based music video means that
the music video is showing/telling a story.
7. Concept music video
A concept video is a video based around a single idea.The video is usually unusual and
obscure for the audience.The unusual content is an attraction to many consumers,
which draws them in. Concept videos are usually designed for a niche audience and is
something described as pure concept art. A successful concept video will keep the
audience entertained and constantly looking at what or who is on the screen.
Concept videos are designed to create a meaning. In the concept video of Best ofYou
by Foo Fighters. In the video there are artistic hints of graffiti and clips of real life
scenes to create meaning behind the song.We only see quick flashes of these clips
which make it a concept video as they are quite obscure images as we don’t see them
for long.
8. Performance based music video
A performance based music video example is Foo Fighters –The Pretender
because throughout the music video the band are seen performing with their
instruments. In the video there are a range of camera angles which create an
atmosphere of rising energy which matches the tempo of the music as it also
rises throughout the song.The use of camera angles creates the star theory
because we are see the clothing worn by the band but also emotions of the band
creates the feeling of the song but also reflects the genre of the music.The fast
camera shots of this video create a fast and edgy feel creating a stir.
Performance based videos are good when working to a budget as they aren’t
high costing.
9. Narrative based music video
An example of a narrative based music video is Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia because there are two versions of
this music video, one is 9 minutes long or there is the 11 minutes long version which tells us a bit more about the
song and the music video helping us understand.The music video for Jesus of Suburbia follows the story of a boy
called Jimmy and we see everything that he has to go through which then leads to him leaving his family and
hometown behind.This storyline is common to the genre of rock music of not belonging. In the music video there
are a range of camera shots to create meaning most of them are close ups of the main character (Jimmy) to show
his emotions.The band aren’t in the music video much which makes us reflect on the narrative of the story rather
than the bands image.The use of a narrative music video is that the video is designed to tell a story though the
moving image. The use of a narrative video is that it helps the audience understand the meaning of the song. In
the video for Jesus of Suburbia it works with Goodwins theory as most of the video has a notion of looking as there
are females throughout the music video to convey the lifestyle the main character has giving us background
information.
