Conventions of music videos

Conventions of music videos in general By Canisha

The codes and conventions are rules and techniques used in music videos to create meaning. They can be divided into two types: Technical and symbolic. 

Technical techniques: This is how meaning is created using the technical areas like camera, pace and style of editing, mise on scene etc. 

Symbolic techniques: This is the way of showing meaning further than what can be seen e.g. facial expressions, body language, movement, gestures and mise en scene. 

Using codes and conventions can help an audience get familiar with a certain genre and attribute features they see in music videos to that music video 

Intertextuality also commonly takes place in music videos with artists playing fictional or non-fictional characters like Beyonce ft Jay Z music video 'Bonnie and Clyde' or Katy Perry 'Roar'. This can make it more interesting for the audience as they can be familiar with certain story line's and it also takes the attention away from the artists. 

Below, is an image of common codes and conventions of music videos.

Conventions of music videos of your particular genre by Ella

Our music video is in the Indie genre as we are doing "If you ever want to be in love” by James Bay. Indie bands tend to use performance based music videos such as Imagine Dragons with “Radioactive.” This way the main focus is on them as performers doing what they love to do. It also keeps the focus on the actual music itself and the talent that the artists have. We have decided to do a narrative video following Andre Goodwin’s theory of relationships between lyrics and visuals. A narrative video is used to tell a story throughout the video by using a sequence of images and videos that relate to the song. This is done in a way that makes sense to the audience so they can follow and understand the relationship with the lyrics.

Mise en scene is very important for the conventions of a music video. For an Indie music video you need to have a distinct style. For example: costume is important to establish who the artist is. For example Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus wear very outgoing outfits to show how wild their character is. So an Indie singer may wear a casual laid back outfit to show that’s what his personality is. Make-up is also used to portray a character. Someone in an Indie rock band may wear dark eye make up to show their genre. It all down to how you want to be seen as an artist. Props are also an important convention for a music video. An example of props being used is in the music video “Pretty Girls” by Britney Spears she uses a nail file while singing to show the audience she is very girly. In an Indie music video a guitar may be used to show he’s musical, or a photo frame may be shown to show he is heartbroken over a girl.

Camera shots are used in Indie music videos, close ups are commonly used to show artist emotions and feelings. Full length shots should also be used to show the setting of the video and also give the audience a clear view of the artists and their outfits. This is important in an Indie music video as a lot of artists are seen as style icons. This is also good to show body positioning so the audience know how the artist feels in the video.