Friday, 13 July 2012


Music Video Conventions

Codes and conventions of Music videos vary from genre of music to another, such as metal videos to pop videos. Although there are some ‘key’ conventions of music videos. Camera-wise, Music videos seem to use a variety of different shots, such as long shots and close ups, the latter mostly used when viewing a close up of the band/singer to show emotion of the song, and to show the band/singer performing (in most cases). In some cases, music videos often tell a story, through other scenes within the music video, these are usually shot differently to how the other side of the music video is shot (the performance). For example, in a metal video, the story sections may have smooth camera movements, whereas the performance could be really erratic and jumpy shots.

Depending on the Music genre, mise en scene plays a pivotal role in the way the video is presented, whether it is detailing a modern day story, where modern clothes would be worn, and usually the setting would be ‘real life settings’ such as a town or a city.

Pop/Indie

Usually the mise en scene is young people in trendy clothing, and they are usually good looking and often seen either socialising in parties etc. However in recent years, more indie music videos have attempted a more artistic approach with features such as stop motion, and other heavy visual effects. The shots are usually relatively smooth and slow paced, and may change when the chorus comes in. they usually focus more on the singer/band as they are the focus of attention.

Metal

The clothing and the mise en scene is usually very elaborate and usually akin to horror films and similar style. They often depict a dystopia or an area which is ‘unwelcoming’, relying on dark lightning, and often heavy visual effects. In many metal video’s there isn’t as much as a story as other genre, most of them focus heavily on the band playing the music as if it was live. Camera shots are usually erractic and fast paced, and often uncommon shots to show the band playing, many close ups are used to show emotion on the faces of the band members.

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