CONVENTIONS OF A

MUSIC VIDEOBy Jesika Patel

- The codes and conventions of a music videos are the different techniques used to construct meaning in them.

- These techniques can be divided into two types, technical and symbolic.- Music videos contains a number of different elements and they are

performance, narrative, thematic and symbolic. - Codes and conventions are a firm set of rules and a way of doing things. - The purpose of codes and conventions for a music video is for the

audience to become familiar with a certain genre as they become aware to seeing certain things like props or artist.

- It provides a structure that the audience can understand.- To ensure the lyrics of the songs fits in with the video or how the audience

expects it to be. - Notions of looking – stereotyping- It provides a structure that the audience can understand.

What are the codes and conventionsOf a music video?

Style of music video

Codes and conventions

- Music videos that can be categorized in terms of style.- Performance – artist/band playing.- Narrative – which includes a story.- Mixture – both performance and narrative based. - Cameo – band/artist features in the narrative but doesn’t perform.- Animation – Digitally (flash) or stop frame.

Performance

0 Most common type that features a star/group singing in the concert to widely engage their fans.

0 The aim is to convey a sense of the in-concert experience.0 Performance videos that display the star or group in the studio

remind the viewer that sound track and album are still important. 0 It is usually a video consisting mainly the artist with dancers

performing in the video. 0 These types of videos often includes close ups of the artist and

there can be a particular visual style that does with the artist (a motif) such as clothing, actions, props etc.

0 Can be the artist in ‘real life’ situations such as warming up, talking, stage concert.

Performance video example

0 A good example of a performance video is Beyoncé – Love on top. 0 The video shows the artist continuously performing the song and there is no

narrative or scene to the video. 0 This style of music videos is not common, as music because target audience

would not be able to feel a sense of engagement. However, as Beyoncé is an aspiration to her target audience, the video engages a wide range of audience due to the lighting, costume, dancing and enthusiasm to get the audience to dance along and get a real concert experience.

0 This video displays the performance in a creative way of making it more interesting to watch.

0 This conforms to the ‘notions of looking’ as the audience is watching the performer and gaining pleasure from it.

Narrative0 A music video with a narrative implies that music video that has a story

line is consistent through the song and video. There are two different types of narrative, a linear and a fragmented. Linear has a story that starts at the beginning and finishes at the end of a music video, whereas a fragmented is the oppose.

0 Videos may tell any kind of story in linear, cause effect sequencing.0 Love stories are the most common narrative mode in music videos and

normally follow the pattern of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girls heart back.

0 It can promote a film with clips from the film included telling a story such as ‘Jessie J – Silver lining’.

0 Due to the length of the video it can used very fast paces shots and cuts.

Example of narrative music video

0 Taylor Swift – Love story is an example of a narrative music video as it follows the novel of Romeo and Juliet but adding own ideas of a typical love story where a boy meets a girl.

0 The video is set in various locations to conform to the narrative.0 This video uses a main convention of pop videos- as it constantly cuts to

Taylor singing on her own directly into the camera, whilst the narrative continues in the background.

0 The lighting is quite important in this video, as it emphasizes the mood of the scene and therefore of the characters.

Mixture

0This is a combination of performance and narrative0 It is usually found in music videos as it hard to have

a pure performance or narrative.0By using both performance and narrative, the video

can be made more interesting, engaging and enjoyable for the audience to watch as they are gaining both experiences.

Cameo0 Cameo is where a band or artist features in the narrative but does not

perform. A suitable example for this is Rihanna and Drake – Whats my name. The are both artists who play apart in the narrative but do not perform at all.

Technical - How equipment and technology are used to construct

meaning.- Camera – different angles and shots- Editing – pace, style, colour, effects etc.- Sound – diegetic or non-diegetic and genre. - Conveys using technical equipment for example various

shots, camera angles, the used of sound and editing.

Symbolic:- Meaning created beyond what is obvious to see.- Example, specific facial expressions.- Mise-en-scene- Showing expressions through mise-en-scene and

poses.

Technical and Symbolic

Camera0 Variety of shots depending on the style.0 Few CU’s (especially in performance music videos). ECU of lips, guitar, strings

being strummed etc.0 Crane shots – hovering over stage.0 Low-angles0 Pans/tilts – according to different performers. 0 The way the camera angles are used is crucial when producing a music video

as it can create different effects and understanding the movements and concept of the video. Music videos use different variety of shots, angles and movement to create different techniques and to make the video different and unique to exiting videos.

0 Camera angles are important in every type of mediated visual text but in music video to feel.

0 The way the camera is positioned in a music video, it determines the angle of the shot. There are various camera angles used in the production of music videos to convey different images and meaning.

Camera Angles

The relationship between camera and object being photographed gives emotional information to an audience and guides their judgment about character pr object in shot. The more extreme the angle, the more symbolic and heavily loaded the shot.

Eye Level – Common view, it shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot and camera positioned as a human is observing a scene.

High angle- The camera shows the subject from above and e camera is angle down towards the subject. This has an effect of making them appear less powerful, less significant or even submissive.

Low angle – The subject is shown from bellowing, giving the impression of being more powerful/dominant. Disorientation of viewer.

Birds eye view – This shows the subject/scene from directly above. It makes the audience feel like they are looking down at the action. It can be used to crate a dramatic effect or show a different perspective. It can also show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, allowing the view to see things the character might not see.

Oblique/slanted angle: it is used to suggest the point of view shots. This is a creative way of making interesting and dramatic effects. It suggests imbalance, transition and instability.

Camera angles emphasise the artist to show emotions and expressions. Other camera angles that are simply the most common music videos such as close ups which show the artist lip synching and for star image. The camera never stays on one shot for no longer than 3-5 seconds.

Camera MovementsThe camera moves to follow the artist or to show the performance of the artist. These camera movements include panning and tracking. A director of the music video may choose to move action along by telling a narrative as a series of cuts, going from one shot to another or they may want to move the camera with the action.

Pans: this is where the camera scans the scene horizontally. The camera is placed on a tripod which is operated as a stationary on a axis point as the camera is turned, often to follow a moving object which is in the middle of the frame.

Dolly/tracking: this is where the camera is attached on a chart which travels along tracks for a very smooth movement. It is a good way of portraying movement and moves alongside the action. It allows the audience to focus on the object or subject.

Hand held shots: This produces a ‘fly on wall’ effect and gives a ragged effect, smoothness of dolly shot. It makes the audience feel as they are part of the scene but also denotes a certain kid of gritty realism.

Ariel shots: this moved in and out of a scene and is an exciting variation of crane shot.

Editing and sound0 There are various editing techniques which are

used within a music video.0 Music videos tend to feature jump cutting.0 Footage is generally edited to match the music.0 Split-screens/CGI0 Choosing to include diegetic sound.0 Change in levels of sound.0 Sound consists of two main forms

Sound:Sound consists of two main forms which are diegetic sound and non diegetic. Sound is essential in any music video as it is the audiences main focus for why people watch and listen to music videos in order to gain a sense of pleasure from it.

Diegetic sound generates things we see in the picture. It begins but doesn’t end. The sound enhances with the sound effects as it is used to heighten individual sounds for a narrative effect.

Non diegetic sound can be edited in, in the video. It enhances through the non-diegetic sound which usually forms a music or voice over. It creates a mood and atmosphere which often manipulates the emotions experienced while viewing.

Editing Techniques :Editing is the process that concludes the making of the music video. When a video is being edited. Scenes are cut down and special effects are added to the sound track. Editing consists of:- Jump cutting- CGI effect which is the process used for generating animated images by the use of computer graphics. - Parallel editing which is a method of cutting between a coupe of scenes or narrative taking place at the same time.

Mise-en-scene0 The mise-en-scene for music videos focuses on the light, props, costume, hair and

makeup, location and the colour of these elements which usually depends on the genre of the music video and the style. These elements are important in contributing towards the chosen genre. They are used to convey the importance of the people in the music videos. They are also used to represent certain characters in different ways.

0 Mise-en-scene can vary depending on the genre the music category falls into. 0 Props – performance equipment, band merchandise, costume, make up etc. This

also depends on the genre of music such as R&B audience will notice cars, smoking, bling, ‘gang’ signs, dark theme and usually women portrayed as sexual objects.

0 Location – concert halls, venues, streets, city etc.0 Facial expressions0 Lighting – how the scene is lips, artificial lightings, side lightings or natural lighting0 Hair and make-up – style of the artist and they way they are represented. 0 Colour – specific colours and theme represent a certain mood depending on style of

music

Props

0Props is a good way to show a clear way of linking the lyrics with a visual and its adds entertainment to the video as well as engages the audience. It can be used in a imaginative way to foreshadow the video.

Mise-en-scene

COSTUME AND HAIR AND MAKE UP0 Costumers, make up and hair is important to create a personal background of character in the

music video. 0 The costume and the way they are presented is a way of portraying their role. 0 It represents a certain character in different ways. 0 In most videos, different artists would wear different clothes to represent what they are portraying

in the music video. 0 The hair and make up is done to show the characters personality and a way of attractive the

audience such as limitation of clothing attracts a wide range of male audience and conforms to the male gaze theory as male audience are gazing at the artist.

0 Star image – promotion of the star through the video using close ups and mid shots

Mise-en-scene

An example of costume, hair and make up video is Ariana Grande – Right there where the narrative of the story which follows Shakespeare’s love story Romeo and Juliet. In this video, Ariana Grande’s costume conforms to theme and narrative of the music where she is dressed in a ball gown with face masks and fan as a prop in her hand. The costumes worn by the artist are worn to represent a certain character in different ways.

Location

0 The location is not only to show the audience the scenery of the music video but it can also help the audience to recognise the genre of the music.

0 For example ‘user: DJ got us fallin in love’ is a song that would be expected to paly in a club due to the lyrics and beat of the song. Whereas if the song was about a love relationship, the location would be something romantic and exotic to set a mood and theme to the video depending if it a narrative or performance.

Mise-en-scene:

Example – Alicia Keys ft Jay Z empire states of mind. Location is set in NYC to conform to the lyrics.

Bruno mars – The lazy song shows a relationship between the lyric and the performance of the video as it is located inside a room to imply the ‘laziness’.