TECHNICAL CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS By Molly Maddison

TECHNICAL CODES AND CONVENTIONS • Slow motion

• Lots of camera movement • Different locations • Dynamic atmosphere • Eye line action • Lots of close ups • Rhythmic editing • Diegetic and non-diegetic lighting • Walking whilst singing • Moving lights • Pulled focus

SLOW MOTIONSlow motion is

often used to create a more

dramatic effect to fit in with

the theme of the song.In the video 'slow motion' by Trez Songs in

different parts of the video it shows the woman dancing and getting dressed in slow motion, and then when it comes to show the artist singing it speeds up again, this fits in well with the lyrics and title of the song

LOTS OF CAMERA MOVEMENT This is when the

camera isn't static, and

follows the artist around rather

than just staying in one place.Too deep by Sum 41 use camera

movements such as tracking and panning, this creates an energetic feel which fits in with the young boy band type look there music is about.

DIFFERENT LOCATIONS Artists film there video depending

which location will fit best with their music

genre and music.

For example a grime/rap song is most likely to filmed in an urban setting fit in with the type of genre. This is an example of to he artist Stormzy, a grime/rapper artist filming in a graffiti skate park.

DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE

This is where you would see a shot that wouldn’t

be in a film for example a camera strapped to a

vehicle.

An example of this would be the song Free by Rudimental ft. Emeli Sande. In this video the camera is strapped to the mans helmet to show him flying through the air showing you footage of the mans reactions.

LOTS OF CLOSE UPS

Close ups give us a zoomed view on things

such as the artists face, this gives the video a

more dramatic effect is usually more common in

more slow songs.

An example of this would be in Adele's music video ‘Hello’ showing a close up of her singing and it gives more meaning to the song because it shows Adele's passion in her face.

RHYTHMIC EDITING

This is where the video is edited to go to the

beat of the song.

An example of this would be ‘Boom Boom Pow’ by The Black Eyed Peas.

NON-DIEGETIC LIGHTINGThis is artificial studio lighting,

this is usually used when the

artist is performing

An example of this would be, Lorde – Tennis court, she uses fake lighting In order to grasp her dark themed song.

DIEGETIC LIGHTING

This is where natural lighting is used to film

the music video instead of fake studio lighting.

As we can see here that natural lighting is used with the sunlight behind her, this fits in well with her music as it is country/acoustic, it gives a more elegant innocent feel

WALKING WHILST SINGING

An example of this would be ‘Bitter sweet symphony’ by The Verve showing the lead artist walking down the street singing the song, this gives full focus onto the artist and shows attitude by the way the artist is walking.

MOVING LIGHTS

This is used to create more energy in a music

video if the song is more upbeat, this will usually

be used if a music video is filmed in something

such as a nightclub.An example of this would be ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by The Black Eyed peas, which is set at a party, the moving UV lights give the video a more energetic vibe to fit with the song.

PULLED FOCUS

This is where a shot starts out

of focus then gradually

begins to go into focus.An example of this would be

Ariane Grande’s music video ‘Focus’ where it starts off out of focus and then into focus when she starts to sing.