Techniques of Music Videos

Andrew Goodwins Theory

Conventions of Music Videos

There are alot of conventions of music videos, but only a few are used which depends on what type of music video it is. They all can be used but the four that are used the most are Camera shots, Camera movement, Mise-en-scene and Editing.

Camera angles and shots

Shots that are usually used in music videos are long shots, mid shots and close ups, the reason why they are the main ones are because they make the surroundings and the location they are in come to life, also helps feel the emotions within the artist and the meaning of the song. Long shots will obviously be to let us see the location in the music video, the location is important as it has to fit in with the storyline of the song and creates meanings of the song. Secondly, there is Mid shots, this is commonly used to show us the band/artist properly, it lets us see everything they do all the way through to the end of the video, they could be playing their instruments or playing someone or even just standing there. Lastly, close ups are mainly used on the singers, this is done because it lets the viewers feel the emotion in their face as they sing the song and it helps the emotion come out of it. An example could be Biffy Clyro - Folding Stars, in this music video includes all three camera shots. It has been done to let us see the emotion in Simon Neils face as he sings the song, it lets us know that the song is about someone that means alot to him and the location that is shown in the Long shots is very beautiful so this could reflect on how much this person means to him also.

As with the camera shots the same goes with camera angles, the four main ones are tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.


Mise-en-scene
Mise-en scene is an expression used mainly for the meaning and the emotion within the song and music video. To do this well you would have to link them together and use a metaphor for this. It can be the storyline of the music video or the visual theme.

Editing
Finally, editing is used in every single music video. It can be cutting shots with each other and making sure there are no camera shots and movements that dont work together and it all looks clean cut. Editing techniques are always used in the videos, such as jump cutting as it would cut from one scene then quickly to another, which is a very simple but effective way of editing. Then there is techniques such as fading and dissolving these would be used in the same way as jump cutting but alot less simple as it wouldnt cut straight away to a different scene it would take abit longer. Chroma-key is sometimes used in music videos which is using a Green Screen to make the viewers think the people that are in the music video are in a location they are not which can create a meaning within the song.

Styles of Music Videos

Narrative Based

There are a few different types of styles of music videos. Firstly, one of them is Narrative Based. This means that in the music video there is a meaning and a story line all the way throughout the video. It helps the viewers understand the song itself more as the video and the song connect with each other. An example of this could be Ed Sheeran - A Team. In the lyrics it is telling us about a girl who doesnt have alot of money and she has to beg on the streets for spare change. She also has to work as a prositutue and sells newspapers, then uses the money she gets out of that to buy illegal drugs, which leads to her taking her own life by doing that as we see someone crying holding her in their hands at the start.

 

Performance Based

Secondly, there is a Performance Based style of music video, this is a type of video that just consists of the band/artist themself and is very simple. There would be no storyline or narrative thoroughout this video as it is all about the people who have made the song. All the attention is at the band/artist as it lets the viewers see who they want to see as they would be fans of the band/artist. An example of this would be Kings of Leon - Charmer. In this video contains the band themseleves on a stage and nothing else, this is done so that there isnt anything catching the viewers eye instead of them. It is showing us how the band would perform which would make people want to go and see them live. I think Kings of Leon have chose this type of music video so that the audience pay attention to the song and they are not taken away by alot of things going on in the video.

Concept Based

Lastly, there is a Concept Based music video, these types of videos seem to never link in with the song and does not make sense. In the video they can do anything with it to make it different to any other music video as every other type would have a meaning to theirs. This kind of music video can be very effective and in my opinion I think is best as they can make it their own and it shows what the band/artist are like. This way the fans of the band/artist can create their own meaning to the music video from the things that are happening in it. An example of this could be, OK Go - This Too Shall Pass, this is a perfect example as it is nothing to do with what is being said in the song and is completley different to any other music video I have seen. It has probably been used as keeps the viewers engaged which makes them listen to the song also.

Purposes of Music Videos

There are many different key points of why a music video is made. Firstly, a music video could of been made for promotional purposes, this means that it would promote business for the artist, whoever made the music video and the song so that it can get known, it also helps the artist get noticed by producers. Secondly, another main point could be an extension of income, this means that when the music video is made that it then leads to an income for the artist, if they get so many views on their music video the artist/band then get more suscribers which they end up making money from it, the music channel that the music video is playing on, direct DVDs of the music video if people like it that much, CD sales just so the audience can listen to the songs they like, the website that it is on such as Youtube and also the song or music video can be downloaded. There are a few synergies that help promote either films or TV programmes by playing a song from a Band or Artist in their soundtrack. By doing this, it promotes the film that is being played in the background and also the Artist too, it is a really good way of getting each of them noticed. An example of this could be 'The Hills' which plays Natasha Beddingfield 'Unwritten' in the background of the intro. This made people think of the TV programme when the song came on itself and if the tv programme were to be on it would make people think of the song and it would stick in their head.

The last main point would be producers' strategies.

 producers’ strategies (major label, independent, artist self-produced)