Every music video has there own unique approach, but the codes and conventions are always the same. When looking at the codes and conventions they are there to follow the structure of music video because without following them, it could may not be seen as a music video. The codes are especially there to construct meanings in media texts.
There are two different ways a music video can be, either:
Technical:
- The way the music video is constructed in way to create meaning
- Camera Angles such as the different angles and shots
- Editing- How fast the video will reflect the song, Genre
- Sound- Diegetic or Non diegetic sound, sound to match the genre
Symbolic:
- Meaning has more then meets the eye
- Stronger emotion, Facial expressions
- Mise En Scene- Whats in the frame
The codes and conventions are there not to be broken, and are there to give the ways in which a music video should made. The codes and conventions are not set in stone but can be adapted, some music video directors choose to challenge the codes but it is never good to challenge the codes and conventions to much because it could turn out that the music video will not look like a music video first and foremost and secondly challenging may lead to a music falling out the genre of what you want it to be.
Styles of a music video
There are different ways a music video can be constructed, this is due to the different genres in the music industry and also the way the artist will be portrayed. These are:
- Performance- Band/Artist singing
- Narrative- Has a story during the video
- Mixture- This is when the video has a narrative and also a performance together
- Cameo- The band are in the narrative of the song but do not perform the song
- Animation- Digitally made
Camera
With a music video the camera shots are really important for the people watching because they can only see whats on the screen, therefore a variety of shots should be used to give the viewer an all round view of the video, but the variety depends on the genre whether to have so much variety in the shots. Popular shots that are really effective are:
- Close up- The close up shot is really effective in music videos, especially in performance music videos. Close up shots could be of the lips, guitar strings, any possible way and it will be successful, extreme close ups are also very effective too.
- Birds eye View/Crane- This shot is good because it will enable the shot to hover, in the case of a performance, it could be used as a shot to hover over the stage
- Low angles- This will be to show the artist or band in a dominant frame of the video
- Long Shots- This shot is constantly used and it just gives a music video a shot that you can always go back to in the video, extreme long shots are also used frequently.
- Pans/Tilts- These shots are used for the artist/bands if they want to change to another band member
- Tracking- This is a shot that is very frequently used to track the artists/ bands movement in the song to ensure they keep center of the frame
Editing
In the case of editing, it simply has to match the pace of the song. Techniques included with editing are:
- Jump Cuts- Very effective for an artist when singing in a new frame and place, but the continuity and flow of the song continuing with the artist is good.
- Split screens- Using CGI, Split screens showing two different shots at the same time.
- Choosing Diegetic sound to include
- Adjusting sound level in some parts of the video
Mise En Scene
The mise en scene will depend on what kind of genre the music video is. The main focus of mise en are scene:
- Props- What is used in the video, Equipment reflecting genre
- Costume- What the Artist/band wear
- Location- Where the video will be set.
- Facial Expressions- The way the artist expresses emotions in the video whether strong or weak emotions.
