Codes and conventions
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Modern music videos are primarily made and used as marketing to promote the sale of music recordings. Music videos use a variety of styles such as animation, live action, documentaries, and abstract forms. They can interpret lyrics literally, amplify meanings, or take a non-literal approach. Common music video forms include performance videos, narratives, combinations of both, and animation. Technical elements like camera shots, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene aim to enhance the viewing experience.
Codes and conventions
- 2. A music video is a short film mixing a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they come into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium. Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non - narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the song’s lyrics, while others take a more thematic approach. Other music videos may be without a set concept, being merely a filmed version of the song’s live performance. WHAT IS A MUSIC VIDEO?
- 3. Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. Illustrate – Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre. This is the most common. Amplify – Repeatability is an aspect of amplification. Meaning and effects are manipulated and shown through the video and drummed into our vision. Disjunctive – The meaning of the song is ignored. GOODWIN’S THEORY
- 4. Performance – this is when the music video purely consists of the artist performing. Narrative – this is when a story is told throughout the music video and the artist is not performing. A good example of this is ‘Paradise’ by Coldplay. Combination of performance and narrative. – this is when the artist is performing but there is also a story being told in the music video. A good example of this is ‘Dance Dance’ by Fall Out Boy Animation (often includes narrative) DIFFERENT FORMS OF MUSIC VIDEOS
- 5. Long shots are used to establish setting. For example, at the beginning of ‘Like a Hobo’ by Charlie Winston, there is a long shot of the setting to show the audience the location. Mid shots and close ups are used to emphasise the artist/band and not only the emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist. This is often done to promote the band. With bands, long shots maybe be used to show the rest of the band in performance. For example, in the music video ‘Let Her Go’ by Passenger, there is a long shot of the band to show off the band to the audience and also to build a personal relationship with the audience Conventionally the camera will follow the lead singer. Which is also shown in the music video for ‘Let Her Go’, there are a lot of close-ups of the lead singer. Editing is done in fast cuts if the tempo is fast, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, ensuring multiple viewing. CAMERA
- 6. Editing is different for each genre of music as you wouldn’t have the same effects used in a slow song than in an up beat song. Different effects are used to create different scenes or feelings. Changes in colour and saturation can be used for a flashback or to show a different person’s point of view. Transitions such as a fade is used to tell us that time has passed. The editing pace fits the music pace. Digital effects often enhance editing, which manipulates the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure to the audience. Editing is done in fast cuts, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, ensuring multiple viewing. Some artists choose to include diegetic sound if their music video has narrative. For example, at the beginning of ‘No One Does it Better’ by You Me At Six they are driving and one of their other songs from the same album is playing on the stereo. EDITING AND SOUND
- 7. The mise-en-scene can vary greatly depending on the genre of music and the type of music video. Props – performance equipment, band merchandise Costume – certain outfits Location – concert halls, venues, street. The location can help to sell the song by interlinking with its characteristics and possibly the digipack. For example, in ‘Violet Hill’ by Coldplay, the location is very grey and dull which is again reinforced by the weather. Costume is very important as it can dramatically reflect the mood of a song. For example, a happy song might have the characters dressed in bright colours to reflect happiness whereas a sad song would have the characters dressed in dark colours to symbolise the bleak mood of the song. ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele is a good example of this. The genre of the song might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles. MISE EN SCENE