PowerPoint by Zara McDermott about the conventions of music videos with explicit examples from each genre aswell as additional content.

1. The General
Conventions of
Music Videos
By Zara McDermott

2. The effect of genre on a music
video
The music as a whole is the primary factor in the creation
of a music video. Different genres have different codes
and conventions. Click one of the links below to find out
more about a few of the most popular genres within
music.
Rock
Country R&B Pop
Electronic/D
ance
There are, however, codes and conventions for music videos in general,
and these will be further explored.

3. MusicThe music is the determining factor in how the video will be shot, edited, how the sets will be designed
etc. More often than not, the music will drive the pace of the editing. Music videos are commonly
reflective of the song, as mentioned in the previous slide, and again this depends on both the genre
and meaning. Most importantly, however, it is about the sound of the music and how the whole design
will incorporate the ideas of a general listening audience and how it will captivate them. A music video
is a visual representation of a song, giving people the chance to connect with the song visually as well
as orally. An example of a music video that I think clearly demonstrates the idea of a climax within the
song which is reflected both in the editing and the diversity of shots used is “Neon Lights” by Demi
Lovato. Not only does the video personify the meaning within the song though extensive and advance
mise-en-scene (e.g. neon makeup, the set looks as if the ‘neon lights’ on the set are the only thing
lighting the studio etc), the video generates a feel of a climax and also a sense of atmosphere. The
song starts of with very little instrumental support and the voice is the main focus, however as the
song progresses, more instruments are added and this is reflected clearly in the editing of the song.

4. Lyrics are undeniably one of the key components to the song. Singers often manipulate lyrics to
correlate with events within their own lives, and it is these lyrics which sets up and establishes the
mood and, in turn, what the music video will be about. For example, a song with lyrics about a tragic
break-up will have a follow up music video with a much sadder mood and atmosphere created by
subsequent music video conventions. One of my favourite songs is “Paper Hearts” by Tori Kelly, and I
think that this is a very good example of how the depth of meaning and emotion which stems from the
lyrics can act as the framework for the music video. The song is about the ending of a long
relationship where the girl singing is responsible for the split, and this song acts as some sort of an
apology and verification to her lover that she remembers fondly all of the good times they had together
and how she regrets her decision. This music video is different in many ways, as it reflects the true
meaning of the song. This is because the male actor in this video is a lyrical/contemporary dancer,
and he figuratively dances the lyrics as the female lead sings them. It acts metaphorically in the sense
that it shows how much the male is influenced and affected by the words of the female. Not only are
the lyrics the catalyst for each event which happens within the music video (e.g. “pictures I’m living
through for now, trying to remember all the good times”, as this is said, we get a shot of several
pictures of the couple who seem to be having fun). Having dancers in music videos is very much a
common convention within music videos, however this one is slightly different due to the fact that
because the dancer acts out the lyrics, it makes the audience more so drawn to him than to the actual
artist.
Lyrics

5. CameraworkCamera work is extremely important for a music video when trying to get a certain message across to the viewers. It is also
important in revealing aspects of the location or other characters/dancers within the music video. It is vital that there is a
balance of a variety of shots within a music video because otherwise, when edited together, the video would be boring.
For example, if too many close-ups were use in a video, the audience would not see the location of the video in as
much depth as they probably would like to. On the other hand, if too many long shots were used, the viewer would feel
emotionally disconnected from the artist as they would not be able to see the facial expressions of the characters within
the video.
A music video which I think is quite creative with its use of camerawork is Ariana Grande’s “The Way”. A lot of mid shots and
medium close ups are used aswell as some long shots. This is because the video was filmed in two locations, one in a
studio with balloons on the floor and another in an all white studio filled with Polaroid pictures and a blanket on the floor.
The idea was to have the artist mime to the camera in the balloon filled studio and the projected video of her and her
co-star in the other location would act as the lighting in the studio. This meant that the camera-crew had to restrict the
amount of close up shots that they did in the main location because otherwise, the audience would not be able to see
the projected view of the other film. The shots are just close enough to see her facial expression but far away enough
for the viewer to be able to distinguish what is happening in the projected film. These shots give the song a lot more
meaning because they give the impression that the projected film is her memories and thoughts. Another interesting
thing done in this video is the shots of the artist being filmed by her co-star aswell as shots taken from the camera her
co-star was filming with (point of view shots). This adds a much more personal touch to the video as it shows the
intensity of the relationship between the two characters. In addition to this, there are several noddy shots used to give
the impression that the Artist is talking to someone behind the camera, which would make sense as her love interest in
this video was on set with her therefore she did not need to directly address the audience as much.

6. EditingThe way in which different shots are composed together in sequential form is called editing. There are several techniques
and methods used in the editing process to give a music video a particular effect. These are a few:
• Cutaways: A brief that interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. This interruption is
usually only momentary. The person or object is not always associated with the original shot. The cutaway is followed
by a cutback to the original shot.
• Continuity Editing - The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving
forward. Also can be called invisible editing as it does not expose or draw attention to the editing process.
• Eye- line Match - A type of edit which cuts from one character to what that character has been looking at.
• Flashback - a scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the
narrative.
• Match cut - A type of editing where the position of one object get in the next cut, but using a different object.
• Parallel Editing - A type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection
between the two sets of events. Cross Cutting- The editing technique of alternating or interweaving one narrative
action with another- usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually
suggests Parallel action. Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two
different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing.
• Graphic Match - An edit effect in which two different objects of the same shape are dissolved from one into the other.
• Juxtaposition - The placement of two images on either side of an edit to create an effect. The two images are often
unrelated.
• Linear Narrative - A style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.
A music video which I think exhibits a lot of editing which is in time to the beat and also a lot of techniques is “Mmm Yeah”
by Austin Mahone and Pitbul. Even though the song is extremely repetitive and the location is the same throughout,
the fast-cut montage effect and also the way in which several angles of the same shot are edited together in some
points of the video makes it a very aesthetically pleasing and captivating video simply through the editing.

7. Intertextuality
Intertexuality is when media texts reference another media text – this can either be reflected in the style of the video or
done in a humorous way. It can help audiences take further levels of meaning away from a text. An example of
this could be when Madonna imitated Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in her music video for
“Material Girl”. Even though there is distinctive differences between the style of a film and a music video, there
are also many similarities thanks to the extensive range of media software and hardware that we have available
to us nowadays. In short, it is easy to make a music video look similar to that of a film. Intertexuality can also
relate to other media being referenced, for example in Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” video she references newspaper
headlines, something which the audience can directly relate to. In Robbie Williams- ‘You know me’, the video
features the artist being taken to an ‘Alice in wonderland’ style setting with Robbie Williams dressed up as the
rabbit from the film (1). This creates intertextuality between the film and his music video. Katy Perry’s ‘Last Friday
night’ video includes intertextual references with there being credits in the start and end of the video and out
takes. Creating a film like effect. The characters are all wearing clothes that were typically worn in the 80’s. The
artist looks on a social networking site called ‘Friendplace’ this is acting as a ‘Facebook’ in the video (2).
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2

8. Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism is used to attract a predominantly male audience. Nowadays, in almost every popular music video there
is some type of exhibitionism. Girls are most often wearing skimpy outfits which show off their bodies and
sometime this is the same for men. Sigmund Freud established this as “settling an inner most desire for sexual
pleasure through the observation of others. The person doing the sexual action is unaware of the viewer”. Men
tend to be much more open about their sexuality than women, therefore men are often the target audience of
these music videos. A clear example of exhibitionism in terms of women is Duke Dumont’s “I Got You”. Here, we
see women as being both desirable yet a sexual object. The ratio of males to females in this video is probably
around 1:20, revealing that in order to be happy and in a paradise (as this video suggests), a man needs to be
surrounded by lots of women on a beach. This, we know, is not the case.