2. Genre
• The style of witch the video is
presented and the pace of which it is
edited varies from different artists
and the different genre of music.
However there are some key
conventions that the majority of
music videos generally follow
3. Camera techniques & Editing
• Techniques like extreme close-ups are used to express emotion of the artist
or show the synchronicity between the lyrics of the song being played and
the lip movements of the artist an excellent example of the use of close-ups
is the music video for “Nothing Compares to You” by Sinead O'Connor
• Camera movements/shots fit the theme and pace of the music so a fast quick
song will have many cuts and more mobile camera usage
• Lip syncing is not always used but for the majority it is used to create the
illusion that the artist is there singing live
Fades and dissolves are used frequently to give the
video more of a flow to suit the music
Cuts between different locations are popular its to give
the audience more to look in terms of the Mise en
scene (locations, costumes) and makes the video seem
longer
4. Mise en scene
• As for the visual content and what is displayed in the music video more
than often the artist will be featured in the video probably lip sinking
• There is almost always artificial lighting in music videos in order to
suspend an enhanced look
• Colour can set the tone of a music video and are up beat happy songs
tend to have bright colours whilst slower songs have darker colour use or
even black and white
• Extra sounds that are not part of the music can also be used such as sound
effects and in some cases character dialogue
• Props are in frequent use in music videos to either corroborate and display
the lyrics or to simply draw attention
• Costume and make-up are probably the most used convention of a Music
video in terms of mise en scene it can reflect the genre or style of that one
artist, it can be used to set trends and in the case of some famous artists
lead to sister businesses such as clothing lines or accessories, clothes can
be used to spread a message and also just to look different and stand out
