2. WHY ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY USED?
Codes and conventions are things we expects to see. They allow us to
easily identify what genre exists. E.g R&B music videos usually tend to
have sexual reference within the lyrics and character movement. We are
able to differ an R&B music video from a rock one because of narrative
that occurs in the video, clothing, camera shots and mise-en-scene.
Codes and conventions can be divided into two types technical and
symbolic.
Technique- This shows how meaning is shown through technical
equipment e.g camera angles, sound and editing. E.g. there are usually
many close ups in pop music videos.
Symbolic- This shows meaning through facial expressions, gesture , poses
and mise-en-scene.
3. CAMERA SHOTS
There are particular camera shots/angles we expect to see within different
music videos. Pop music videos tend to use a lot of close ups wide
shots This close ups show what the star is wearing which relates to the
target audience as they are teens who are into fashion and want to see
what their idol is wearing to usually try and imitate them. The wide
shots are used to show scenery. This relates to pop also as they
sometimes situated in a luxury locations. The wide shot allows the
audience to view the beautiful place.
4. STAR/CAMEO
Cameos are used within music videos to show the relationship between the
two stars and get the audience excited to see the cameo in a different
character. Stars are usually within music video. Rihanna's – what's my
name is a good example of this. Drake is within the video but not
singing or rapping.
5. NARRATIVE
Narrative within a music video tells a story. A
perfect example of this is Katy Perry’s music
video roar. There are two types of narrative
fragmented and linear. Katy Perry's roar is an
example of linear narrative as there is story
from the beginning to end.
6. PERFORMANCE
Performance is when a music video consists of mainly the artist
performing. Beyoncé's- love on top is a good example if this because
she performs throughout the entire video. This makes the video
different because not all artists choose to not have a narrative to the
video. Performance within the music video makes it fun for the
audience as they can see the artist perform without having to
necessarily buy a ticket and watch them in person.
7. MISE EN SCENE
Mise en scene consists of lighting, costume, editing and props.
Lighting within a music video is important because it sets the different scenes
throughout the video. If the song is a happy one it will generally be set in ambient
lighting or bright lighting. Pharells happy is an example of this as his video is mainly
set in day light. If the lighting was dark it wouldn’t correlate with the lyrics of the
song so it would make it harder for the audience to put the two together. Pop music
video usually have ambient and bright lighting as they appeal to young teens and
need to be something they relate to.
Props are used within music videos to illustrate narrative. Singers will use props that
relate to the lyrics of the song so the audience are able to understand and follow the
narrative. E.g. Miley Cyrus wrecking ball she uses the large wrecking ball and
hammer. The audience are able to see the correlation of the props used as they
relate to the song. It also makes it fun for the audience to watch.
Costume allows the singer to represent themselves in different ways. As lady gaga is
known for her infamous crazy costumes, in most of her music videos she is dressed
in extravagant clothing. E.g. poker face
The location of a music video is important because it shows the audience where the
artist is and allows them to picture the setting easily. The location of the video will
depend on the genre of the song. E.g. pop artists are more likely to have animated
settings or be on the beach. Hip-hop and rap videos are more likely to be in the
poverty streets to show the struggle of the locals.
8. SOUND
Sound comes in two forms. Diagetic and non diagetic. Diagetic sounds are
sounds we expect to hear e.g. if the singer is talking to someone in the
video. Non diagetic sounds are sounds we do not expect to hear that
create different types of feelings from the audience e.g. a dog singing.
Sound is important within music videos because the audience expect to
hear music as well as see the visuals. The whole point of music videos
is that the audience can see the visual story behind the song which may
help them to understand it more and be entertain the viewer.
Parallel sound is when the sound matches the mood of the video. And
example of this is Will.I.am’s birthday song as it is a dance song and
there is dance in the video.
9. EDITING
Editing is important for music videos as it allows the editor to alter scenes
that do not come out hoe the director wants to. Editing involves cutting
down scenes, adding special effects and adding the song to the video
etc. there are a variety of editing techniques such as jump cut, cgi
(animation_ and more. Katy Perry's roar is a good example of this as
there has been cgi added. The animation that exists is fake and is mad
to look real and give the audience an escape through out the duration of
the video.
