Music videos promote an artist's music and entertain audiences. They typically last 3-4 minutes and can include live performances and/or narratives that match the rhythm and pace of the song. Music videos use various elements like performances of the artist, narratives telling a story, themes depending on the genre, and symbols to build meaning. They are stylish for their time and cut to the beat, intercutting between performances and images to produce meaning. Differences exist between how male and female artists present themselves, with men often singing toward the camera and women sometimes portrayed as objects of erotic gaze.

1. Codes and Conventions of Music Video’s

2. The purpose of a music video
The purpose to a music video is that it
promotes a single or an album for the artist
who made the music.
A music video entertains the audience
while they’re listening to the music. The
gratification theory is used to show what
techquies are used to produce such an
intriguing video for a specific audience. For
example they use identify to make it
personal to each individual that watches
the video.
By using a music video you can set
the meaning of the video by the
images used. This is helpful as you
could make an educated guess on
which type of genre you’re listening to.

3. Basic structure of a music video
Typically a music video is 3-4 minutes
long and depending on which artist’s
you listen to they may be combined
with live performance and/or a
narrative.
Depending on the genre, the rhythm of
the video will be the same for the song.
For example if it’s a slow song it will
have a longer pace and slower camera
movements.

4. Music video elements
Performance:
• Shots of a live
audience
• Lots of close ups on
the Artist/artists.
• Artist/artists
performing live.
Narrative:
• Often the video tells a
story.
• Fast paced with lots of
cuts and shots.
• Intertextuality
Thematic:
• Themes depending on the genre.
Symbolic:
• Use of symbols to build up
meaning.
• Fast paced
• Use of montage.
The music video is normally stylish for the time and
cuts to the beat. Intercutting between performances
and images to produce a meaning. Music videos
experiment with different types of shots so that they
have abstract cuts.

5. Differences between men and woman
Many men sing towards the camera
so the female audience feel like the
singer is serenading them
personally.
Female artists are often a figure of
erotic gaze as their bodies can be used
to draw in a male audience.