Codes and Conventions of Music Videos Including: Editing Techniques Style Camera Stereotypes Sound - Diegetic and Non Diegetic Mise En Scene - Lighting, Props, Costume, Hair and Makeup, Setting/Location, Colours

1. Caitlin McMullen

2.  Codes and conventions of music videos are
techniques used to portray a meaning.
 These can be split into two types:
 Technical:
 How meaning is conveyed using camera angles, camera
shots, sound, editing, genre
 Symbolic:
 Ways of showing meaning such as facial expressions,
gestures, poses and mise en scene.

3.  They give music videos a structure which can
be easily understood.
 To show that the lyrics and music video are
linked.
 They allow the audience to be familiar with a
certain genre as each genre will have different
conventions.

4.  Editing Techniques
 Style
 Camera
 Stereotypes
 Sound
 (Diegetic and Non-Diegetic)
 Mise En Scene
 (Props, Lighting, Costume, Hair and Make-up,
Setting/Location, Colours)

5.  Editing is the final process of making a music video.
Editing allows you to modify it by shortening scenes,
adding special effects, adding the track onto the video
itself, adding text, set volume for different parts of the
video, enhance images etc. Editing is completed after
all filming is finished as it gives the editors a range of
films to put together to create a meaning to the music
video.
 CGI Effects: This is computer generated imagery which
is the application of computer graphics to
create/contribute to images. An example of this is
Beauty and The Beast by Ariana Grande and John
Legend as ‘magic’ is created using CGI.

6.  Sound adding: This is where sound is added to
a music video to either add the song or add
sound effects which match the action in the
video. Non Diegetic sound is most common as
a majority of music videos are narrative.
 Jump Cut: This is where it will jump from one
scene to the next. This gives the music video an
exciting effect and creates an suspenseful
atmosphere.

7.  The style of music videos depends on the type.
Pop music videos have a bright, celebrity style
e.g.

8.  The camera is a crucial part of making a music
video. The camera has different shots, angles
and movements which all contribute to codes
and conventions of music videos. Shots, angles
and movements make a music video unique
and help to create the meaning.

9.  Extreme Close up: This shows a
part of the artists face for
example, eyes/mouth et. An
extreme close up allows the
audience to see the emotions and
feelings of an artist of particular
scene in a music video.
 Close up: This shot would show a
whole face or object which the
camera focuses on closely.
 Medium close up: This shot
would show an artists face and
shoulders. It is fairly close but not
as close as the previous shots.

10.  Medium Long Shot: This shot
shows from the waist upwards. It
focuses on the main artist/object
while allowing the audience to get
an idea of the setting/location.
 Long Shot: The subject will usually
take up the full frame. It allows the
audience to see the overall location
from a fair distance as well as the
full artist.
 Extreme Long shot: This shot allows
the audience to see an overall shot
of the setting with the subject barely
visible.

11.  Eye Level: This is most common
known as the real world angle.
It shows objects and people
from eye level meaning it is a
fairly neutral shot.
 High Angle: This shows the
subject from above. This makes
the object look less powerful.
 Low Angle: This shows the
subject from below giving the
impression that they are more
dominant/powerful.

12.  Birds Eye: This is shown from
directly above. This gives off a
dramatic effect but shows the
object from an unusual angle.
 Tilt: This is where the camera is
tilted to the side giving an
interesting and dramatic effect to
the music video.
 Camera Angles play a big part in
emphasising the artist or object.
They allow emotions and
expressions to be shown clearly..

13.  Camera movements follow he
main subject to show the
performance of it.
 Dolly/Tracking: This is a cart
which moves along tracks
with a camera attached which
records the shot as it moves.
This can create very dramatic
scenes.
 Pan: This is where the camera
will move horizontally to scan
a scene. This creates a smooth
pan.

14.  Music videos do not always follow the common
stereotypes as the main artist is dominant no matter
what the gender was. Some music videos do follow
common stereotypes of the male being the most
dominant. For example, in Blurred Lines by Robin
Thicke, the men are dressed professionally however
the women are dressed in inappropriate outfits which
suggests that the women are just sexual objects.

15.  There are 2 types of sound, Diegetic and Non-Diegetic.
Sound makes up a music video because without it,
there will be no song.
 Diegetic: This type of sound is sound you can see being
made on screen. In music videos, diegetic sound is the
sound being made by the band playing instruments.
 Non-Diegetic: This type of sound is sound which isn’t
shown on screen. This type of sound would be used in
narrative music videos as they don’t usually show a
band playing because they are telling a story.
 Parallel sound is also used in music videos. This is
where the type of music matches the type of video.

16.  Mise en scene is the way design aspects are
shown in a production such as a music video.
Mise en scene consists of:
 Lighting
 Costume
 Hair
 Makeup
 Colour
 Props
 Location

17.  This is how the scene is lit up using natural light or
artificial light from different angles. Lighting creates
meaning and the different types create different moods
and atmospheres. Types of lighting also refer to
different genres for example, Pop music usually has
quite bright lighting depending on the song.
 Natural light: This type of lighting is created by
natural sources such as the sun or the sky. Natural
light is mostly used in country music.
 Artificial light: This type of lighting is created by
artificial sources such as lamp. Coloured lights and
Strobe lights are also artificial lights which are most
commonly used in hip hop music videos.

18.  Side light: This type of lighting is
placed at the side of the subject. This
type of lighting is also the most
effective as it emphasises the depth and
emotion of them.
 Back light: This light is placed behind
the subject to light them up and create
a silhouette effect or to separate the
subject and the background.
 Front light: This light is placed directly
in front of the subject making them the
clear focus. This light will create slight
shadows if any. This type of lighting is
the least dramatic.

19.  The costume which the subject is wearing usually
determines which genre of music the video is
while also representing certain characters. For
example, in any of Lady Gaga’s music videos, she
wears overly dramatic costumes to match her
extravagant image.
 Costumes attract audiences to watch the music
video. This is because the more bold the costume,
the more attracted they will be.

20.  The artists hair styles represents their personality
within the music video or is done to attract an
audience. Both hair and makeup are both done to make
the main artist more visible to the audience. This
allows them to be the main focus. Hair and makeup
also match the current styles at the time. Hair and
makeup give off impressions to the target audience.
 For example, bold makeup and big hair represents an
outgoing, fun person like in ‘Bad Romance’ by Lady
Gaga. She has bright bold red lipstick on and her hair
is big and crazy to make her stand out.

21.  Colour is used throughout a whole music video
whether that’s with lighting, costumes, hair, makeup,
location, props etc. The use of colours in music videos
is used like it is in everyday life. Colour is used to
signify things or represent feelings/moods. For
example, some music videos are in black and white
which represent a flashback or time lapse.
 For example, in Jennifer Lopez’s ‘I Ain’t Your Mama’,
it shows a clip of her on TV in black and white to
suggest that was a long time ago.

22.  Props are usually used in narrative music videos to
link the lyrics with what is on screen. Props in a
music video also attract the audience. An example
of where props are used for entertainment is
‘Beauty and The Beast’, all props that are used
were used in the actual film. This made the music
video more realistic and relevant with the film.

23.  The location in a music video sets the scene and shows the
audience where it was. It also helps the audience know what
genre the music video is. Dark street settings are usually hip
hop music videos whereas party music videos are usually
pop/dance music videos.
• An example of a hip hop video is
Drake ‘5AM In Toronto’ which
has been filmed in the street at
night.
• An example of a pop/dance
music video is Katy Perry ‘Last
Friday Night’ which is filmed in a
house party.

24.  Narrative style music videos follow a storyline.
There are 2 types of narrative:
 Linear – This shows the beginning, middle and
end
 Fragmented – This muddles up the story making it
harder to follow.
 For example, Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran tells
a story of Ed’s life from when he was younger.

25.  A performance music video is where the artist is
mainly performing in the video. For example,
Beyoncé ‘Love On Top’. Throughout the music
video Beyoncé and her dancers are continuously
performing throughout the video and there is
no other scenes in the video. Costume and
lighting are used a lot in this video to make the
performance stand out more. The music video
has no narrative to it therefore it is harder for
the audience to connect however with the
costume and lighting they can engage more.

26.  Cameo style music videos are where the artist
is featured in a narrative but isn’t performing.
 For example, ‘What’s my Name?’ by Rihanna
and Drake. This music video is a narrative with
Drake and Rihanna featuring in it.