Music videos use various camera techniques, lighting, location, costumes, and props to engage viewers and represent the themes and narratives of the songs. Common elements include close-up and long shots using camera movements like tilts and pans. Mise-en-scene includes strategic use of clothing, makeup, lighting, and locations. Videos also employ jump cuts and incorporate props that relate to the song lyrics to fit the narrative within the time of the music.

1. Conventions of a music
video.

2. Camera shots
Music videos contain many different camera shots:
close ups, mid shots and long shots. The variety of
different camera shots allow the video to put
emphasis on different elements at different times
eg. The artist, the narrative and emotions. The
close ups

3. Camera movement
Tilts, tracks and pans are some of the camera
movements used in music videos to follow the
artist(s) throughout the video.

4. Mise en scene
Mise en scene means the use of performers or
props in the production of a music video in this
case. The mise en scene also includes the
clothing, lighting, location, make-up, sound,
props, colour. This shot below from Beyonce’s
If I Were A Boy is an example of mise en scene.
The location of her against a white wall shows
her isolation and her dark make-up shows the
upset she is feeling.

5. Editing
The main editing technique used in music
videos is the jump cut as it allows a quick
change from one scene to another which is
needed in a music video as they usually
contain narratives and need to fit within a 4
minute song on average.
In my group we will focus on the pop/R&B genre.

6. Ellie Goulding - Burn

7. Location, lighting & colour.
Throughout the Burn video, the video has a warm effect on it
which links in well with the whole narrative of the song. The
location looks like an abandoned runway and we know they
aren’t supposed to be there as we see them climb over the gates.

8. Clothing.
Goulding juxtaposes
her outfits to the
environment she is in.
For example, in the
above image the
location is light and
Goulding wears dark
clothing to make the
light the main focus in
link with the name of
the song. Goulding
uses the same
technique in the below
image while the
location is dark and
she wears brighter
clothing the same
colour as the lights on
the floor to link with
the lyrics.

9. Props.
Ellie Goulding’s Burn follows the convention of using props parallel to the
lyrics. Goulding sings ‘we can light it up’ as these lights are shown in the video.

10. Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop

11. Location, Colour, Lighting.
The We Can’t Stop video is shot predominantly indoors establishing a house
party. Some of it is shot outdoors in a pool which again shows the house party
environment. The whole video has bright lighting which allows us see exactly
how wild the party is.

12. Props
Miley Cyrus’s We Cant stop song is
all about partying and the video
props show things Miley and her
friends do at a party which is a lot
of random fun things. The props
also can work parallel to what we
see. For example, the image of
spaghetti reading twerk is followed
by Miley Cyrus and her friends
twerking together.

13. Make-up
Miley Cyrus has dark eye make-up
and a bright red lip. The dark eyes
gives her an essence of a dark side
which links with the lyrics ‘We cant
stop’ while partying. The red lip
also gives the impression that Miley
Cyrus has danger around her which
links in with the controversies we
see her in the news with lately.

14. Clothing.
Miley Cyrus wears little to no
clothing in her video which fits
in with her new ‘bad girl’ image
and the things she wears and
dances to try and present
herself as a sex figure for males
which fits in with the
controversies of her in the
news lately.

15. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines
Location,Lighting,Colour.
Blurred Lines video has a simple location of being against a backdrop.
The video we see has a warm effect which draws the audience in. The
lighting is bright so we can see the people in the video clearly and
what they are doing but overall the video is very simple.

16. Props
Make-up
Costume
Robin Thicke includes random props which
juxtapose with the simplicity of the location. The
girls are used almost as props in next to no clothes to
attract a wider audience. The girls have simple
makeup apart from a harsh red lip to show natural
beauty.

17. Girls.
The girls in this video aren’t needed as they aren’t singing/rapping in the video.
However, they have been used to attract people to watch the video as they are models.
As well as the men looking like ladies men by having girls dancing around them,
boosting their egos.

18. Clothing
The males in the video are mainly wearing black suits with dark sunglasses indoors
which establishes them as the main people within the video. The females are wearing
either white or no clothes at all which shows them as sex objects in the video and as
having no use other than to look good and show the men as ‘ladies men’ in the video

19. Daft Punk – Get Lucky
Location, light, colour
The Get Lucky video follows a simple location of being shot against a black drop
throughout apart from the random shot of them against a backdrop of a sun. The video
is very repetitive showing the same shot multiple times. The lighting is harsh on the
performers which makes them stand out against the black background. There is a motive
of the colour blue as the performers clothes light up projecting that colour. As well as the
colour orange for the text and the sun. This contrasts as the blue makes a cold tone and
the orange creates a warm tone.

20. Costume.
The performers wear black suits with lights on and then some wear masks. The black
blends them in to the background but then the lights make them stand out against the
background.

21. Props
The only props used in the video are the instruments; guitar and drum kit. The images
we see of them are also repeated throughout the video.

22. Jason Derulo – Talk Dirty

23. Location, light & colour
The Talk Dirty video has a simple location as it has all been filmed
on set. There is a juxtaposition between cold and warm with
oranges and blues.

24. Girls.
Girls are used in the Talk Dirty
video seductively which links in
with the lyrics as it is talking
about a girl.

25. Clothing.
Jason Derulo changes outfits
throughout the video. He usually
changes outfit with a change of set
which creates a new scenario. The
video is clearly filmed on a set
therefore the change of clothes is due
to Jason Derulo just giving himself
status and wearing expensive
clothing to show off.

26. Camera angles.
Different camera angles are used
to explore different things in the
video. For example the angle
used in the image below just
allowd us to see the silhouette’s
dancing clearly while the first
image to the right has a low
angle which makes the female
look superior which links in to
the music as it is all about girls.
The low angle image allows us to
see Jason Derulo clearly flirting.