This document discusses music video conventions for three genres: indie folk, R&B, and country. For indie folk, it describes typical clothing, natural outdoor settings, use of acoustic instruments, and narratives that focus on the artist's story. R&B conventions include revealing outfits that objectify women and shirtless male artists, as well as settings that portray wealth like clubs. Country music videos reinforce song narratives, often featuring the artist and rural settings associated with trucks and cowboy hats.

1. MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Indie folk, R&B and
Country

2. INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONSClothing:
• Clothes are very natural, usually what the artist feels comfortable
wearing. The more natural the clothing, the greater the focus is on
their music rather than their image.
• The artist usually dresses to match their settings.
• Some artists wear either smart or vintage clothing like buttoned up
shirts, waistcoats and blazers. The band Munford & Sons famously
style their appearance this way which singles them out from other
genres such as hip-pop or R&B. Their style fits in with the indie folk
genre and the music that they produce.
Settings:
• The music videos and photo shoots are usually taken outside. This
is to portray a realistic and natural atmosphere which relates to the
tone of the music and their star image. By choosing outdoor
locations, this allows the artist, especially unknown or unsigned
artists, to select a setting and create a music video on a low budget
and focus more on their music. This differs from Hip Pop music
videos as they are created to look expensive and fancy which
narrows the focus on the music.
• In George Ezra’s ‘Blame It On Me’ music video, the whole sequence
follows George walking down a street dressed in a blue shirt and
jeans whilst playing his guitar and avoiding being caught in the
middle of trouble. The whole music video was filmed outside using
a small group of actors, a range of props and one location.
Altogether, the music video portrays and follows the typical
conventions of a indie folk music video.
Munford & Sons – Winter
Winds
George Ezra – Blame It On Me

3. INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Instruments:
• In this type of genre, there are a variety of different musical instruments used to
create the chilled and mellow sound. These instruments include;
• Banjos
• Acoustic guitar
• Violins
• Double bass
• Piano and more.
• Many artists in this genre, such as James Bay, will feature in their music videos
playing an instrument which is included on their track. This tells the audience that
these artists are talented song writers and performers who produce their own work.
This creates a bigger focus on the music as well as showing off their own star
image.
Narrative:
• The Indie Folk genre usually includes a storyline in their music video. This enables
the audience to visually see and understand the lyrics or experience the artist’s
feelings. In some music videos such ‘Little Talks’ by Of Monsters and Men, the
artists do not feature in the music video, but there is a strong narrative throughout
using other actors. This music video is very visual and although it has a slightly
disjuncture approach at first glance, the more the audience view and understand the
lyrics, the more illustrating it becomes.
• In contrast to this, many indie folk artists do feature in their own music videos. This
gives the opportunity for the artist to show off their musical talent and allows the
audience to connect with the artist and their story. In Lewis Watson’s music video
for ‘Into the Wild’, he features throughout, simply playing his guitar. At first, the
whole music video is shot inside a small room; however as it progresses, he finally
‘steps out into the wild’ which amplifies the meaning of the lyrics and tells his story.
James Bay – Hold Back The River
Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
Lewis Watson – Into The Wild

4. INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Camera, edit and lighting:
Camera: The shots uses are usually simple. They
include close-ups, mid-shots, long-shots and
establishing shots. If the artist is a band then all
members are usually in the frame. This stops a
hierarchy between each band member and allows
everyone to get equal recognition for their music.
Edit: Most music videos in this genre will be created
to give it a more vintage appearance. This is achieved
by adding filters on top of the clips. In Ellie
Goulding’s ‘Your Song’ the filters mixed with the
settings gives the video a chilled and vintage vibe
which relates to the nature of the song and the fact
that she is covering an old song of Elton John’s.
Lighting: Ambient lighting is often used in these
music videos and photo-shoots to give a relaxed and
natural atmosphere.
Ellie Goulding – Your Song

5. R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS
Representation of Women:
• Women are usually objectified through
male gaze due to the clothes and make-
up they wear.
•Most women wear minimal/tight
clothing. The lack of clothing exposes
their bodies and attracts male viewers as
well as inspiring women to work-out and
look like them. By also wearing items
such as high heeled shoes, their legs
appear longer and more model height.
•The accessories that they wear includes
big, hooped earrings, chains and
diamonds which shows their expensive
and glamorous lifestyles as the promote
a variety of different brands.
•Beyoncé is an R&B artist who is well
known for her looks and sex appeal. In
the majority of her music videos, she
wears revealing clothing and is
surrounded by men, giving her power
and status. This set a trend for other
upcoming artists such as Rihanna and
Nicki Minaj since this image made
Beyoncé successful.
Rihanna – Pour It Up Beyoncé - Partition
Ciara – Love, Sex and Magic Young Money – Bedrock
(Nicki Minaj wearing Barbie Brand)

6. R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS
Representation of Males:
Male artists are presented in a sexual way which is
illustrated through their lyrics and their music
videos. To appeal to a female audience, the male
artist will either remove their shirt or choreograph
a dance routine, usually using other females
dancers to make their female audience jealous. In
Chris Brown’s concert music video ‘Take You
Down’, he is fully dressed in black clothing;
however as soon as he pulls his shirt off, there is a
roar of screams from the females at the show
which shows their desire and attraction towards
him.
Jason Derulo is another example of a male R&B
artist who depends on his image to attract his
audience. In the majority of his music videos, he
appears topless with his female co-stars. This is to
make him seem irresistible to attractive females
and will inspire his male audience to be like him in
order to gain female attention.
• If not topless, R&B male artist may usually wear
baggy or quirky shirts along with low denim jeans
and trainers. Pharell Williams’ image is based
around experimenting with clothing. This is usually
done to promote a specific type of brand and to
make their male audience wish to own their style
of clothing.
Chris Brown – Take You
Down
Jason Derulo - Breathing
Jason Derulo - Wiggle
Jason Derulo – Want You To
Want Me
Pharell Williams - Happy
Usher – Yeah

7. R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS
Settings:
• In this type of genre, money and
attraction is an important theme. To
express this, the setting is a key element.
Most video are set in expensive clubs or
house parties where the artists have the
opportunity to show off their expensive
accessories, cars, clothes and can dance
with the opposite sex. This makes the
audience jealous of their party-packed
lifestyle which they wished they could be
part of the fun.
•Lighting:
•There is a strong use of strobe light in
these videos to create a party
atmosphere.
•The colour blue is used throughout the
sequence. This colour has become a very
common convention in the R&B genre and
is associated with wealth and the type of
music.
The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta
Feeling
Kerri Hilson – Love Knocks You
Down
Rihanna – Pon De Replay Usher – Love In The Club

8. COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Iconography:
•Country singers, especially female
artists, are seen as very sweet and
innocent people.
•They are known to be good singers and
talented song writers who play their own
musical instruments. The songs they
write are usually based on their past
experience which relates and helps them
connect to their audience.
•Country songs have a simple melodies
with a deep meaning or social message.
•The lyrics usually have a strong
storyline.
Shania Twain – Still The One
Miley Cyrus - Jolene

9. COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Narrative:
•Country music videos should enhance or reinforce the
storyline in order to bring it to life visually.
•They usually follow a narrative in order to portray the
storyline empirically.
•As country singers write their own songs about their personal
experiences, it is important for them to feature in the video
as they can display their emotions and connect with the
audience.
•Most artists are the main protagonist in their own music
video who faces problems and tries to store equilibrium.
•If a music video does not have a strong narrative, then there
is not a storyline within the lyrics.
•Instead of using a narrative, the director can organise a
montage or a live performance instead. In Taylor Swift’s
music video for her song ‘Red’ she uses footage from her
tour, showing off all her fans and her performance skills
instead of using a illustrated music video.
Taylor Swift - RED

10. COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS
Mise-en-scene:
• Country music videos associate with
trucks, the countryside, cowboy
boots/hats and checked shirts so
conventionally there must be an
element of truth.
•The setting is usually in the
countryside either inside or out. This
gives it a natural and realistic vibe
and they are locations where the
narrative can be told.
Uncle Kracker – You Make Me
Smile
Carrie Underwood - Two Black
Cadillacs