Styles, Conventions and Techniques

1. Styles, Conventions and Techniques within Music Videos.
In-concert and ‘as live’ footage (plus cutting to the beat):
These musicvideoswillshowthe band/musiciansplaying the music on stage, at a concert or at another
type of real live event.These music videos can show the band/musicians playing the music at any time
throughoutthe musicvideo.In the musicvideobelow the bandColdplay are playing their song without
an audience so this is an
‘as live’ music video. The
music video shows the
various band members
one at a time playingtheir
instruments/singing along
with the whole music
video’sstopmotioneffect.
It shows them all one at a
time as seen below. The
stop motion effect is a
achieved by using
hundreds of very small
video clips ranging from
roughly half a second to a few seconds to achieve all of the cuts to give a stop motion effect. In the
background and sometimes the foreground in this video there are various bright images, shapes, text
and patterns the appearinthe style you’dexpectfromastop motionvideo.The musicvideo’sshotsalso
transition to the beats of a particular insturment rather than every beat that you’d find in a full stop
motion music video. This is known as cutting to the beat with the

2. In-Concertmusicvideosshowsthe band/musiciansperforming the song live to an audience whether it
be at a small gig, festival,
on tour or any other
performance centered
event. Anexampleforain-
concert music video is
Coldplay’smusic video for
Fix You which was
released on YouTube in
2005. The musicvideowas
directed by Sophie Muller
who had previously
directedone of Coldplay’s
other music videos. This
song follows the lead
singer/vocalist Chris
Martin as he singsthe song on hiswayto the ReebokStadiuminBolton.As the beat picks up within the
music video Chris begins to run after which he reaches the stadium and joins the band in paying the
second half of the song on stage during Coldplays first stage performances. Below are screenshots of
Chris running as
well as him
appearing onstage
(Highlighted on
red). This music
video was shot
overtwo days with
the participationof
the audience for
extras as well as
joiningthe bandon
singingthe final line of the song. Chris’ssinginginthismusic video isn’t fully synced to the audio which
was studiorecordeduntil he reaches the Reebok Stadium. The footage that was shot has been slowed
down slightly until the beat and tempo picks up to which the footage returns to normal speed. This
effect gives helps the visual video to keep in tone with the slow music and lyrics.

3. Narrative + Interpretive:
A narrative (+Interpretive) driven/basedmusicvideohasanarrative forthe audience to follow that has
links/follows the
narrative
suggested/told by the
lyrics. An example of a
narrative driven/based
musicvideoisthe music
video for Run Devil Run
by Crowder. This
narrative follows the
lead singe as the
primary actor who is
driving a white vintage car. In this video he is chasing a metaphorical devil/sins. The devil in this is
portrayedbyCrowderhimself which suggests that he’s chasing himself. The devil version of himself is
driving a black vintage car. The chase between the two begins with the ‘angel’ Crowder chasing the
‘devil’Crowderbutaftersome manueveringina abandoned carpark/industrial site the ‘devil’ Crowder
gainsthe upperhand andchasesthe ‘angel’Crowderdown. Thisswitchesagainandthe ‘angel’Crowder
starts chasing his ‘devil’ counterpart. After they both races down some dirt tracks they both come to a
sudden halt with about 25-30m between the two cars. The ‘devil’ Crowder leaves his car and
investigates the counterparts car
which has the door left opened.
After finding that the ‘angel’
Crowder has abandoned the car
he leaves and wanders through
the over ground land to the side
of the road and realises that the
‘angel’ Crowder has used a
hovercraftto getaway.The ‘devil’
Crowder speeds the hovercraft
around the swampland and finds an abandoned hovercraft in the dark with nothing left apart from a
smouldering cigarette.
Surrealist/Absurdist (with embedded lip sync):
Surreal andAbsurdmusicvideosoftenhave rather
differentandunusual visualsthat often show very
little narrative which also has very little
relationship to the lyrics. The visuals could have
loadsof special effectsthatwere createdon-set or
inpost production.Some videoshowevercouldbe
filmed differently or the singers/actors present
could be causing the unstereotypical visuals. An

4. example of a music video that is rather surreal yet
simple isthe videoforColdplay’ssongThe Scientistthat
was filmed fully then reversed to have everything
happening backwards. However… The twist in this
videoisthat Chris Martin the lead singer of the band is
the mainsingerand actor inthe video and he is singing
the song in the correct order. So when they were
filmingthisvideo he had to sing the song backwards to
make it look correct after the video was reversed. This
is an exceptiional use of lip syncing that works very well throguhout the video and brings some
normallitytothe reversedvisual throguhout. Variousscenesthatare rathersurreal are a car crash down
a hill where the passengerflysthroughthe frontwindow.Christhrowshisjacket away (quite far) and in
the videoitfliesbackintohishand.Anothersurreal scene iswhere Chris throws a stick but in the video
isfliesbackintohishand.The final andmostimpressive example of the reversing of the video is leaves
falling off trees however in the final product they are flying up from the ground into the tree tops.
Impressionist:
Intertextual (Synergy, Allusion, Pastiche, Parody and Homage):
A synergystyle musicvideowill have referencesandlinkstodifferentformatsof complementingmedia.
An example of a music video that features good use of synergy in the use animation and film clip
overlays.The songisIridicientbyLinkinParkanditwas featuredin the 3rd
live action transformers film.
The music video itself is rather photographic with the most work being done in post production.
Above are the two opening shots. The use of both close ups/ECU links both different mediums. The
videoshowsboththe transformers,some castaswell asthe band inthe sameshot.Thuslinking the two
in some good synergy.

5. (Chroma Key: Using Green/Blue Screens) This music
video was shot using chroma key effects to separate
the cast from the background to allow the easy
layering of the special effects. In this video in
particular the background was mostly hidden from
the lighting angles as well as the camera angles.
An Allusionstyle music video will reference, hint and sometimes directly include information about a
real life event.Anexample of a music video that refers to a real life event is the music video for Some
Nights by Fun which is follows the struggles of two soliders during the American Civil war.
An Pastiche music video has a very similar art style to another one. The music video could also aim to
mimicthe othervideohowever if it’s intention if to be funny or to defame something then it could be
considered more of a parody rather than a Pastiche style music video. Having said this Parody music
videosoftenhave the lyricsheavilyalteredtotalkabouta differentsubject matter or might take the art
style of the original video and twist it out of proportion to defame it and make it funny.

6. An Homage Style musicvideooftenpaysrespecttoothermusicartistsor rarelyotherinfluential people
outside of the music industry. An example of a music video that pays homage to an Artist is Justin
Timberlake’smusicvideoforTake Backthe Night that pays homage to Michael Jackson. It pays homage
to one song in particular which is Billie Jean. Through Justin’s music video various dance moves and
other choreography (performed on the sidewalk in Chine Town, New York) is similar to those in Billie
Jean. As well as the shoes the Justin wears throughout the music video and the shoes her wore at his
concert that is also features in this homage music video.

7. Impressionist Music Video:
An impressionistmusicvideo is used to capture the emotion throughout the song. This will often over
look the literal meaning and purpose of the lyrics but can often make the video more artistic. The
varioustechniquesthatcanbe usedthroughoutthese videos are lighting effects such as soft light, soft
edges, smooth transitions as well as pull focuses with montages also being included in rare
circumstances. An example of an Impressionist music video is Wings performed by Birdy. This music
videowasreleasedinAugust 2013. The music video shows a casual style masquerade party at an outta
the way private estate like housethat features its own athletics space (for the fencing and madminton
seen in the video). (Post Production Effects) Post Production effects is the maniulation of footage to
give ita differentaetheticto the original. This music video has also been altered in Post-Production to
improve the lightingforthe impressionisttone andfeel of the video. The Synergy music video example
alsorequiredalot of postproductioneffects to merge the various snippets of footage from the film to
the music video.

8. Animation (Stop Motion):
An Animated music video can be fully made using stop motion, CGI or a mixtures of the two. Both
techniques can take days worth of production work to achieve the end result. Stop motion oreintated
music videos will often use only one fixed camera angle that is large enough to show the narrative
clearly in the shot. CGI based music videos however will often use many camera angles with some
warped perspectives. An example of a stop motion music video is Strawberry Swing by Coldplay. The
firstfewsecondsof the videofeaturesthe artistsbehindthe drawingwithinthe video,whilst the rest of
it featuresChrisMartinas the Hero inthe unusually artistic narrative. Most shots were done with Chris
lyngdownon hisside whilstsome othershotswere achieved standing up giving the impession that his
feet are on the ground whilst never on the ground in the narrative (E.g. when he’s flying).

9. Camera Angles and Movements
The various camera angles and movements seen through-out the music video examples were each
chosenandusedfor the desiredeffect.The cameraanglesusedin the first example ranged from close -
ups to mid shots to show case each of the band members one at a time with the stop motion effect
goingon behindthem.After each band member was showcased large establishing shots were used to
showthe band playingthe songtogether.Throughoutthe use of the same cameraangle the bandwould
suddenly jump spaces and move around in frame. However they always remained in camera shot to
keep the music appearing digeticly. The camera shots used in the concert style music video mid shots
were used throughout which included panning and tracking shots whilst Chris Martin was walking.
Before thishe walkedintoframe andat the endof the sequence that focused on him he ran away from
the camera. Followingonfromthisthe concert shots/scene were taken from loads of various angles to
capture the upbeat section of the song. In the thrd example of coldplay (The Scientist. The Surrealist
Type of musicvideo) prettymucheverytype of cameraangle is used. Establishing shots are used when
Chris moves into a new location or when a important action is seen. E.g. the car crash. During other
shots where the focus is on other people during the reversal of the footage various shots are used to
capture the surreal aspect of everything in reverse. In addition to this these shots they were slowed
down to capture the specific spin of the basketball for example. In the final example that features a
coldplay song only one camera angle is used. This is a top-down shot focused on a road. This stop-
motion video uses Chris’s positioning as describe early to give the impression of a different camera
angle.Thisisalsocomplementedbythe use of the art work changingto be a suitable background.Inthe
other music videos camera movements are used quite a lot. In the Some Nights music video loads of
trackingshots(Side onto the soliders) are usedtofollow theircharge towardsthe enemywhilst circualr
panningshotsfocussingonthe leadsingerare usedtogive himan Inspiringpressence/speech effect. In
the BirdyWingsmusic videocameramovementsare used to show the extreme amounts of movement
or the lack of it.For example the openingshotisof the cameramanwalkingintothe roomwithall of the
masquerade/party goers.
Mise-En-Scene
The Mise-En-Scne isimportantinmusicvideosinaspecificway.The costumesandmake-upin the Birdy
Wings music video shows of the diveristy of characters and makes them stand out from one-and-
another.Birdyherself inthe videoiswearingareddresswhichmakesherstand outfrom everyone else
evenwhenshe isn’tinthe centerof frame.Whereasthe costumesandmake upinthe StrawberrySwing
music video was the same throughout however for professional purposes it would’ve had to be
maintained constantly to avoid smudging of the background as well as keeping the chalk powder of it
which in turn would give a hue alteration effect. The various special effects have been discussed
howeverthe simpleeffectscanstill create the biggest metaphorical boom. For example the use of just
reversingthe footage forColdplayThe Scientistcreatesaunique anddiverse narrative for the viewer to
follow.Whereasthe special effectsusedinthe LinkinParkvideocangive itall a samey look which could
leave the viewergettingboardhalf-waythroughespeciallyif theyhave recentlyseen the synergy based
film.