TYPES

2. The 3 main types of Music Video are...
Performance
Narrative
Concept

3. PERFORMANCE
 Usually focuses on the artist performing the song, either in a studio, on
stage or live at one of their concerts but the artist can also be singing
whilst in another setting
 May feature backing dancers/singers
 Doesn’t focus on a specific narrative, however, may cut to other scenes to
break up the performance
 Camera angles/shots may be repetitive - most popular camera shot will be
a close up or extreme close up to focus on artist and intruments
 Most popular in Rock videos
 Effective in representing the bands talent and skills
 Generally lower budget to make than narrative and concept music videos
 Foo Fighters - The Pretender

4. NARRATIVE
 This is where the music video focuses around a story
 Can also include elements of performance as the artist may be seen
singing in some shots
 The narrative will usually have some link to the lyrics
 Often follows the generic: beginning, middle and end layout
 An effective way to connote any symbols or meanings in the song
 Sam Smith - I’m Not The Only One

5. CONCEPT
 These are based on a single idea/concept that most likely do not relate to
the song
 Not so stereotypical and quite exciting for the audience to see a different
style
 Focus more on the camera angles, mise-en-scene (costume/props etc...)
and editing styles
 May create a certain image for the band
 Most common in the genres of Dance, Electronic and Ambient
 Effective due to their unique style, visually impressive and may make the
audience likely to remember the song
 Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know

6. To summarize... The main
differences between Performance,
Narrative & Concept are...
PERFORMANCE NARRATIVE CONCEPT
• Features the
band/artist
singing/performing the
song
• Features a storyline
• Can also feature the
band/artist performing
• Generally based on an
idea
• used to capture the
audience and make
them remember the
song
• can be as artistic as
you wish!

7. How can you analyse a
music video?
STYLE
Performance, narrative
& concept or a mixture
CAMERA ANGLES
 Low angle/high angle shots
 Close ups/Extreme close ups
(Especially in performance videos
of lips/instruments etc.)
 Pans/tilts
 Tracking
 Establishing/long shots
EDITING
 Jump cuts
 Split screens
 CGI
 Transitions
(fade/dissolve/wipes
)
 Cuts
 Continuity/abstract
SOUND
 Diegetic: character
dialogue, sound effects
from inside the scene
 Non-Diegetic: narrators
commentary,
background track, film
score, music
MISE-EN-SCENE
Props
Costume
Hair & Make-up
Location
Lighting
Movement
Composition
SPECIAL EFFECTS
 Motion graphics/text
 Animation
 Stunts
 Green screen

8.  Watch the video and fill out the codes and conventions
sheet as much as possible.
 We will go through some of the key points in more detail
The Script - Breakeven
 Fill this sheet out when you do your own music video
analysis to make sure you don’t miss out on any points.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

9. MUSIC VIDEO BREAKDOWN - The Script - Breakeven
GENRE = Pop/rock
STYLE = A mixture of Performance and Narrative
A popular style for this genre and fits with the conventions
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

10. SOUND
 At the beginning of the scene we can hear one of the
characters talking. What kind of sound is this?
 This use of diegetic sound may be used to engage the
audience and give them an insight into the narrative.
 The female character say’s ‘what would I do without
you?’ - this emphasizes the theme of love &
relationships and the audience can tell that this bit of
dialogue is significant to the male character.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

11. CAMERA ANGLES
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
EXTREME CLOSE UP CLOSE UP MEDIUM SHOT
LONG SHOT OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT HIGH ANGLE SHOT
LOW ANGLE SHOT BIRDS EYE VIEW ESTABLISHING SHOT

12. Think about why the director may have chosen to use these particular camera angles
and shots...
 EXTREME CLOSE UP/CLOSE UP - Emphasizes the facial expressions and mood/ brings
the audience into the world of the narrative - a very personal shot that is excellent for
showing the importance of someone/something
 LONG SHOT/ESTABLISHING SHOT - Introduces the audience to a new scene/location
and allows them to see everything in that scene
 MEDIUM SHOT - A good way to see the characters emotions without being too close.
We get a sense of their body language
 LOW ANGLE - Can empower a subject or character and show the significance of them
as the camera is looking up at them
 HIGH ANGLE - May emphasize the characters feeling of vulnerability as they appear
smaller and lower as the camera is looking down on them
 OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT - Puts the audience in the perspective of the character -
we can see what they are seeing so it may greaten our sense of understanding - this
can also be applied to a point of view shot
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

13. LYRICS AND VISUALS
There is a clear link between the lyrics and visuals in this video
- for example - the lyrics ‘I'm falling to pieces’ are heard when
the character is looking depressed and broken.
This technique gives the audience a greater understanding of
the story the director is trying to tell.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

14. MISE EN SCENE - COLOUR
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
PAST (memories) PRESENT
The use of colour enables the audience to understand when certain scenes took place and
can also reflect mood. For instance...
The colour is brighter when he is with his ex-girlfriend - this conveys how he was happier
and more content.
This contrasts to the scenes where he is alone as the director has used a grittier black &
white effect to emphasize his present loneliness.

15. MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
MISE EN SCENE - LIGHTING
A variety of lighting has been used - high key, low key and stage lighting when
the band are performing. These each set the moods of the scene and reflect
the lead characters emotions.
 High key lighting - reflects his happiness
 Low key lighting - conveys his loneliness and depressive state
 Stage lights/lens flare - fits the conventions of a pop/rock band
It also creates variety so that the audience are more gripped.

16. REPRESENTATION
This video challenges the conventional representation/stereotype
of males being masculine and strong.
We see this as the lead male character expresses his emotions
throughout which is usually what a female character may do.
This may intrigue the audience and females may be able to relate to
this emotion. (Young female adults are the main target audience for
The Script)
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

17. EDITING TECHNIQUES
The video is generally in the form of montage - What is montage and
why might the director have used montage?
This technique of non-linear editing can be used to capture the
audiences attention as well as show a variety of different significant
moments in the narrative.
The way that the narrative and performance are entwined, is a
characteristic of the genre that the director could have used to appeal to
its target audience.
 The performance scenes are edited fast paced
 Narrative scenes are a lot slower to create meaning and emphasize
the theme of love
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

18. TASK
 Analyse and compare two music videos from your chosen genre in
terms of: style, mise-en-scene, target audience, lighting, camera
angles, editing techniques, colours, representation, audience,
denoatation/connotation etc...
 Analyse why the director may have used these specific techniques
and elements and discuss how this does/doesn’t fit with the genre
characteristics
 Present on a word document - can use screen shots to annotate
and compare
 Fill out the music analysis sheet for your videos first so that you
can be sure you’ve covered all elements
 Must be 500-700 words.