Music videos codes and conventions
The code of a music video is the method of communication with the viewers for example symbols. The conventions of a music video is what we expect to find in a music video, I will now list a few examples of these conventions:
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costumes to fit the conventions of the chosen genre
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appropriate editing
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iconic dance moves/facial expressions
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the artist themselves
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credits (song title and artist)
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good lip syncing
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appropriate camerawork
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good quality sound
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established iconography
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narrative
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typologies (performance, conceptual, narrative)
Some of these examples however are dependant on the genre of the music video for instance, editing found in pop/dance music videos tend to be quick paced such as Lady Gaga whereas you wouldn't find that in a slow R&B artist such as Adele.
I will now look at the types of typologies that I mentioned as part of the conventions of a music video.
Performance Video
Performance videos are most common in the punk/rock genre I feel because they tend to show the band playing their instruments and singing, this shows their raw talent and that it is them that plays the music to their songs and not other people. Most of these bands are organic, you can tell this by the connection between them in their videos and how well they play together. This makes a large difference to manufactured bands as they have to build up a connection and bond with each other and then learn to play with eachother and this doesn't show as much in their videos. Using a performance music video shows the raw talent of the band and also shows that they don't need help to be as good as they are such as auto tuning giving them a good iconic image. The example I'm going to use to reinforce this statement is the band Don Broco, an alternative rock band, with the song 'Priorities'. You can see that they are performing as a band and also how well they can work and play with each other and also how they perform as an organic band. They are jumping around playing their instruments and having fun at the same time.
Narrative Video
Narrative videos are most common in the pop and R&B genres as they tell a story however it can also be identified on slower songs. The story matches the lyrics in the song and it is these two genres that mostly tell a story. The narrative videos show the artist performing the story themselves to match the lyrics which also promotes themselves and shows possible promoters what they can do for example how they act and dance which could lead to them being an addition in a movie, they show the emotion and act out how they felt when they wrote the song. Pop artists use narrative videos to convey their story and their feelings. The lyrics to the song help reach out to the target audience and builds a connection with the fan base as they can relate to what the artist is going through, the message conveyed through the lyrics of the song and then shown more understandably in the video itself. The songs most commonly related with narrative videos are about love, every single artist will have had en experience to which they can write about and perfom in a song, these experiences will be common amognst the audience which will encourage them to listen to it and reach out to the artist. The example I have used is Katy Perry with the song Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) and she shows herself in the narrative video performing an experience that happened to her one night, this will be relatable to most teenagers.
Conceptual Video
Conceptual videos are most commonly found alternative music artists, they aren't as common as narrative or performance however the video provides a strong message which is also promoted by the lyrics in the song. Conceptual videos use symbolism and images to help reinforce their message, the artists can be seen to be acting in the video but they aren't the main focus like in the narrative and performance videos, the producers' focus is heavily on the code hidden in the lyrics which can then be displayed in the video using animation and symbols. You can't see the raw organic talent in this type of music video as you can in performance video however they are similar to narrative in that they tell a story, this story may not always be an experience as common as that found in narrative where the artist focuses on themselves but it will be more serious such as about global issues and more open minded. They don't focus as much on their image and how they are portrayed but they are focused on their music and how they write their music, the raw talent within them and how that is portrayed is their unique selling point. The music video I have used as an example is Of Monsters and Men with the song Little Talks as they use a lot of symbols and animation to portray their lyrics in the song rather than themselves, when watching the video the audience will be looking at the link between the lyrics and how they have shown this in their conveptual video.
06/09/13