Music videos: Types and Conventions

Before finalising and expanding our ideas for the music video we decided to look at as the categories of music video and the conventions and set up of each. We will look at the presentation of plot, if it has one, as well as how the band are involved in the music video. We want to look specifically at independent or lesser known artists because this is the kind of music we want to make a music video for, and because the style for these videos will be lower budget than major artists. We also want the genres to be similar to the music we intend to use for our own music video (electronic and relaxed spoken word style rap.) If we can identify the conventions of these genres and the style of each kind of music video it will be easier to produce a final video that appeals to the fans of the genre and fits the song better, improving the general quality of our music video.

Performance Based Music Videos

These music videos are focused more on the band, and may often include clips of the band in concert, or performing in a location set up for the music video. Most performance based videos will overlap with concept or narrative to make them more engaging, however many do solely feature band performance, such as these:

Conventions:

• Features the artist performing the song
• Has no narrative
• Abstract locations chosen for aesthetic value
• Lip syncing/ Fake playing
• Sometimes features live performances

Narrative Based Music Videos

Narrative Music videos will tell a story, often related to the lyrics of the video. They usually tell a clear story, though often it is not clear until the end of the video to build suspense. Sometimes these narratives are chronological and easy to follow; other times, they can be fragmented narratives, although this is less common.

Conventions:

• Makes some form of narrative sense, with a form of plot progression
• often features the artist or artists
• related in some way to the lyrics

Conceptual Music Videos

Rather than necessarily making sense to an audience, conceptual music videos are based around a concept or idea and are meant to aesthetically fit the style of music video. They will focus more on purely creating a mood that fits with the song, and rarely follows lyrical content.

Conventions:

• Abstract
• Conforms to the song in tone
• Does not follow any discernible narrative structure