Conventions Of A Music Video

Genre - Genre is a category in which music is segregated into based on its style; these are some of the main genres of music:

-Pop

-Reggae

-Dance (EDM)

-R&B

-Rap

-Rock

-Jazz

-Indie

-Folk

Narrative/ Themes - the themes in which the storyline is based on, this could be for example; wealth, love, fun, adventure, freedom or partying

Representation -  the way in which people are represented, this could be how  gender or age is portrayed. For example young people are stereotypically viewed as being very outgoing, particularly in the pop and dance genre, teens are seen to be adventuring, travelling or partying.

Audiences - the audience in which the music video relates to is a major factor in the success of it, whether its a young audience or older, for example we would associate pop and Electronic Dance Music with younger audiences and folk and jazz with older audiences

Institutions - development of technologies, special effects, distribution and viewing platforms such as Youtube  

MES, Camerawork- dance choreography, costume, makeup, lighting, setting, camera shots and angles, budget, colour scheme

For example, reggae music videos stereotypically represent a Jamaican culture as they are commonly associated to be similar. The videos are usually set in a very tropical locations, with exotic fruits and beautiful weather and landscapes acting as part of the set.  The colour scheme is usually very bright and commonly consists of bright yellow, green and red colours, therefore clothing would be very colourful to emphasise the exotic location. Props often used in reggae videos are beads hats and characters are positioned in a party themed environment with dancing and alcohol. 

This is contrasted by other genres such as rap. Rap is a  rhyming speech that is chanted over a stylised beat. Lighting is usually dark and locations are dull, and set in 'rough' areas. This genre is typically associated with violence and smoking and the lyrics are usually fuelled by pain or grief. This juxda poses reggaes exotic colourful location which suggests that the messages and audiences of the music are very much opposites. We would assume that the rap genre is suited to young males that enjoy partying, drinking and smoking as the lyrics are stereotypically extremely masculine and violent which is

associated with men.

Star Theory

Voyeurism -  commonly seen in the rap and pop industry, voyeurism in the sense that women are viewed by males 'unknowlingly'.

Intersexuality/ parody/ pastiche - Parody within a music video is a work in which will mimics the general conventions of a video in an absurd style in order to create a comedy or mockery of something whereas pastiche is more or a formal, respectful style obeying the general conventions of a music video

Objectification - objectification of women is the sexualisation of them in order for the males in the video view them only as a sexual object. This can be portrayed through empowerment of males within a video, most prominent most commonly in the pop and rap culture in which females are shown to be second to males wearing little and provocative clothing focusing on the females body viewing them as an object rather than people themselves. A good example is Beyoncé's Partition music video where she is shown to be wearing little, and having a male watch her as she dances for him showing his dominance and power in the scene.

Star Persona - this is when an artist will adapt their appearance in order to create a unique image, in which is easily recognisable by an audience to help gain attention and help them within their career. Their easily recognisable image is usually very stylized, an example being Lady Gaga, famously known for her unusual videos, clothing, and accessories as well as her notorious blonde wig.

Empowerment - power of a gender, E.g. Female Empowerment, this could be portraying countertype against the stereotype that women are weak by showing they are strong and brave - example of this is Katy Perry in 'Part of me' going through army training and becoming a soldier. This can be shown through the general conventions of a music video such as MES, from their costume and makeup as well as Narrative and themes, in which the storyline could represent empowerment

Commodities - product placement and cross promotion of other brands and products within a music video

Types of Music Videos

Types of music videos

Performance Based Videos

 

Performance based or artist focused music videos consist of close up shots and camerawork focusing upon the artist alone. It features the performer of the song performing live throughout the video

 

 

Examples of these type of videos are:

- Lady Gaga,   'Edge of Glory'

- Katy Perry, 'Part of me'

- Raleigh Ritchie, 'Bloodsport '15'

Narrative Based Videos

 

These are videos in which use actors and artist in order to tell a story. The story being portrayed normally links to the song lyrics however this is not always the case and these videos also contain performance elements.

Examples of these types of videos are:

- Gwen Stefani, 'Cool'
- Eminem, 'Stan'
- Coldplay, 'The Scientist'



 




Concept Base

 

 These are creative music videos in which are usually based around certain concepts and ideas. These may or may not feature the main artist as they are not the main focus.

Examples of these types of ideas are:

- Ok Go, 'Here It goes'

- Fatboy slim, 'Weapon of choice'

Intertextuality in music videos and research into the music industry

Research into the music industry and intertextuality

within music videos 

Through research into the music industry it is clear it acts as a major platform for artists to produce, sell and communicate their own style of work. Just some of the key genres within music in today's society are; pop, indie pop, rock, r&b, hip hop, folk, electronic dance music. These all acquire a different style, type of music and stereotypical artist and associations. For example rock is commonly associated and stereotyped to have an audience of goths, its associated with dark colours, very loud and rowdy crowds in which are often represented in their music videos.