Research: Features of Music Videos

Our task was to watch multiple Music Videos from a range of different genres. We had to identify conventions that were common in all videos. Here are the notes that I made when watching music videos:

1) The most common convention used in the music videos I watched, was that the artist would feature in the video somewhere. In Pop Music, the artist is usually seen lip-syncing to their song. In rock and indie music, clips of live performances are often used. An example of this is Biffy Clyro's 'Booooom, Blast and Ruin'. This technique can help advertise live shows for the band, increasing popularity.

2) A convention that was popular is that there is usually a narrative to the video. This was definitely more common in Pop Music, or songs with the theme of love and romance, where the singer is missing or looking for another. For example, Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day. A story can sometimes help make the audience want to watch on, due to them wanting to see how the story ends. This can also help increase popularity, as the audience will be passively listening to the song.

3) There are certain camera shots that are very commonly used in music videos. These are Long Shots and Close Ups. Long-Shots are used to establish the location of the video. Close-Ups are often used when showing the artist performing, or when trying to exaggerate an expression on an actors face.

4) Another thing I noticed when watching music videos from different genres, is that transitions are very rarely used. A couple of videos used Wipes to represent eyes opening at the very beginning, but none were used during the video.

5) Cuts were often used in sync with the beat of the song. This helps to show the pace and tempo of the song to the audience. However, the cuts are often not symmetrical, and have different lengths between each one.

6) The lighting and colours of the video often depend on the mood of the song. For example, if the song is upbeat and happy, the video will often be bright and use a wide range of colours. However, if the song is mellow and slow, it will often be black and white. Two contrasting videos that use this technique are Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk and Itch by Nothing but Thieves.