style and conventions of music videos

Genre
A category of music that share a certain style or "basic musical language" for that certain type of music.

Video: Katy Perry // Dark Horse - Pop Genre

This music video is set in ancient Egypt, with Katy Perry cast as the main goddess. You can tell the Egyptian theme through props such as the boat from 00:00-00:12, there is a zoom in until the boat fills up the shot, so it establishes the setting of the River Nile. The video focuses on Katy Perry as she is the singer and she puts on a performance throughout, this means that the video will be aired more on TV & Youtube, because Katy herself stars in it. It is typical of the Pop Genre to do this, as it breaks the mould of the singer/band, as it gives the audience something to talk about if the artist breaks their usual singing role. This allows extra creativity, such a large and bold sets, the temple and throne (0:49), to be designed to catch the audiences eye. The record companies have a large budget especially for pop videos as the artists are signed onto major labels, meaning they can 'advertise' the artist more. Katy Perry is well known for putting on live performances such as the 2015 Superbowl, so the record label make loud and brash videos to re-enforce how good of a performance the artist puts on in live concerts too. The costume changes are frequent in this video @  0:32, 1:26, 1:55, 3:01, 3:11. There is a very simple narrative in the video, which allows viewers young and old to follow. The video also cuts through different scenes on prominent lyrics, such as the chorus: ''cos once you're mine, once you're mine... there's no going back'' 2:19-2:23. The audience would feel rather scared of Katy Perry as she is very sassy in the video, and the female audience would feel empowered by Katy's female role, but males may view her as a feisty female & objectify her a sexual figure, as she is 'playing hard to get'. I could potentially use this style of video to grab audiences attention, as it has a very bright colour scheme, which attracts an all ages audience. The shots are very varied, and occasional shots of Katy looking at the camera, helps the audience feel like she is singing to them, which breaks the fourth wall. Also a strong female figure in a music video needs to be more common, so using a strong, independent woman could bring individuality to my potential music video. 

Performance/Concert/As Live:

A type of music video where the musicians/band are doing a live performance to the camera, making the audience feel like they are at their concert. 

Video: The Smiths // This Charming Man 

This music video begins with a high angled shot on a ground which is covered in flowers, which then track-pans to the left to reveal the sleeve for 'This Charming Man's single vinyl. Then there is a pan up of Morrissey standing on the flowers and swinging flowers around in the air. This is a live performance of The Smiths, and Morrissey was often known to have flowers on stage. @ 0:15, Morrissey is singing straight into the camera, as if he is singing into the camera. The handheld camera allows the audience to get a feel of the band's live performance.  The fade between shots of different band members, allows the focus of the audience to shift to the band and not just Morrissey himself. The props and costume used in this video do reflect the gay culture in the 80's, with the big dazzling necklaces and low cut v-neck shirt. Rough Trade was a small record label at the time they helped fund this video, so it is very simple, but allows the audience to feel like they're interacting with the band, as Morrissey was a big hearthrob amongst fans. Morrissey also reflects his views on anti-machismo in the lyrics of the song and the props already mentioned, so he breaks the stereotypical gender roles towards males in the 80s. I could potentially use this style of music video as it is all set in one location, so very cheap and easy to produce. The lighting portrays the lighthearted nature to the song, which is very easy to create if i use one room to film in. 

Narrative:

This style of music video has a Todorovian element, with a beggining, middle and end. There is a clear storyline and the artist is usually the main protaganist of the story. 

Video: Hayley Kiyoko // Girls Like Girls

This music video starts off with Hayley riding on a bike in the middle of a suburban street, to her friends house. She is then seen in her friends house smoking, with the video giving subtle hints through the middle of the girls being fond of each other, and more than JUST FRIENDS, @ 0:50, 0:55, 1:38 just to name a few examples. This video explores girls discovering their sexuality, and this is rooted in the video by the lyrics. 'Girls like girls like boys do' is repeated throughout, which is enforced by the fact there is a male character in the video, who in the party scene tries to get with one of the girls (2:38). I feel like the video was produced, as not many LGBT related music videos are made, this video is a breakthrough in the acceptance to LGBT teens, young adults and members of all ages. It is a positive representation of young gay girls, so the audience can really empathise with the girls in the video, and it helps young questioning people to realise that loving a different gender/gender identity is perfectly normal and they should not feel ashamed of it, they should embrace it. The end of the video is where the girls end up kissing (4:04), which is empowering for LGBT couples in general, as gay kisses are becoming more accepted in the media industry, but still very uncommon. The use of the narrative structure helps build a positive vibe around the gay community and allies, and the video tells a good story. The video contains lots of close up shots, showing emotion, which is important to portray correctly in a music video. The lighting is very bright, showing the light tone the video has, allowing the audience to understand more easy.  I could possibly use a narrative style to show a story, which the audience will understand through the lyrics to the song. It also helps the audience further understand the importance of the lyrics and the meaning of the song, meaning the song would be more successful.  

Interpretative:

This style has a shot by shot of events, in which the lyrics relate to what we see on the screen.

Video: Vance Joy // Riptide 

This music video from the very off follows each lyric word for word. 'I was scared of dentists and the dark'... and the image on the screen is of a lady with a dental instrumen in her mouth (0:10). This style of video was made so the audience can follow the lyrics much easier, as the song is very upbeat and indie sounding, so the lyrics on screen re-enforce the words he sings. The video seems to be shot in an old fashioned style, with the clothes people are wearing @ 0:22, 1:12, 2:03. Some of the shots follow through with one another, due to the tall blonde woman being throughout, which the song suggests she's 'the closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen'. Other shots such as the ice lollies coming 'unstuck' and the 'left hand...' cutting the aloe vera, are completely random shots, but fit into the video well. I feel like this video was made because it was cheap because the locations used are mainly a beach, and the props used were very inexpensive. Overall, the video is successful as it makes the song easy to follow. The shots are very varied and the lighting reflects the mood of the song, very upbeat and happy, until the word 'darkside' is mentioned, and a woman is dragged off into the dark and the shot fades into black. The song could potentially be nostalgic for the audience as it has a very nostalgic, 80s beach summer holiday feel. 

Impressionist:

The impressionist style is where whatever is on screen is the vibes that the song gives off, and the editing techniques emphasise this too.

Video: Muse // Stockholm Syndrome

This music video used a thermal imaging camera. This is recorded in a warehouse in Hackney. The band had previously played around with water and ice, so the camera would show up cold & hot areas. The effect this video has, is almost an as-live performance, as most rock genre music videos are. There are lots of quick and fast cuts to the guitar riff at the beginning of the song. The bright colours from the camera could also help explain the meaning of 'Stockholm Syndrome' which is the 'psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors'. The bright and lucid colours could represent the thought processes as a person is opening up to their captor. The word 'Captor' can be seen as 0:04. The video is very cheap to make, and i guess the band chose to make it this way, as it is more interesting that seeing a whole hostage situation taking place down a narrative route. This shows the band is up for being creative, which can be seen in this video and their music in general. I can potentially use an idea like this if the song i use for my music video has a double meaning. 

Surrealism/Abstract:

This style of music video allows the artist to be wonderful and creative, the music video has no direction or any boundaries, and the video barely has any resemblance to the song or lyrics. 

Video: The Parenthetical Girls // Evelyn McHale

The opening to this video is set in a room with a girl, and then the scene cuts to the lead singer Zac walking through the same house, in a slo-motion shot, and going out of a doorway. The next scenes are set in a forest, in which there are lots of animals, a sheep, a horse, a turkey and zebras. The natural feel to the video is also very spiritual, @ 2:27 it looks as if the two people are meditating in the field, then @ 2:48, the costume the woman is wearing is very flowy and ethereal, like a faerie, or mystical goddess. The band that made the video classify themselves as 'baroque pop', who also self release their own music on their own label. I feel this video was made in this style because it allows the creative minds of the band to produce their own video of their own ideas, which don't really make sense. The song is very jumbled, and uses very intellegent words. I think this type of video is very artistic, showing the band's artistic nature to their audience, and bringing their own crazy ideas helps pull the video off and creates a buzz on social media, and such. The audience can see the band's eccentric style, which is show in the video but also emphasised through Zac's unique but Pulp-esque voice. This idea could be used in my music video if the song is very obsecure or unheard of. m

Intertextuality:

Intertexuality in music videos is where elements of other media texts transcend into the music video: such a films / stories / other songs.

Video: Taylor Swift // Love Story vs. Romeo & Juliet (William Shakespeare)

At 0:07-0:08, the very begining of this video, Taylor Swift (Juliet) spots a boy sitting under a tree (Romeo), right as the lyric 'we were both young, when i first saw you'. This related to the William Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, as they were very young when they met, Juliet was the tender age of 13, and Romeo was a slight bit older. Also the balcony is a common place in this video, as it is where Romeo and Juliet spoke to each other secretly, and Juliet cast her most famous line 'Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore art thou, Romeo?' This element to the video can easily be transcended into modern day society, as it is common for women to date older men, so choosing this reference for the song and video, shows the the popular culture in Shakespeare's plays have also make a come back. The story is not all the same though, and Taylor eventually gets her man and her fairytale life, instead of the tragic death of the young teens. I feel like this video would make the audience feel very romantic, and they can follow the story as Romeo and Juliet is such a classic story. Also the colour palette of the video is a very warm and rustic colour, also the period costumes help show the Shakespeare-esque feel. I could potentially base my music video on another media text if the song is specificially referenced to a story of this nature.

Parody:

A parody is when a fellow artist/youtuber re-makes a music video to mock the original.

Video: The Midnight Beast // TikTok vs. Ke$ha // TikTok (original).

The Midnight Beast have created a parody of Ke$ha's Tik Tok, the opening scene is pretty much exact same, with the opening sequence in the house, and Stephen getting out of bed. The shots in the music video are very varied, with the camera placed in different angles and the use of a fish-eye lense is throughout. The Midnight Beast remade this video in one house, with different areas of the house being used for different locations that Ke$ha used. By using one location and props the band already own, it means they save money, and is generally a joke video. They generally keep to the gist of the original video, with the scenes having the same tone, such as the breakfast scene is kept in, but changed slightly to Stephen eating cereal dowsed in a bacardi breezer, where as Ke$ha's mom dropping the plate of pancakes. I think this video is well made, and has funny elements to it. The video is made for a laugh and i feel like the audience would find it particularly funny as it is aimed at a younger group of people. I could make a parody video, if the song I was using was very popular and already had a random video i could easily make a spoof of, in one location with props i already own. 

Pastiche/Homage:
This type of music video imitates certain features from another media text. The lighting, camera and editing are the same but they are less noticible unless the audience have seen the previous text.

Video: Blur // The Universal vs. Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (film).

In this video, the main location is in a white room, which bares resembelence to the Korova Milk Bar in the 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange, featuring the band sat on a sofa under lots of female legs. 

Referencing:

This type of video contains real footage from a Film/TV show, which the song is most likely associated to.

Video: Eric Carmen // Hungry Eyes - Used in Dirty Dancing 

The song 'Hungry Eyes' is featured in the 80's classic Dirty Dancing. It is featured in the scene where Baby and Johnny begin dancing together properly for the first time. In the official video to the song, @ 0:05 there is footage from the film being projected by an old fashioned film projector onto the wall of the room in which Eric Carmen is facing. Then again at 1:22 - 1:44, it shows real film footage. This was used in this video because it attracts a larger audience as people that have seen the film will know the song well and assume scenes will be shown in the official music video to the song. Also, Eric Carmen and the lady in the video, also seem to have a similar relationship to Baby and Johnny, a relationship kept in the dark, this could appeal to fans of the sucessful film. The lighting is very dark, reflecting the lustful scenes of the film and the sexual tension in the song. If I made a music video in the style, I would use the exact scenes from the media text the song was in to appeal to the audience of the text.