There are several differing styles and conventions in which music videos can have. These commonly are reflective of the genre or audience the track is aimed at, so that the track can coincide with the video to fully cater to its target demographic. Music videos are commonly made to either follow a narrative storyline or made to fit in time with the beat of the track. This is so it is more aesthetically pleasing and easier for the viewer to watch and take in.
In concert and 'as live' videos:
In concert videos are reasonably common. They showcase the band or artist performing infront of either a real or fake crowd of paid actors. This is one of the purer ways for an artist or group to showcase themselves in the centre of a video. Doing what they are doing behind the video, performing music, this is what they do as a their profession so being able to showcase that to reassure the listener or viewer that they are the people behind the music is very common indeed.
An example of an 'as live' performance is: Outkast - Hey Ya! This is clearly a more staged version of as live with actors being paid to play the audience, although the aim for the video is achieved. This is an example of a more slapstick and unique version of as live.
A further example of an 'as live' video is: Guns N Roses - Paradise City. This is a more 'real' example which showcases the band on a tour, performing at real concerts, this has a more, unpolished, but real feel to it, which is what I'm sure the band was going for. This music video showcased every single member that is in the band, this is common for rock bands or bands that have several members, as it gives exposure to all members of the band, other than the singer who is usually the focal point.
Narrative and Interpretive:
A narrative music video is the most common form of music videos. It offers the viewer a path and story line visually to interpret from the lyrics. They help to paint the image for them. The stories don't have to be associated or linked the lyrics of the song, although it is common for this to happen. The storyline can either be literal to the the lyrics or a plotline that is followed without any relevance to the lyrics whatsoever. Either contradicting the lyrics or further consolidating them.
An example of a Narrative music video is: Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers. The story that is told is Eminem's real life friendship from a young age with his friend who was murdered. The lyrics are chilling when the chorus is heard. Stating that: "We all fall down, like Toy Soldiers" referencing the death of his friend and how easily our lives can be taken away from us in an instant. The chorus also plays in tune to his 'friend' being unsuccessfully resuscitated from his state. Alot of artists reference real life occurrences in their music lyrics and in turn the narrative of the music video. I chose Eminem's Toy Soldiers however, due to it's saddening and very real plot in comparison to the more common love centred narratives which take up the majority of the music narrative genre.
Surrealist/Absurdest:
This is a type of music video that has no relevance to the lyrics in the song itself and is made with the intention of setting out to confuse the viewer and make them question as to what they have just seen/experienced instead of having an actual connection with the video. This isn't done overly often, but when it is done, the videos are often very memorable ones that remain in the minds of the viewer for a while after viewing. Which is why a surrealist music video is an effective on to use.
An example of a surrealist music video is: Fall Out Boy - Where Did The Party Go
The song is about a party and the events that happen there, but the music video is in the style of zombies running around different areas of the public instead of focusing on the lyrics which is stereotypical with other music video styles.
Impressionist:
Impressionist music videos don't focus fully on the lyrics but the emotional tone of the song and put a story to the beat. Putting a literal impression from the lyrics to a song instead showing on a screen the lyrics being played out one by one. This is a common feature in many music videos as it allows the director to use more artistic license than they would usually.
This is why they are quite common place as it allows creative freedom for a video to be interpreted from the point of view from a creative team rather than what is presented to them.
An example of an impressionist music video is: Adele's Rolling In The Deep
Intertextual
Intertetxual musicos focus on a real life/ story narrative and place them into a song/music video that has been made specifically about/for the situation, these are to have a real life connection with the viewer so that they will be more engrossed and engaged in what is on the screen infront of them. These are common for movies/ big world events. Although, artists are more likely to use them when something real has happened to them in their life.
An example of an intertexual music video is: Wavin Flag by: K'naan
This focuses on the 2010 World Cup that was upcoming before hand.
Animation:
Animation is also common in music videos, being used often alongside as live footage, it is rare that music videos are fully animated, although when they are they require alot more time and effort than any other music videos as it has to be created from scratch without the use of cameras. It is also important that the animation fits the speed and beat of the music to create a believable but clearly mocked up music video.
An example of an animated music video is: Do The Evolution by Pearl Jam. This is an example of a unique music video that really hasn't got the lyrics of the song in mind whilst being produced, this creates a very odd but intriguing music video, that keeps the eye of the viewer locked on to it at all times, which is an effective tool when creating a video. Furthermore, the bright colours of the animation will keep the viewer intrigued and watching the video.
Lip Syncing, Miming and playback:
Videos in which lip syncing is used are very common, they convey the artist in front of the audience so that their image is pushed even more, it also cuts costs somewhat as the focus is on the artist and their song. Also, it's a very personal type of video as it allows the artist to convey any emotions they want with the lyrics of the song so that the viewer can greater understand the lyrics and what the song is intended to mean.
An example of lip syncing in a music video is: 'Shut up' by Stormzy. He spends the whole video miming back the song to the camera alone with a group behind him playing the role of the backup vocals in the video. This is an effective use of lip syncing as the focus of the video is simply Stormzy and it was a very cheap one to produce, only needing one camera angle in a local park.
Cutting to beat:
Cutting to beat is sued in music videos commonly aswell, it cuts chunks of the footage to the beat of the song to create an image alongside the music. This can be used in fast paced songs especially to coincide with the pace of the music and keep the viewers eyes engaged alongside their ears. Creating a rhythm in the edit and song.
An example of a music video cutting to beat is: Offspring - Pretty fly for a white guy, they use the fast paced beat in the chorus, using shots of a 'live' performance and other shots to create an image coinciding with the beats of the song.
Post production effects:
Post production effects are used to put other things in place of a regular music video, making the extraordinary coincide with the ordinary. They can also be used to cut costs, for example: It is cheaper to place an airplane in, in post production than actually paying to rent a real airplane and use that. They can also be used to place a video in a different location than it previously was, this was used frequently in the early 2000's when computing was reaching new levels, with many music videos being placed in space.
An example of a music video that used post production effects is: All Of The Lights - Kanye West. Implementing many different effects through post including lights and visual effects that wouldn't of been there before hand. This creates a better, more complete and more memorable video in turn.
Effect: Split screening
Split screening is used in music videos pretty frequently. It has varying uses, the most common of which is to paint two seperate pictures simultaneously, most commonly in love stories to show the emotions that the two protagonists are experience during the video and how the lyrics correlate to their emotions. It can also be used in action based videos to show an escape/getaway and how both/multiple people involved are feeling during the video. This is also a fairly cost free way of showing a story in a different light, as it is just two shots but next to eachother so there's always something for the viewer to watch.
An example of a split screen music video is: Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop. It uses two different cameras in a smart way which almost tricks the viewer into believing that at one time it's one shot, but it's a fantastic way of showing how time has changed in 30 years and implementing it into a music video.
Effect: Chroma Key
Chroma key is used to remove green screen's/blue screen's from behind artists in their music videos to paint the image of them being in a different location than they actually are, as the screen is 'keyed' out and an image is placed behind them to show different locations/items behind them.
An example of a green screened music video is: Beneath your beautiful - Labrinth. As the green screen uses images of both artists behind them to make it seem like their talking about eachother in their thoughts behind the other artist singing.
Camera movements:
Camera movements are used to represent movements, transitions and are used to create excitement and a different viewpoint for the audience when looking at the video, they can also use 'in action' shots to make the audience believe that they are with the characters in the music videos and feeling the same emotion and experiencing it with them. Crab shots, pans, etc are also used in music videos to continue a smooth feel to a song or the intended feel that the artist wanted originally.
An example of a music video full of camera movements is: Only one in the world by - Rhianna. Using many different movements along with the song to create a free-flowing music video.
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