Features of a music video- Ms Begum

When creating a music video it is wise to follow the conventions laid out in  terms of technology and symbolism. Firstly, the technical side of a music video would be how equipment and technology are used to portray meaning within the music video, the camera angles/ shots used, style/ pace of the editing used and the sound e.g. non-diegetic/ diegetic. On the other hand, when relating to symbolism, we must consider the meaning portrayed/ created behind what people see in the actual music video, this can be picked up due to specific body language/ facial expressions or the Mise-en-scene within the music video. By taking these 'categories' ( technical and symbolic) into account, we are able to follow the conventions of a music video. Furthermore, by doing so, we are then able to manipulate the meaning behind or within our music videos which would in turn allow us to know and have an impact on our desired audience(s).

Conventions and Genres:

Firstly, when choosing/ creating a song to do a music video to, we should be able to determine that there are different genres of music; These consist of: R&B, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop, Classical, Blues, country etc. Every single genre has a different/ separate set of conventions to follow, for example;

A stereotypical R&B music video would consist of the following:

• Lip syncing/ miming
• focused on the physical looks of the artists or extras
• large focus on the 'flaunting' of material possessions/ expensive things e.g. jewelry
• Party atmosphere/ dancing shown in the video

A stereotypical Rock video would consist of the following:

• Tend to be both narrative and performance based
• Tends to show a romance between lead singer and another female/ male
• video usually shows the band performing to an audience
• Sometimes the videos become 'feature films' such as Cliff Richards "Summer Holiday

A stereotypical Pop video would consist of the following:

• Emphasis on the female gender- provocative/ sexual
• High tempo beat- a lot of dancing
• constant scene change in order to constantly hold the viewers attention.

A stereotypical Hip-Hop video would consist of the following:

• A lot of low-angled/ close up shots- artist has power over the viewer
• Slanderous towards the female gender
• Creates a 'Parody' in order to create humor
• Usually focuses on the artists lifestyle

Typical Conventions:

The typical conventions of mainstream, popular music videos have been created by merging the conventions of each genre together, for example, R&B music videos today may consist of the following:

• Lip syncing/Miming
• Flaunting of material possessions and expensive items
• Narrative and performance based
• Emphasis on the female gender- provocative/ sexual
• constant scene change
• video attempts to portray the artists everyday lifestyle.

Conclusively, by learning and knowing the conventions of a music video, it has helped my initial planing because i understand what conventions i must follow in order to impact on the audience and stay within my chosen genre. Furthermore, by understanding that each genre has a different set of conventions to follow i am able to to prevent myself from getting mixed up or instead, mixing and matching the genres in order to create something that would appeal to a range of audiences.