Forms and Conventions

By Ella McLeodForms and Conventions

Andrew GoodwinAndrew Goodwin idetifies a number of key features which distinguishes the music video as a form...There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.There is a relationship between the music and the visuals.Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography.There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close up shots of the main artist/vocalist.The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which, over time, become part of their star image.There is also likely to be voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of systems of looking. (screens within screens, binoculars, cameras etc...)There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV.

LyricsLyrics tend to help to establish a general feeling, or mood, or sense of subject matter rather than offering a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the visuals associated with the song, but very rarely will a music video simply replicate the lyrics.

MusicA music video tends to make the use of the tempo of the track to the drive of the editing and may emphasise particular sounds from the track by the foregrounding instruments such as guitar, keyboard or drum solo.

GenreWhile some music videos transcend genres, others can be more easily categorised. Some, but not all, music channels concentrate on particular music genres. If you watch these channels then over a period of time, you will be able to identify a range of distinct features which characterise the videos of different genres. These features might be reflected in types of mise en scene, themes, performance, camera, editing styles etc...

CameraworkAs with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how the images are sequenced has a significant impact onmeaning. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing etc) but it mayalso be used tocreate a more dynamic feel to stage performance, for instanceby constantly circling the band as they perform on stage.

EditingAlthough the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing, some videos use slow pace and gentler shot transitions to create amood.Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure to the audience. This might take the form of split-screens, colourisation and blockbuster film style CGI.