Conventions of a Music VideoAdam James Newton

What are the core components of a Music Video?

Andrew Goodwin cites the following:• A relationship between lyrics/music and visuals• The common tropes and iconography of a genre• Promotion of the artist• Various forms of voyeurism• Intertextual referencesAs such, there are four key concepts to keep in mind:• Genre• Narrative• Representation• Audience

Within music videos, there are also three major types to keep in mind:• Performance, featuring the artist performing the song in

some way.• Narrative, featuring a story of some kind.• Concept, a video based around an idea.As the following examples will demonstrate, there is often lots of crossover between the various types of music videos.

Performance

Even videos that focus on a concept will at least contain a few shots of an artist performing the song. By extension, a pure performance video is also rare.

THE PHARCYDE – DROP CONCEPT/PERFORMANCE (1995)

This music video features the band performing the track throughout the back alleys of Los Angeles. However, it was performed backwards and the video played in reverse, creating an effect of unnatural movement.

This video was paid homage to with ‘The Scientist’ by Coldplay, which uses the same backwards editing technique but also adds a narrative element.

This minimalist example simply features MC Ride performing the track in his car. Adding concept elements, heavy distortion is used to both match the ‘noise’ style of production the song uses and also to give the video an old corrupted tape look, fitting of the mysterious nature that the band promotes.

DEATH GRIPS – GUILLOTINE CONCEPT/PERFORMANCE

(2011)

Speaking of performing songs in cars, this video uses a similar concept. Distortion effects are also used, abet this time to create a home video look that the use of a handheld camera that is moved a few times in the video reinforces.

ARCTIC MONKEYS – R U MINE? PERFORMANCE (2012)

Narrative

These videos tell a story of some sort, which may or may not be directly related to the song itself.

A-HA – TAKE ON ME NARRATIVE (1985)

Arguably the most famous example of a narrative video, this tells the story of a woman who is dragged into a comic book world and falls in love with its main character. At the end, he escapes and the two reunite.

Of note is that it can also be considered a performance video because there are brief moments of the band and the character (played by the lead singer) performing the song. The story was also concluded in the subsequent video for ‘The Sun Always Shines On TV’.

The video for ‘Take On Me’ shares the theme of love with the song itself, but it does not have a direct narrative connection. A narrative video that does however is ‘Stan’, which accurately adapts the lyrics of the song. Extra acting segments are also added for more narrative content.

EMINEM – STAN NARRATIVE (2000)

MIIKE SNOW – GENGHIS KHAN NARRATIVE (2016)

This video pays homage to classic spy films, telling a story of a James Bond-like spy who is captured by a super villain, before the two fall in love.

The video and lyrics do mismatch, as the lyrics talk about unhealthy obsessive love, while the video portrays an unusual one.

Concept

These videos often experiment with unusual editing or filming styles.

JACK Ü FEAT. JUSTIN BIEBER – WHERE ARE Ü NOW

CONCEPT/PERFORMANCE (2015)

This video invited fans to draw over frames of Justin Bieber performing the song, a process that is also featured in the video itself. As a result, this video is an example of fan submitted content being used in the creation of music videos.

There are some interesting contributions hidden in there!

Simply Tiga and some models holding a still pose for the duration of the song.

Nothing else to say!

TIGA – PLUSH CONCEPT (2012)

This video is both animated and surrealist, with each segment cleanly transitioning between each other. Due to the instrumental nature of the song, there is no performance while the lack of narrative enhances the surreal feel.

FLYING LOTUS – ZODIAC SHIT CONCEPT (2011)

This video abridges the 1976 film ‘Logan’s Run’ and sets it to a new song. The result is a narrative style video that retains the story of the original film, yet it also falls into conceptual ideas as it uses only footage from a single source and no original footage of its own.

GIGAMESH – ALL MY LIFE CONCEPT/NARRATIVE (2012)

I just really wanted to mention Yung Lean in a piece of coursework.

This video uses intentionally poor special effects to give the video both a retro and surreal feel.

YUNG LEAN – HURT CONCEPT/PERFORMANCE (2013)

This video uses animation to tell the story of anthropomorphic gangs who get into a deadly brawl at a strip club. Aside from vague connections of partying, there is little connection between the lyrics and video. The video is a deliberate mismatch.

CARAVAN PALACE – LONE DIGGER CONCEPT/NARRATIVE (2015)

Genre Conventions

These are tropes that tie music videos within the same genre together.

Hip-hop videos often use several common mise-en-scene elements, including:• Derelict urban areas• Violent imagery• Parties or social gatherings• Vehicles• Sexualization of women• Use of drugs

Some of these aspects develop over time. For example, early videos contained few drugs or depictions of violence, yet still contained many elements that would be expanded upon by later artists.

GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE – THE MESSAGE PERFORMANCE (1982)

A$AP FERG – WORK PERFORMANCE (2012)

DR. DRE FEAT. SNOOP DOGG – STILL D.R.E. PERFORMANCE (1999)

This video showcases awareness of all the cliches associated with its genre, and so utilises them to the extreme to create an over-the-top ‘epic’ feel fitting of the song

OUTKAST – BOMBS OVER BAGHDAD

PERFORMANCE/CONCEPT (2000)

Promotion of Artist

Most videos serve to promote the artist in some way. However, this can vary between genres.

WILD BEASTS – GET MY BANG PERFORMANCE (2016)

In pop, rock and hip-hop videos, the artist or band is often the central focus of the video.

This video chooses to exaggerate this aspect by featuring an entire band made up of the same artist.

OUTKAST – HEY YA PERFORMANCE/CONCEPT

(2004)

Some videos even promote artists not featured in the song.

JUSTIN BIEBER FEAT. LUDACRIS – BABY PERFORMANCE (2010)

Here’s Drake!

Some artists use linking imagery and themes between music videos to connect them, creating continuity and developing a mythos surrounding the artist.

FLYING LOTUS FEAT. KENDRICK LAMAR – NEVER CATCH ME CONCEPT (2014)

KENDRICK LAMAR – I CONCEPT/PERFORMANCE (2015)

SKRILLEX FEAT. SIAH – BANGARANG

NARRATIVE (2012)

The notable exception to this rule however is electronic music. These videos often do not feature the artists at all, or relegate them to a minor role. If the track features an additional artist, then more often than not they will get the spotlight.

DJ SNAKE FEAT. LIL JON – TURN DOWN FOR WHAT

CONCEPT (2014)

DIPLO FEAT. NICKY DA B – EXPRESS YOURSELF PERFORMANCE (2012)

DIPLO NICKY DA B

Case in point:

VOYEURISM

Various forms of voyeurism is a common element in most music videos.Laura Mulvey identifies three kinds:• The gaze of the audience:• The gaze of characters within the video• How the audience sees the gazing characters

DIPLO FEAT. NICKY DA B – EXPRESS YOURSELF

PERFORMANCE (2012)

As a result, these kinds of videos often represent women as sexual objects and are subject to lots of controversy.‘Express Yourself’ is actually a somewhat unusual example, as it sexualizes women who are unconventionally attractive, as well as men in a similar way as women (abet to a lesser extent).

DIPLO FEAT. NICKY DA B – EXPRESS YOURSELF PERFORMANCE (2012)

Using another Diplo example…

This video is not overtly sexual, but it still portrays women as more skimply dressed compared to their male counterparts.

MAJOR LAZER & DJ SNAKE FEAT. MØ – LEAN ON PERFORMANCE (2015)

INTRO & OUTRO

Many videos include intros or outros that set the mood of the video, or conclude a narrative set piece.

This video is a parody of hip-hop videos, and as such includes a 4 minute intro of dialogue with little relevance to the rest of the video.

APHEX TWIN – WINDOWLICKERCONCEPT (1999)

HOOK N SLING FEAT. FAR EAST MOVEMENT – BREAK YOURSELFCONCEPT (2015)

This video uses the intro to establish setting. When the main part of the song starts up, the location is set and it stays there.

Outros often linger on a single shot in order to create a lasting impression on the audience. Alternatively, there may be a narrative revelation towards the end of a video, which enhances the rest of the video in subsequent viewings.

FRED V & GRAFIX – HYDRA

CONCEPT (2014)

HOT CHIP – OVER AND OVERPERFORMANCE (2006)

OTHER THINGS…• As a general rule, music videos are edited in time to the music. The

aforementioned video for ‘Hydra’ is a slow panning shot, set to a song with a slow tempo. By contrast, the video for ‘Gecko (Overdrive)’ is faster edited befitting of its increased tempo. That video is also an example of the editing pace varying depending on the point of the song it is covering.

• As shown by certain examples throughout this presentation, some elements can be exaggerated for certain effect.

• Some videos include extra sound effects that play over the song to act as diegetic noise for the music video. Music videos that do this suck, please don’t do that.

OLIVER HELDENS X BECKY HILL – GECKO (OVERDRIVE)

CONCEPT/NARRATIVE (2014)

ConclusionOverall, this presentation shows that music videos often utilise many of the same ideas between them. When creating your own, it is important to consider what impact various elements have on your video.

The core of a music video is the relationship between image and sound, whether you choose to focus on it or even diverge from the source material. Mise-en-scene and editing should be affected by the mood and pacing of the song for example. Inserting extra sound effects or acting skits is another option, yet they should enhance the video rather than serve as a distraction.