In music videos, there are many conventions that are followed such as camera shots used and editing techniques. Firstly music videos tend to feature a lot of close up shots of the singer or band; this helps create a connection with the audience and to reflect the emotions of the song through facial expressions and the lip singing. But there are also medium shots and long shots used depending on the video, this shows the surroundings of the singer/band and lets you reflect in what is going on. Generally the camera tracks the artist/band as they perform, there also seems to be a lot of crane shots and tilts, this again breaks up the usual routine of a bland medium shot.
The editing process is also a fairly standard convention, which sees jump cuts as the main technique used, as there are many shots used and many scenes to keep the audience interested in the video. Fades are also used often as well either to end the video or to introduce a new scene. The lighting used, depending on the video is generally artificial especially when it’s in a studio setting but if they want to create a dark setting then they may use natural light.
Some generic conventions for the genre we are working in which is Rock/Indie include the scene and lighting to be black and white or set in a dark location, or even night. They also seem to be more performance based with the artist/band shown in the video throughout, and close ups and long establishing shots seem to be used often as well. The pace of the videos is generally fast, this works well with the instruments, which are usually shown such as drums and guitars.
How are videos made?
To make a music video they firstly have to plan for is going to happen, this can be done with storyboards and practice shots. Once the locations has been established or the green screen, depending on the video then the performer or band lip sing while the track is played through speakers so they can get a feel for the sing and know what emotions to show. Then once it is recorded the original studio recorded version is placed over the video and then they need to edit it together until it all syncs up.
Who are the main companies?
There are four main record labels that market the song and music videos; these are Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. Also Syco company owned by Simon Cowell scout for talent and use people from television singing competitions such as the X Factor in which they win a recording contract. This produces profit for the larger companies and it is said that Syco produced 70% of the profit for Sony Music, with music talents such as Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis.
Where can you find music videos?
Music videos are mainly found on the Internet or music television channels such as MTV, the most popular place that you can easily find music videos off all types would be YouTube where anyone can search. The popular website that has numerous channels on YouTube is VEVO, which is a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group and EMI licensing the content shown, there are over 45,000 videos on VEVO and they even censor language to appeal to advertisers such as McDonalds. But lately social networking sites like Facebook also have fan pages for particular bands/artists in which videos are shown there, and maybe some behind the scenes material as well.
What is the purpose of music videos?
Music videos are quite significant when a song is released, if the videos were good or unusual then people would want to watch the videos, which would gain popularity for the song and extra revenue for the singer, they use it as a promotional tool. It’s important for the audience as well as they like to see visuals when listening to the song, as some narrative or even performance videos like the lyrics to the video. Some artist spend millions on a music video, some have been known to reach up to $29 million dollars for Lady Gaga’s “You and I”, so this is proof that they are important to go with a song and to raise publicity for the song.
Performance based video
These are music videos, which show either the band or singer performing the song, but there sometimes can be added footage of events to break the footage up and keep the audience engaged. This video type is a low cost option as the majority of the footage is of the band and there is no need to use many locations or actors.
Killers- Somebody Told Me
Genre Rock
Narrative Based Video
This type of music video is fairly explanatory, its footage, which tries to tell a story and lets the audience follow what is going on, this can be done using either actors or the singer. The lyrics also generally link to the actions in the video and there also could be a performance based aspect of the video that breaks the sequence up, such as quick footage of the band playing, also if the song is specifically used in a movie clips of the film may also be shown such as Aerosmith’s, Don’t want to miss a thing.
Genre- Pop
Concept Based Video
Concept music videos generally do not have a storyline and center around a single idea, these videos generally are not as popular as the other two types as it, even the lyrics do not go with the idea, and is set on normally a single location involving either a person or an unusual idea.
George Harrison- When We Was Fab
Genre- Indie
