How Does My Music Video Conform To General Video Conventions?

By Eleanor Robson

What Is a Convention?

• A convention is a way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area or activity.

What Conventions Are In Music Videos?

• Camera shots (e.g. medium close up, long shot)

• Camera movement (e.g. pan, tracking shot)• Mise-en-scene (e.g. location, surroundings)• Editing (e.g. jump cut, fade)• Lighting (e.g. dark, black and white)• Sound (e.g. lip sync, special effects)• Props (e.g. objects)

Medium Long Shot

There is a few points in my music video where I have medium close up’s of the band playing. I thought that this was the best way to make sure all band members are fitted in the camera shot and to also show the audience what they are doing &what role in the bandthey take on.

Close UpThroughout my music video I used a range of close up particularly on the band to show what instruments each member were using and how well they were using them. I also did a close up on the lead singers face when she is lip syncing and another close up on the homeless mans face to try and get his emotions across to the audience.

Extreme Close Up

This was the only extreme close up I used in my music video as I wanted to show the homeless man’s true feelings and expressions so I thought the way to do this was to have an extreme close up focusing on his eye’s, I used eye drops in his eyes tomake it appear as he hadbeen crying and wasupset.

Over The Shoulder Shot

I used an over the shoulder shot for the drug/alcohol scene as I wanted to show the audience his true self and also him looking at his reflection and realising how hurt he is/wondering what he is actually doing.

Handheld Tracking Shot

I used a handheld tracking shot for these parts of my music video to show the audience him looking around for places to stay and also I made this a close up to try and get the emotion on his face across to the audience as well.

Zoom In/Zoom Out

• I used many zoom ins and zoom outs throughout my music video the shots below are just a few that I picked.

Pan

For this shot I used a pan right to show the audience the homeless man and also his surroundings as to where he was staying.

Fade In/Fade OutTo start my music video I added a fade in on a close up of the electric guitar being played as it is introduced at the beginning of the song.

To finish my music video, I added a fade out of the homeless man purely to add effect to the ending of the video.

Black and White

I edited my music video to appear black and white for the scenes of the homeless man, I used a darker effect to reflect that his life is quite dark and miserable so by using the black and white filter it worked great.

Dark Lighting

Because of the location I chose (rehearsal room) I was limited to the amount of light access anyway however I think this worked really well as I never wanted it to be bright as rock genre is usually dark so by having limited light it seemed to turn out well.

Lip Sync

This was actually the only part in my music video where I used lip sync as I wanted the video to be more focused on the homeless man rather than seeing the band all the time.

Props Used

• Microphones/microphone stands• Drum kit• Electric guitars• Cups (alcohol scene)• Sugar and card (drug scene)• Speakers