Unit 29 Music Video Production

Conventions of music video’s

The need for music videos? Music videos are used for a number of

reasons however the main reason is to promote and help add effect to there songs.

Andrew Goodwin Theory Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features in music videos.

They are:

- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.- A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.- Genre-related style and iconography present.- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos.

Many of these features are present in all music videos, depending on the genre of the song and the aim of the record company/artist.

Codes and Conventions of music videoa

Codes and conventions in music videos is the different techniques to create meaning in them.

The two different types are symbolic, and technical.

Symbolic Symbolic style is a way of showing

meaning of a song in the video aswell, one person who does this well is Justin Bieber; a lot of his songs are personal, diary-styled songs, so to match the songs, the videos have meaningful images including girls, dark/light scenes, facial expressions and overall mise en scene.

Technical Technical is how camera and general

equipment is used to create meaning. For example with a lot of rock videos, it is all fast paced shots, close ups and panning shots, short flicking lights and overall general editing to the style.

Reasons for codes and conventions

An audience can generally become familiar with a genre as the conventions become recognisable within each genre

Structures and understanding for the audience

So the song matches the video properly and looks fitting

The Codes and Conventions Mise en scene The Sound The editing techniques The camera Style

All codes and conventions generally are different for each genre, but these are all main ones.

Hip Hop – Public Enemy In the public enemy music videos they

show all the typical codes of convention of a Hip Hop music video

Public Enemy’s Codes and Conventions

many females surrounding walking around there territory's, the sound is generally loud up beat and bassy the editing techniques show close ups long shots and power shots this helps improves the message and image that they are trying to convey to there fans and the public there general style is all dependant and on this as without all these props and mise en scene they wouldn’t look very cool, aggressive or gangster.

Mise En Scene There mise en scene used in there

videos are typical hardman gangster style, they walk round there blocks showing how they own there territories

Costumes They use baggy clothes, caps gold

chains and bling which is typical of the Hip Hop genre this improves and adds quality and effect to there money making gangster image

The Comparison?? At first you would think that the genre

rock is the complete opposite to Hip Hop however if you go deeper than the initial thought you will start to realise that they are both actually quite similar to each other, they both like to convey a strong image that they are both very loud in there style and music

Conventions in Rock MusicRED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS

Mise En Scene The mise en scene this band likes to use is a

very surreal and trippy atmosphere when making there music videos, this adds effect to there drug culture and nutty rocker style! They don’t really use costumes as such however the fact they don’t ever really where tops is almost a costume in itself it shows that they are spiritually free and do not care about the normal ways of society, this again improves and helps convey there image

Costumes They don’t really use costumes as such

however the fact they don’t ever really where tops is almost a costume in itself it shows that they are spiritually free and do not care about the normal ways of society, this again improves and helps convey there image