Music Conventions

Music conventions are the type of media of genre. There are a variety of different conventions in music videos such as;

-costumes -lighting -male gaze -cutting to the beat -editing -variety of camera angles -choreography -lyric interpretation -lip sync -theme -has a storyline/ narrative -features of the band/artists.

Lighting
Lighting is very important in music videos. The use of lighting is important for more than one reason ranging from making it easier to see everything, to portraying a certain mood. For example, if the lighting is used. It would create a dull and sad feeling in the vide, which would highlight what the song is about. The if lots of lighting is used, it gives the impression that what we are watching is a happy and enjoyable moment. To see if this is commonly seen in music videos.

Rihanna- We found love

As you can see from these 3 pictures from her video, these are being showed when there is a voiceover, the lighting used is very little. This immediately gives the impression, even if there wasn't the voice over, that the song is about sadness and regret. To do this the director either just let the natural light be the main source, or they would have used the lighting that could be dimmed to create this dull feeling seen in the images.

Kesha- Tik Tok

I also looked at this video, as it has a completely different storyline to it- the Rihanna video is all about love and heartbreak, where as the Kesha one is very upbeat and about partying and having fun. Therefore the lighting is used to portray a completely different type of feelings and is used more often. As you can see in all the 3 images they are all bright, and it is clear than both natural light and lighting equipment is used to create a light airy look. This immediately makes you feel happier and allows you to identify with the artist and what their song is about.

Jessie J- W Who you are

Lighting can also be used in special way, so that it creates a certain colour. For example the colour blue relates to coldness and sadness, so in Jessie Js video, who you are the lighting has been filtered so that it gives off a blue colour in all the scenes. The lyrics in the song are very deep and quiet personal, so the use of this colour is very effective in representing this feeline.

Conclusion

In conclusion after looking at these 3 different music videos, It is clear that the lighting is very important when creating a music video. It not only has the function of making everything easier to see, it is very important in revealing certain feelings that the song is trying to explain. When me and my group make our music video, we will be taking these different lighting functions into consideration.