CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC

VIDEOS
By Bobby Lee

WHAT IS A MUSIC VIDEO?

A music video is a short video built up of a montage of different shots to accompany a

piece of music or a song. Music videos play a big part in influencing the public and the
things they consist of vary depending on the genre of the piece of music or song. There
are three main types of music videos commonly used by music artists nowadays and
these are:

Performance A music video consisting of a range of shots of an artist performing their

song and can also be combined with a dance performance however this is not so
common.

Narrative A pure narrative video contains no lip-synchronized singing and tells a story
simply through moving images and lyrics.

Combined styles The third most common style of music video is a combination of the
two styles previously mentioned. It is built up of both narrative images conforming to
Frederick Jamesons theory but also contains shots of lip-synchronized singing.

DIFFERENT GENRES OF MUSIC

There are many different genres of music, this is significant as the genre of a music video
heavily influences what the shots consist of. For example according to dominant ideology
within the music industry rap videos consist of mainly shots and lyrics related to money,
women and drugs. Below are all the popular genres of music:

Rap

Rock

Pop

R&B

Country

Hip hop

WHAT ARE CODES AND CONVENTIONS?

The codes and conventions of music videos are the different techniques used to construct
meaning in them. These techniques can be divided into two different types; technical and
symbolic.

Technical techniques this is how meaning is conveyed by the use of technical

equipment e.g. different camera angles and shots, non-diegetic and diegetic sound, the
pace of the editing and the genre.

Symbolic techniques these techniques are ways of portraying meaning beyond what the
audience can actually see for example through facial expressions, gestures, poses and
mis en scene.

Codes and conventions may be used so the audience can become familiar with a
particular genre, it also provides structure that the audience can understand and ensures
the lyrics of the song match the video.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO

Codes and conventions of a music video depend upon what the genre is
however the main conventions include:

The style

The camera

The editing techniques

The sound

Mis en scene

Dominant ideologies/stereotypes

NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEOS

A narrative music video consists of moving images and lyrics and contains no lipsynchronized images. Narrative music videos tend to follow a storyline and the montage
of different moving images help to give off a range of connotations relevant to the song
lyrics. There are two types of narrative, linear and fragmented. A linear storyline starts a
storyline at the beginning and follows on to finish whereas a fragmented storyline is one
that doesn'tt and may start half way through a story. A good example of a narrative style
music video is Sigma nobody to love as is conforms to the typical codes and
conventions of what an audience might expect a narrative to look like.

PERFORMANCE MUSIC VIDEOS

A performance music video consists heavily of artists performing their songs to the
camera and the shots are mainly lip-synchronized to the song. A good example of a music
video that conforms to the idea of a performance is Coldplay fix you however this style
of music video isnt commonly used as a proliferation of hardware has enabled music
artists to use new technologies to create unique music videos for example Artic Monkeys
used animation for one of their music videos.

COMBINED STYLES

A music video which is combined of both performance and narrative is popular due to the
fact it is more difficult to create a music video that only conforms to one. By using both
the video has the potential to be more enjoyable for the audience. An example of a recent
music video that demonstrates aspects from both a performance and narrative style video
is Bryson Tiller exchange, this music video switches between shots of him singing but
also shots of the narrative.

THE CAMERA

The way in which the camera has been used to film the shots is crucial in the
production of a music video and plays a massive part in evoking emotions from the
audience. The camera can create varied effects using different angles and
movements. In general the majority of music videos released use a wide range of
shots, angles and movements to make that specific video unique to any other already
made.

CAMERA SHOTS

Camera shots help the target audience relate to what they are seeing on the screen by helping emphasise
specific moods and feelings. This is an example of the uses and gratifications personal relationships theory as the
audience may be able to relate to what they are seeing in the camera shots. They help to give off a range of
connotations both positive and negative and also show the audience what is happening. Camera shots an
audience can expect to see within a music video include:

Establishing shots, which are similar to extremely wide shots as they denote a place and help set the scene. They
may commonly be used within narrative style music videos to help emphasise the storyline and make it more clear
for the target audience.

Wide shots are also used by producers of music videos in order to depict both a location and a music artist at the
same time. Although they capture both things within the scene the setting tends to be the main focus as this is
what the majority of the shot is covered by as opposed to the music artist who will most likely appear small on the
screen.

Close up shots however would be used to show the music artist to help emphasise facial expressions and they
obviously would be more common within performance style music videos. Point of view shots are effective in the
sense that they can help tell a story from the perspective of the music artist.

Cut in shots can also be used and they are much similar to extreme close ups and they can help to denote
something relevant to the lyrics of the song. For example if the lyrics were related to a specific person a cut in
shot may quickly be used of that person to help deepen the audiences insight into what is actually going on.

CAMERA ANGLES

The way in which the camera is positioned determines the angle of the shot. There are
many different camera angles used within the production of music videos to help give off a
range of connotations relevant to the message the artist is trying to portray through the song
lyrics. Examples of camera angles most likely to be used are:

Eye level shots are commonly used as they show the subject how an audience would expect
to see them in real life. They are much like point of view shots and can make a music video
all the more engaging for the audience.

High/low angle shots are used to help portray the music artist in different ways, for example
high angle shots may make the audience feel as if they are looking down upon the person in
the music video, making the audience feel like they are powerful and have authority
whereas low angle shots evoke the opposite feelings.

In performance music videos camera angles tend to be closer up to help make the lipsynching more evident to an audience whereas in narrative style videos a ranger of different
angles has to be used to make up for the fact the artist doesn't appear to sing throughout
and make it more interesting.

SOUND

There are two main types of sound, non-diegetic,

which is edited in, and diegetic sound which is
already present within the video. Sound is the most
important aspect of a music video as the only
reason people watch them is to listen to them for
entertainment and enjoyment. Sound can also either
be parallel and in synch to the shots/images to make
the music video more effective. The pace of the
sound along with the shots helps to emphasise to
mood being portrayed for example if a song was sad
the shots and sound are most likely to be slow
whereas an up-beat rap may use lots of jump cuts to
match the soundtrack. Music videos that conform to
a narrative style are more than likely to use diegetic
sound like birds chirping to help add to the storyline
behind the song and lyrics.

EDITING TECHNIQUES

Editing of a music video is the process that concludes the whole making of it. Editing
consists of tasks like cutting clips down, adding special effects and adding a soundtrack
etc. You can edit in non-diegetic sound aswell. One method of editing is parallel editing,
this is cutting between multiple different scenes that are happening at the same time and
is present in mainly combined styled music videos as these cut between the artist singing
and shots of a narrative. It is important to edit effectively to ensure the video remains
professional as well as entertaining.

MIS EN SCENE

The mis en scene of a music video consists of a range of different things including
lighting, props, costume, hair, make-up, location and colour. These elements depend on
the genre of the music whilst at the same time contribute towards the genre.

LIGHTING

The way in which the scene is lit can help signify to the target audience what the genre of
the music video is and can also give off very juxtaposing connotations depending on
whether the lighting is high key or low-key. Bright lights in music videos are good at
grabbing the audiences attention and can be created artificially from things like a strobe
lighting system or naturally through things like the sun. Very bright and colourful lighting
would be found most likely in pop music videos as opposed to country videos that would
stick to natural sources of light to appeal to their stereotypical older demographic of target
audience. An example of a music video that has been produced using artificial forms of
lighting is Loyal which was released back in 2014, in the music video Lil Wayne can be
seen rapping in a well lit scene. The direction of the light at some points can be seen
covering the rappers face which evokes anticipation from the target audience as it gives
off sinister connotations.

PROPS AND COSTUME

Props can be used to illustrate the narrative of a music video and help deepen the
audiences understanding on the subliminal messages behind the lyrics. Props can also
be used in imaginative ways to add to the entertaining side of a music video. Costume,
much like props, can also help signify what the music video is actually about and from an
artists dress sense the genre of the video can become more evident. For example
according to dominant ideology rappers tend to wear baggy clothes whereas female
music artists singing a pop song may wear revealing attire to attract voyeuristic pleasure
from the opposing gender, conforming to Laura Mulveys Male gaze theory. An example of
a grime song that uses both of these forms of mis en scene effectively would be Stormzy
Where do you know me from. This is shown throughout as the grime artist can be seen
constantly handling different props and changing clothes.

LOCATION

Location plays a big part in revealing the genre of a music video and can vary depending
on what the song is actually about. For example in dance music videos which tend top be
upbeat, the location would most likely be somewhere like a beach due to the lively vibes
they give off whereas in hip hop videos it may be filmed in the street as this is where you
are likely to find a gang. The location can also be related to by the target audience
however fancy locations in big houses can be used for the audience to watch as a form of
escapism as this may be something they are unable to afford themselves in real life.