Conventions of Music Videos

Conventions Of Music Videos

•     Short shot length. – There usually aren’t any shots longer than around five seconds within a music video as this keeps it pacey and retains the audience’s interest.
•     A performance/dancing. – In the majority of music videos there is a performance of some kind, be it the performance of a band or dancers.
•     Shot types. – Usually there are a lot of close-ups within a music video in order to convey feeling.
•     Editing. – The editing is usually fast-paced, and although this may depend on the pace of the song, this is used to keep the audience engaged at all times.
•     Transitions. – A variety of transitions and shot styles are used in virtually all music videos in order to capture the audience’s interest and focus.
•     Locations. – Music videos usually contain more than one location as this again plays with the audience’s interests and makes the music video more interesting.

A typical close up, used to convey emotion.

    A typical music video performance. 

Interesting locations are used to captivate the audience.

Conventions of ‘Indie/Alt Rock’ Music Videos

•     A narrative. – The majority of music videos within our chosen genre contain some sort of narrative and therefore this is something we will be conforming with.
•     A performance. – Usually but not always there will be a performance from the artist and this is usually intertwined with the footage of the narrative.
•     A cameo. – The artist appears in the video and sometimes takes part within the narrative if there is one present. 
•     Shot types. – There will usually be a usage of establishing shots whenever a new location is shown, of which there will be a few.








  

    A character in an indie music video, portrayed as casual. 

•     Colour correction. – Usually the colour correction will be altered to ensure that it is in keeping with the tone of the music video.
•     Appearance. – Whoever appears within the music video will be seen, more often than not, in casual clothing.  



                   

    A typical performance in a music video of this genre.



  A band's lead singer, appearing in the narrative of a music video.