CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS By Ria Manzanero

PERFORMANCE
Music videos are often filmed using numerous creative ideas, attempting to promote the song and music artist. One way is through only performance. This is the idea that the music video only shows the music artist performing. This might be them singing, dancing and/or playing a musical instrument. This type of music video is good for promoting a music artist, as it shows their ability to perform and entertain an audience without the need of a narrative. An example of this is: Michael Buble Cry Me A River

NARRATIVE
Another conventional way music videos are created is through a narrative. This works as a story, entertaining the audience as they are gripped. Its almost like a short film, accompanied by music. The story usually works as an illustration for the lyrics. An example of this: Beyonce If I Were A Boy

MIXTURE
Lastly, a music video can be a mixture of the two. This means that there might be a narrative to the song, using a story to illustrate the lyrics and grip the audience as though they are watching a film. However, there might be cuts to the music artist singing/dancing/playing an instrument. This is effective as it has the effect of both a narrative which grips the audience to the story and also a performance which sells the music artists ability and skills in being a performer. An example of this: Leona Lewis Bleeding Love

MISE EN SCENE
Mise en scene represents things such as costume, lighting, props and setting. Mise en scene is used to portray characters and music artists within the video in a particular way. It also often heightens the quality of a music video. For example, a music video with extravagant costume and settings will look of a better quality than a minimalistic style music video, shot in a white studio with casual dressed music artists. Then again, simplicity often appeals to audiences also for example, DAngelo Untitled (How Does It Feel) which just shows various shots of a man. However, some could still feel mesmerised by this, in the same way others would by an action-filled video. The mise en scene has a massive impact on the way the video is received by the audience and whether it is successful in appearing the way it wishes to appear.

EXAMPLES OF MISE EN SCENE

In Halo by Beyonce, the lighting is bright and natural, portraying innocence and the artist is shown with very little make up on and light coloured, delicate clothing. The video is set in a bedroom, making the atmosphere passionate and romantic. This mise en scene all contributes to illustrating the lyrics Halo reinforcing the idea of delicacy and innocence.

In contrast to the above image, this is an image from the music video Fighter by Christina Aguilera. Here it clear, that mise en scene is used to make the female artist appear strong and fierce. This is used with the colour black, connotating confidence and power. The dim lighting makes her appear mysterious and misunderstood. And the setting is in a dark warehouse, taking the audience out of their comfort zone, illustrating the lyrics of fighter.

EDITING
Editing of music videos is a very important element in all cases, as it is where the editor will piece together the different shots of the artist/narrative and make the whole video make sense. Editing often involves: -The adding of CGI Elements

- Parallel editing which is when there are cuts between a couple of scenes/stories that are happening at the same time, for example the music artist and the narrative, if it is a mixture video.
- Jump cutting quick cuts between action - Adding of non-diegetic sound, which in the case of music videos is usually the original sound track, in which the video is promoting.

EXAMPLES OF EDITING
This is a screen shot of the music video Dead and Gone by T.I. Feat Justin Timberlake. This is a perfect example of how editing can be used to make the video more visually appealing. This is a clip from the video, as it sets the location of the video and also the mood of the video with this dark, gloomy establishing shot of a desert with bad weather. The clouds and mountains would have been edited to appear this way, as this sort of weather would have been difficult to find and plan. The mountains have been made black and the clouds bright white, outlined in dark grey.

An example of Parallel editing is again, Leona Lewis Bleeding Love. This is because the video shows the music artists singing in a hotel block, and then shows various love stories that are occurring within the block at the same time as her singing.

CAMERA ANGLES/ MOVEMENTS

Camera Angles: Angles will vary a lot in different music videos, in order to capture different emotion and stories in particular lights. A common shot in a music video would be a close up of the music artists face (introducing artist), lips (to show singing), hands (to show instrument being played). However, shots will change from long shots, to master shots when showing performances or stories. There might often be a variety of establishing shots in the opening of a music video to introduce the setting of the music video. An example of this is Owl City Fireflies, as it shows the male artist playing the keyboard.

Camera Movement: The camera will move in various ways in music videos, in order to capture dances and the music artists movements. It might pan from side to side, capturing the whole dance or story. Or it might track/dolly which is when the camera moves along tracks to capture a smooth shot of a lot of action. An example of this is the opening to How To Save A Life The Fray, as it shows a panning shot to the right of the band artists in a blurred shot.

SOUND
Realism: Some music videos will include diegetic noises to make the music video more realistic, and to make the audience feel the story is real. This could be anything from tweeting birds, to beeping cars. Parallel sound: This is when a music video uses a visual aid that contradicts the actual sound track. One example of this could be Awolnation Sail. As the song is sung by a male, but the video shows a female mouthing the words, which is very ironic. The video might also be Parallel in the sense that the song is happy and the actual video shows a tragic narrative.