R&P 3: Music Video Style

Music Video Style

Technical Codes:

• Cinematography
• Editing
• Mise-En-Scene

Cinematography

The cinematography has a really significant impact within a music video. Often music videos have a predominance of close ups. We must visualise in a different way and make the ordinary appear extraordinary, in TV dramas we usually use medium shots. The reasons behind this is because within a TV drama we aim to construct meaning whereas a pop video is to show off different dimensions. Music videos allow for more artistic licence. Different angles are used to create a more dynamic performance, the audience are therefore more engaged.  John Stuart of Oil factory states that he sees music videos as having the same aesthetics of a TV advert. There should be loads of close ups and lighting used most prominently on the artists face.

Editing

The most common form of editing associated is fast cut montages. Videos which are slow paced and have gentle transitions are often used to establish mood.

Examples of use of editing

This video uses no editing which goes against all common conventions of music videos, this creates irony as the name of the song is 'no surprises' when in reality the video is a surprise because of the lack of editing. Although following conventions can help you to create a great music video something which contradicts these conventions can be just as successful and offers an alternative should you choose to take it.




This video is edited to the beat of the song. You can see many close ups of instruments and the artists. A relationship is built up between the music and shots used. In the points where the song changes style as does the visual style, this follows common conventions successfully as the audience is conveyed a meaning through the editing.

Mise-En-Scene

Conventionally there are many costume changes throughout a music video for example backstreet boys were very well known for wearing matching costumes throughout their music video(s). Another convention is the location matching the mood of the song. For example if the song is a happy summer song is will have a vibrant location and if it is a slow emotional song the location is often dull. Below are examples of differences in location because of the mood of the song:








Other parts of the mise-en-scene include props. Although props are often dependent on the song some props do appear commonly in certain genres. For example a guitar is likely to appear in country music. The lighting is also often influenced by the mood of the song.

What has this post taught me?

From this post I have learned how the different technical elements of a music video can collectively reflect the overall feeling and style of the overall video