General Conventions of Music Video

2. DIFFERENT GENRES OF MUSIC VIDEO
• ROCK
• POP
• HIP HOP
• RAP
• INDIE
• ALTERNATIVE

4. • OLDER MUSIC VIDEOS (PRE 2000’S) TYPICALLY INCLUDED A VARIETY OF BOTH PERFORMANCE SHOTS
AND NARRATIVE.
• AC/DC WOULD USE BOTH IN THEIR MUSIC VIDEOS, HOWEVER WOULD USUALLY FAVOUR ONE OVER THE
OTHER, THIS BEING PERFORMANCE SHOTS – VIDEO OF THE BAND MEMBERS ON STAGE PERFORMING TO
AN AUDIENCE.
• TYPICALLY INCLUDES LOW ANGLE & FAST PACED EDITING
• LOW ANGLE – SHOWS POWER OVER THEIR AUDIENCE
• VARIETY OF CLOSE UP AND LONG SHOTS & THE CAMERA FOLLOWS
THE BAND MEMBERS.
SHOT TYPES & ANGLES & EDITING

5. CLOTHING/MISE-EN-SCENE
• BAND MEMBERS/ARTISTS OFTEN WEAR DARK CLOTHING, TYPICALLY BLACK OR DARKER SHADES OF GREY
TO FIT THE ‘BAD BOY’ ARCHETYPE.
• IN ‘PERFORMANCE’ SECTIONS OF ‘ROCK’ MUSIC VIDEOS, ATTRACTIVE WOMEN ARE OFTEN SHOWN, WITH
A LARGE FOCUS ON THEIR FEMALE FEATURES, E.G. BREASTS AND BEHIND. TO APPEAL TO THE MALE GAZE
THEORY AND TO ATTRACT THEIR AUDIENCE AND APPEAL TO THEIR PREFERRED READING
• MEMBERS OF A ROCK BAND ALSO USUALLY HAVE LONG HAIR WHICH THEY USE TO EXAGGERATE
HEADBANGS AND WOULD HELP DISTINGUISH THEM FROM A STEREOTYPICAL MALE.
• THEY ALSO TYPICALLY USE ANGRY FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AS A WAY OF SHOWING THEIR ENTHUSIASM

6. STRUCTURE
• NARRATIVE – TYPICALLY FOLLOWS SOME CIRCULAR NARRATIVE OR TODOROV’S 5 POINT PLOT THEORY
• PERFORMANCE – SHOWS IMAGERY OF THE BAND PERFORMING ON STAGE IN FRONT OF A LIVE AUDIENCE
• MIXED – WHEN THESE TWO STYLES JOIN TOGETHER THEY BECOME MIXED

8. SHOT TYPES & ANGLES & EDITING
• POP MUSIC VIDEOS CONTAIN A LARGE USAGE OF MEDIUM ANGLES AND LONG SHOTS, WHILE ALSO USING
CLOSE UPS AND EXTREME CLOSE-UPS TO PLACE EMPHASIS ON THE ACTIONS OF THE CHARACTERS
• MEDIUM ANGLED SHOTS TO SHOW ‘SOLIDARITY’ BETWEEN THE ARTIST AND THE AUDIENCE
• GROUP SHOTS TO SHOW THE ARTIST AMONG A GROUP OF NON-ARTISTS AND EXTRAS SHOWS THEY
HAVEN’T LOST THE ‘COMMON TOUCH’

9. CLOTHING/MISE-EN-SCENE
• VERY COLOURFUL – IN CONTRAST TO THE SETTING/ENVIRONMENT – COLOUR POP ATTRACT WIDER
AUDIENCE AND BE APPEALING TO THE AUDIENCES EYE
• VERY LOOSE/RETRO/HIPPIECLOTHING, CONNOTATIONS TO ‘KEEPING THE PEACE’ AS WELL AS ‘PEACE AND
LOVE’ TO SHOW THAT THE MUSIC IS SUPPOSED TO BE UPBEAT/MEMORABLE AND RECOGNISABLE.
• PLACES WOMEN IN BIKINI’S/SWIM SUITS TO APPEAL TO MALE GAZE

11. SHOT TYPES
• MOST OF THE TIME THE ARTIST IS CENTRALLY FRAMED WITH A LOW ANGLE, SIMILAR TO HOW ROCK
MUSIC VIDEOS ARE SHOT TO SHOW THE POWER THE ARTIST HAS OVER THE AUDIENCE AS WELL AS OVER
ANY COMPETITION IN THE INDUSTRY.
• WILL OFTEN BE FILMED WITH A DUTCH ANGLE TOO TO PROVIDE THE AUDIENCE WITH UNEASE AND TO
MAKE THEM THINK THAT SOMETHING WRONG IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
• VERY RARELY FILMED IN EXTREME CLOSE-UPS OR CLOSE UPS IN GENERAL.
• THE ARTIST MAY ALSO BE FRAMED NEARBY ALCOHOL OR DRUG-RELATED PARAPHERNALIA

12. CLOTHING/MISE-EN-SCENE
• ALCOHOL AND DRUGS MAKE A BIG APPEARANCE IN MOST HIP-HOP/RAP MUSIC VIDEOS AS WELL AS GUNS
AND VIOLENCE
• ARTISTS WILL TYPICALLY WEAR LOOSELY FITTED CLOTHING TO PUSH THEIR PREFERRED READING TO A
YOUNGER AUDIENCE, THEY TYPICALLY WEAR HOODIES AND SHORTS/JEANS OR CARGOSHORTS
• ATTRACTIVE WOMEN WILL ALSO USUALLY APPEAR ON SCREEN WEARING CLOTHING WHICH
ACCENTUATES THEIR FEATURES TO APPEAL TO THE MALE GAZE.