Forms and Conventions

It is hard to pinpoint exact conventions of music videos as techniques and preferences are so varied; music videos can be shot using live action or animation, for example, and can show narrative or abstract content.

Lyrics can be used to establish the general mood and feeling of the subject, and tempo often drives the pace of editing. For example, The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows by Brand New has a majoritally fast pace, to which the editing of the music video matches using fast cuts between the scenes of the story and also the band singing, with various angles used within these scenes. As the song slows, so does the editing pace. As quite a dark, alternative rock band, the genre of the band and the reflective lyrics of the song set the tone for the video which is quite dark and alarming involving the death of a young man's girlfriend. Although the video does not directly mirror the actions or story of the lyrics, the lighting and subject of the video matches the intended atmosphere created by the music.



The genre of the music is reflected in music videos, for example Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne is that of punk princess girl power and the video reflects this as the characters fight each other over a boy.



The bright colours used in Avril Lavigne's video implement happiness and emphasise the mocking style of the video, whilst the frequent use of bright pink emphasises the "girl power" aspect of this genre, with the pink banners mixed with "punk" symbols to also portray rebellion and dismissal of expectations - all ideas Avirl Lavigne's predominantly female and young teenage audience will relate to and engage with.

Another convention that often appears in music videos is the use of choreographed dance routines, an example demonstrated in Beyonce's Single Ladies video. This video also demonstrates the frequent objectification of women often found in all visual media, including music videos, referring to the way she and her dances are dressed. However, the strict black and white colour code of the video portrays sophistication, and the song subject and confident routine also shows female independence and security; a relatively modern concept in gender equality that is now evident in all aspects of life.

Anaylsis - Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie

Oren Lavie's music video for Her Morning Elegance is made entirely using the stop-motion technique. The actors stay on the bed and objects are moved around them to create the illusion of movement, for example pillow "clouds" move across the actress' head as she apparently "walks" down pillow stairs. The characters do not mime along to the words; however their actions often mirror the lyrics, for example as she sits "on a train". The video creates a dream-like quality and complements the music's lyrics and pace, and is overall fascinating to watch as conventional filming techniques are not used - the camera stays in the same place for the entire video and instead the objects are moved. It took roughly 3225 still photos and two days to complete the entire video.

Analysis - Warwick Avenue by Duffy

Watch the video here (youtube)

The music video for Warwick Avenue by Duffy is simply directed, showing only a constant middle close up shot the singer (Duffy) miming along to the words of the song in the back of a taxi. Despite - and because of - this simplicity, it effectively portrays the emotion of the song. As Duffy begins to cry whilst singing, and paired with the sombre colours and previously shown rain outside, the audience is aware of the raw feelings the song contains and can sympathise with her, or relate to a situation they themselves have been in.


This is an example of a common style of music video - the band or singer is the main focus of the video and they mime along to the words.

Analysis - What Sarah Said by Death Cab For Cutie

Available to watch here (quicktime)

The music video for What Sarah Said by Death Cab For Cutie involves a wordless story surrounding two characters, male and female. The characters' actions do not directly relate to a literal translation of the song lyrics; however the sombre mood of the music is matched in the atmosphere of the video. The woman in the video writes messages in French throughout, apparently in an attempt to gain the attention of the man. The messages translate; "He loves me", "a little?", "a lot!", "passionately", "to madness", "or not at all" which is the French version of the traditional "he loves me, he loves me not" which can be never-ending. This theme of recurrence is maintained as the song finishes, only to rewind and play again from the beginning as the characters start over from the beginning as well.



The main theme of the lyrics of the song is "love is watching someone die / so who's going to watch you die" which could allow for the interpretation that the evidently disfunctional relationship of the man and woman in the video is a presentation of watching each other die through their love. The white clothes of the woman have connotations of innocence, peace and purity, but could also suggest she is a ghost. This shows complete contrast with the black clothing of the man, with connotations of death, darkness, fear and rebellion, emphasising the abnormality and difficulty of their relationship, whilst his chain smoking could represent the addiction of love and how they can't break away from each other even if it is killing them. The constant flickering between camera angles and shots of both characters suggest a tortured existance for them, and the repetition or haunting of this relationship is emphasised as once finished, the video starts all over again.



This video presents a representation of the song, open to the audience for interpretation as a story rather than the literal miming and mirrored story of the lyrics that is often seen in music videos.

Music Videos

"A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, and later with the launch of VH1. The term "music video" first came into popular usage in the early 1980s. Prior to that time, these works were described by various terms including "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional (promo) clip" or "film clip". In Chinese entertainment, music videos are simply known as MTVs because the network was responsible for bringing music videos to its popularity.
Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action."

Taken from Wikipedia.

Task

Task: A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options: a website homepage for the band, a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package), a magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package)