codes and conventions of a music video 3

8/18/2019 Codes and Conventions of a Music Video 3

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CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A

MUSIC VIDEO

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By Julianna Moore

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WHAT ARE CODES AND

CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO?

The codes and conventions of music videos are the different techniquesused to construct meaning in them.

These techniques can be divided into two types, technical and symbolic.

Music videos contain several different elements, which are: performance,

narrative, thematic and symbolic.

Conventions are the widely recognised way of doing something which is to

with content, form and style. The two main types of conventions are:Technical Conventions and Genre Conventions.

The major difference between codes and conventions is that, codes might

be individual to the media text, in other words for example, a music video

may use a tracking shot that is significant, however completely irrelevant

in another video. Whereas, conventions are what they audience expect,

and is something that is related to the genre of the song, ensuring that

the lyrics of the song fits in with the video.

Moreover, conventions are a form of ‘stereotyping’, as the audience are

expecting for ‘typical’ features within a music video. For example, in a pop

music video, the audience would instantly expect for they to be dance

routines, or the band/artist lip-syncing to the song and playing aninstrument or instrument.


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Technical CodesTechnical codes are the ways in which equipment is used in order to tell the story in a

media text or to convey meaning, for example,camera work(different angles and

shots),editing techniques(pace, style, colour, effects, etc.),Sound (Diegetic or non-

diegetic).

Symbolic CodesSymbolic Codes is what shows the meaning beneath what we can see. For example,

understanding a characters emotions or feelings through their facial expressions,

gestures, Mise-en-scene, etc.

Technical ConventionsTechnical Conventions apply to majority of music videos, as they tend to be included in

many songs. For example, a very common technical convention used in several music

videos is, the video being the same length as the song and involving fast cuts.

Genre ConventionsGenre Conventions refer to when conventions are associated with a particular genre.For example, pop music videos tend to include dance routines and lip-syncing because

pop songs are likely to have a ‘happy vibe’ to them, such as, Focus by Ariana Grande,

and therefore, the conventions presented in music videos would be related to its genre,

providing the audience with a clear structure and understanding of what the genre of

the song is, also making them familiar with genre conventions overall, due to the

repetition of music videos using the same ‘typical’ conventions within a genre.


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CAMERA

Camerawork is significantly important and the way a camera is used is crucial in

producing a music video. This is because, the whole look and concept of a scene can

change and create different effects, if a variety of camera angles and techniques are

used innovatively. The reason music videos tend to consist of a variety of shots, anglesand movement, is because it makes the videos more interesting and unique, engaging

the public audience to watch the video.

They are various camera angles used in the production of music videos in order to

convey different images and meaning. Moreover, the amount of shots used within a

music video depends on the style. For example, a pop music video would most likelyconsist of a number of shots, as it would ‘stereotypically’ include typical genre

conventions, with a dance routine, etc. giving a positive vibe. Therefore, a video that

has a lot of action and movement in it, will most likely have a numerous amount of

shot types and camera techniques.


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CAMERA SHOTSMusic Videos feature a number of shots for various reasons, to relate with the audience by expressing thoughts

and feelings, but also to show the viewer what is happening. Certain shots that are usually included in music

videos are:

This shot type is an EWS (Extreme Wide Shot), and is

used as an establishing shot, displaying the location and

setting of the scene/song. This camera shot type clearly

shows the surroundings and setting the song is set around,

already giving the audience a hint of how the music video is

going to be.

This shot type is a WS (Wide shot), still displaying the

location/setting of the scene, however, now the artist is

also shown and has been made visible, but still the main

focus in on the location and surroundings of the scene

rather than the artist.

This shot type is a MS (Mid shot) and shows the artist

from nearly his waist to head, however, it focuses mainly

on the subject/artist but also gives a impression of the

location/setting, as it is still visible in the background,

along with the artist presented in the front.


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CAMERA SHOTS CONTINUED

This shot type is a MCU (Medium close up) and it is halfway

between a mid shot and a close-up, showing the artist from

chest to head, also displaying very little of the overall

surrounding of the scene. The main subject would be the boy

at the front, as the image is zoomed in on more than the boy

behind him, making the first boy the main subject of thatscene.

This shot type is a CU (Close-up). The artist’s face,

which is the ‘certain feature or part’ of the subject istaking up the whole frame, which in this case, would be

Beyoncé. This shot helps direct the audience on what to

look at and focus on, which therefore, captures theaudience’ attention, due the this scene being appealing

and eye-catching, as it consists of various bright and

vivid colours.

These two shots are a mixture of both an‘Extreme Close-up’ and ‘Close-up’ shot. This is because,

both these images have been taken from a really close

angle, however, these images can also refer to as not

exactly being ‘extreme close-up’ shots, as despite the

camera mainly focusing on the artists, it still displays

some of the background of the scene, meaning that the

camera doesn’t just purely focus on for example, the

artists eyes or lips, etc. but also reveals a bit of the

background. In addition, the first image of the girl with

the nose ring, could be described as being an ‘Extreme

Close-up’ shot, as even though the background is visual,

it still clearly puts all focus and attention on the girl andzooms in on her face, showcasing her facial expressions

and her make-up, etc.


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CAMERA SHOTS CONTINUEDThis shot type is an ‘Over the shoulder shot’. This camera

shot is used in many music videos and the purpose of it is

for audience to see who the artist is speaking to, and this

over the shoulder shot would display the conversation.

However, an Over the shoulder shot is also used when

showing the audience what the character/artist is looking

at. Therefore, in this video/scene, the audience clearly see’s

that the man is watching ‘Beyoncé’ in the cinema from the

projector room, and Beyoncé would be the main focus and

‘subject’ of the scene, because that is want is being

displayed and it is being emphasised.

This shot type is described as being a ‘Cut-in’ shot and

this is when the camera showcases and focuses onanother part of the subject in detail. Therefore, in this

image, the man is seen adjusting the cinema projector,

with the camera being in focus and shown also with

another shot, which is a ‘Medium Close-up’ shot, however,

the man is blurred out in the background, so that the

whole focus and emphasis is on the cinema projector. In

addition, this ‘Cut-in’ shot has greatly helped show a

subject in detail, and therefore makes the video more

interesting.

These camera shot types explained are the most used types of camerawork in music

videos, and this is because each shot helps convey a certain message or feeling to

the

audience and therefore, this also helps the audience to understand the actual

music video, and what it is about.


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CAMERA MOVEMENTS

Pans – This is were the camera scans a scene

horizontally, with the camera being placed on a

tripod, operating as a stationary axis point asthe camera is turned, often to follow a moving

object which is kept in the middle of the frame.

Camera Movements refers to how the camera moves to follow the artist or to show

the performance of the artist. These movements include panning and tracking. A

director may choose to move action along by telling the story as a series of cuts,

going from one shot to another, or they may decide to move the camera along withthe action. Moreover, to be more specific:

Dolly/ Tracking- This is were the camera is mounted on

a cart which travels along tracks for a very smooth

movement. The purpose of using a ‘dolly’ shot, is

because it provides very dramatic footage, and is

effective, making scene far more interesting and

amusing. Dolly shots are also known as ‘Tracking’. An

as example, this picture on the right is a music video

that consists of using a tracking shot the whole way

through, following the action from start to finish,

seeing the artists in the video dance. http://31.media.tumblr.com/a97b54c8cb6dbdf9152b7dddca051990/tumblr_n8lt3hCkwO1tgig6so10_400.gif

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CAMERA MOVEMENTS CONTINUED

Hand-held shot- This is were a camera is

held in the camera operator's hands asopposed to being mounted on a tripod or

other base. The purpose of using hand held

cameras is because, they denote a certain

kind of gritty realism, making the audience

feel as though they are part of a scene,

rather than viewing it from a detached,frozen position.

Aerial Shot- This is when a shot taken

from a helicopter or a person on top of a

building, in other words, a shot taken

from a very high angle/position. In

addition, the main source of light is

behind the subject, silhouetting it, and

directed toward the camera.


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CAMERA ANGLESCamera angles refer to the positioning of a camera that determines the angle of the shot. There are many different camera

angles used in the production of music videos to convey different images. In addition, examples of camera angles would be:

Eye-level- this is a very common view, as it would be describedas “being the real world angle” that we are all use to seeing, it

shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life.

High Angle – This is were

the camera shows the

subject from above, and the

camera is angled down

towards the subject, which

has the effect of making

them appear less powerful,

less significant and or even

submissive.Low Angle – This is were the subject is shown from below, giving the

impression that the person who is ‘higher’ is more powerful or

dominant.

Birds Eye – This angle is used to show the subject/ scene from directly above,

also described as being an “unnatural point of view” camera angle, which canbe used to add a dramatic effect or showing a different spatial perspective. Itcan also show the positions and motions of different characters and objects,

enabling the viewer to see things the character might not easily or directly see.

Slanted – this is when the camera is in a slanted position,

purposely tilted to one side so that the horizon is on an

angle. This is a creative way that is used to make

interesting dramatic effects, and is usually used to presentimbalance, transition and instability.

Moreover, camera

angles play a huge part

in emphasising theartist or to showemotions and

expressions, and

therefore, certain

camera angles produce

more amusing andinteresting action

sequence than others.


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SOUNDSound comprises of two main forms, these are: diegetic sound and non-diegetic

sound. Sound would be one of the most essential and vital feature to be in a music

video and this is because, that’s the main reason why the audience watch it.

People watch music videos mainly because they like the song or then they like the

artist, and either way, music videos are only appealing when combined with sound(the music/the song).

Diegetic Sound involves sound from the surroundings shown in a music video,

such as, birds, wind or rain, etc. This is because, diegetic sound makes the video

seem more realistic. Moreover, in other words, diegetic sound consists of noises

that are happening in the scene that haven’t been edited in but instead are

sounds that have deliberately been filmed and used, for example, sounds like

people talking or footsteps. In addition, people can usually tell which sound is

diegetic from what they can see is visual on the screen.

Non-diegetic sounds are sounds that have been added in, this can include things

like music, a narration and sound effects. The purpose of often using non-diegetic

sounds are because they add drama to moments that would be silent and dull if

not added to a music video. Furthermore, non-diegetic sound is a lot more

important that diegetic sound in music videos, as the music/song itself is ‘non-

diegetic’ sound, and without using it or including it in the music video, it wouldn’t

be an effective video, resulting in an overall negative impact on how many viewsthe music receives, etc.


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EDITING TECHNIQUES

Editing is the process that contributes the most towards

finishing the overall production look of a music video. Every

footage that is needed for a music video, is first filmed and

then edited, adding special effects and cutting down scenes

along with adding the soundtrack, etc. making the musicvideo actually look like a ‘music video’, attracting the target

audience, by making the video appealing and eye-catching. In

addition, the editing software that I used to edit my music

video footage was ‘Final cut pro’.

Moreover, to be more specific, editing consists of:- Jump cutting- CGI effect (the process used for generating animated

images by using computer graphics).

-Parallel editing (the method of cutting between a couple of

scenes or narrative stories that are happening at the same

time.)

The types of editing techniques that are used within a music

video are:• The footage filmed is edited to match the music.• Sound is edited and experimented with, by changing the

levels of sound, perhaps starting off loud and ending withthe music fading away, getting quieter.


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MISE-EN-SCENE

The mise-en-scene for music videos focuses on the lighting, props,

costume, hair and makeup, location, and colours used in the video. The

way these elements are used, purely depends on the genre of the music

video and the style. These elements are used to convey differentmeanings and messages towards the audience, representing certain

characters in different ways.

Lighting – low-key lighting/high-key lighting /artificial lights/ side

lights, etc.

Props– performance equipment, band merchandise, costume and

make-up. Again, the types of props used in a music video purely depends

on the genre of the song. For example, in an R&B music video, they

tends to be bigger props used, such as, cars or smaller props used, like

bling, etc.

Costume- certain outfits worn to represent different things.

Hair and makeup– style of the artist and the way they arecharacterised.

Location– concert halls venues, streets, the city, and other places like

parks, etc.

Colour - Specific colours that represent a certain mood depending on

the context of the music video and also the genre of the music video.


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PROPS AND COSTUME

PropsProps tend to be included in a lot of music videos, and this is because, they are

a good way of illustrating the narrative, and show a clear way of linking the

lyrics with the visuals, also adding an entertainment factor to the video andthis therefore, engages the audience. Props can be used in a creative and

innovative manner, making music videos more interesting and unique, which

also makes it appealing to their specific target audience.

CostumeCostume is a vital feature that tends to be included in majority of music videos,

and this is because, they are used to represent certain characters in different

ways. As every character has its own personality and in order to portray one’s

character, costumes are used to help convey that message of a person’s

personality and gives them an identity within a music video, indirectly giving

the audience an insight into the character’s persona. A general example would

be identical female twins, now as they would look really a-alike, one can only

differentiate between the two and know which one is which, through what they

are wearing, i.e., one girl could be the sporty one who is like a tomboy, and the

other girl could be girly and ladylike. Therefore, in order to distinguish between

the two, one could notice their dressing, as the tomboy girl would probably wear

clothes that aren’t very glamourous or patterned, and the girly girl would

probably wear dresses and fashionable clothing, and that way the audiencewould know the twins individually without confusing them.


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COSTUME CONTINUED…An example related to music videos would be: Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake it off’ music

video.

This video consists of Taylor trying to experiment with her personality, to see if she can fit in with

different types of people. For instance, in in the first picture, we can see that she is going for a ‘Hip-hop’

and ‘R&B’ look, due to her costume. In the second picture, we can see that she is now going for a ‘Swanlake ballerina’ look, as she is wearing an elegant dress with a fancy headpiece, along with other people

standing behind her, ready to do ballet. In the third picture, we can see that she is going for aLady Gaga-esque look, as she is wearing a futuristic gold sequined track suit, and shades. In the fourth picture, we can see

that she is showing her dance persona as she is wearing a cropped leopard print hoodie and high-waisted acidwash jeans, accessorized with bulky gold jewellery. In the fifth picture, we can see that she is going for more of a

simple and casual look, presenting herself as being part of a band, as she is wearing a plain black top and black

trousers. In the sixth picture, we can see that she is going for a cheerleader look, as she is wearing the ‘uniform’

of a cheerleader: a bright blue, yellow and white skirt and top. Furthermore, this video consists of at least 6+outfits that represent and portray Taylor’s personality each time she changes into a different costume.


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HAIR AND MAKEUP Along with costume, hair and makeup is also another important feature that helps create a

character’s identity within a music video. The hair and make-up is done for a purpose, which is to

show the character’s personality and is also a way of attracting the audience. In terms of costume

for example, the limitation of clothing on females in music videos would attract a wide range of

male audience and conforms to the male gaze theory, as males would gaze at the female characters,

due to their lack of clothing and provocative behavior in music videos. In addition, hair and makeupin music videos help set fashionable clothing trends, and this is because, depending on the target

audience of the music video, people would say comments like “oh I like what she is wearing’ or ‘I

like her style’, etc. wanting to dress in a certain way in order to look like the artist in the video.

Therefore, hair and makeup is a way of making a music video appealing to the audience, so that

they have positive comments about the video.

Moreover, star image refers to the promotion of the star through using close-ups and mid shotswithin the music video, and therefore, these close-ups enable the audience to see the artist’s make-

up and hair-do clearly, promoting certain make-up and hair products. For example, bold and brightmakeup, and big hair can be used to show a person is fun and also makes the artist stand out.

For example, in Ariana Grande’s music video ‘Break free’, Ariana has pretty designs on her face,

along with close-up shots of her (reference to star image).


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LOCATION

The location(s) in a music videos show the audience where the characters are situated,

giving them an idea of perhaps what the context of the music video will be and the story

that it will revolve around. The location in a music video also helps the audience

recognize the genre of the music. For example, the music video “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias

is a song about a love relationship, and consists of romantic scenes, as it sets the moodand theme of the video, giving the audience an instant idea of what the genre of the

music video is. Moreover, location greatly helps to convey a clear meaning and

understanding of the song to the target audience, as like said before, majority of music

videos are created in a way that match the context and genre of the song, which doesn’t

make it the video complicated to comprehend but instead makes it fairly easy. Therefore,

location would be significant feature of music videos and help make them appealing andengaging for their target audience. Another example would be, Taylor Swift’s music video

for ‘Blank space’:


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THE STYLE OF MUSIC VIDEOSMusic Videos are categorized in terms of style, as

even though music videos contain similar styles, they

are also several other videos that consist of differentstyles and features. The different types of ‘styles’ are:

• Performance

• Abstract

• Narrative

• Mixture

• Cameo


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PERFORMANCE• Performance is when the music video consists mainly of the artists performing in the

video, typically featuring a star or group singing at one of their concerts. The purpose of

using a ‘performance’ style for a music video, is to widely engage their fans, as it conveys

a sense of the in-concert experience. Moreover, this style of a music video is also a way of

self-promotion, as if people watch a certain band or solo artist’s music video and then likethe ‘look’ of their concert, then they would be encouraged to attend one of their concerts

in the future, which results in more ticket purchase sales and overall success.

• In addition, they are some performance style music videos that display the artist or

group situated in the studio, singing and recording their songs, and the reason for

including such scenes is to remind the viewer that the actual soundtrack and album is

also just as important as the music video itself, which again could be a way of self-promotion using music videos, as it could encourage the viewer to buy the whole album,

considering they like the current song that they ware listening to and watching, which is

a song that is part of the album, therefore, being a way to convincing them that if this

particular song is good, then perhaps the whole album itself could also be good and worth

buying.

• In addition, performance type videos tend to mainly consist of the artist with dancersperforming in the video. Also, performance style videos often include close-up shots of the

artist, to show a particular motif of theirs, such as clothing, props, etc.

• Furthermore, as performance style music videos consist in-concert footage, they also tend

to be scenes included where the artist is in ‘real-life’ situations, such as, warming up in

preparation for the main stage performance. The purpose of doing this, is to make the

music video more interesting and engaging for the viewer, as they would want to carry onwatching the video just to perhaps see the in-concert footage.

A P O A‘P O A C ’S SC O


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EXAMPLE OF A ‘PERFORMANCE’ STYLE MUSIC VIDEOAn example of a performance style music video would be, Justin Bieber’s video for ‘All Around the

world”. This video consists of shots that display him performing at his own concert, giving the viewer

an in-concert impression. The whole music video contains camera shots of Justin performing at not just

one show, but a mixture of performances that are situated at different concert venues. Also, there is no

narrative to the music video, and therefore conforms to the ‘notions of looking’ as the audience is

watching the performer and gaining pleasure from it, as this style is not often used in music videos, itmakes it more interesting for the viewer to watch, as this ‘performance’ style music video differs from

many other music videos that constantly “over use” the same/typical styles such as, narrative or

mixture, etc.

ABSTRACT


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ABSTRACTAn abstract video is where the video is completely unrelated to the song. The mise-en-scene tends to be very creative and the camerawork varieswith an assortment of dierent types of camera shots and angles. Anexample of an abstract style video is Zayn alik!s music video for "#illow Talk!. This is because$ the music video contains no storyline$ but insteadshows the artists faces with a series of shot types$ such as% close ups$medium close ups$ two shots$ etc. which are accompanied with a uni&uebackground and special eects that make the overall music video veryinteresting and &uite uni&ue.


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NARRATIVE

A ‘Narrative’ style music video follows a story line throughout the song. They are two different types of

narrative, which are Linear and Fragmented. A linear narrative goes by the typical structure of a

story, starting with a beginning, middle, and end. Whereas, a fragmented narrative is one that doesn’t

follow the common structure used in narrative music videos, in other words, it is the opposite of

‘Linear narrative’. Moreover, love stories are the most common narrative context in music videos. Also,

narrative style music videos can be used to promote films, through including clips from the film andtelling the story at the same time, for example, ‘Jessie J- Silver lining’.

Furthermore, another example of a narrative style music video would be, Taylor Swift’s music video

for ‘Love Story”. This music video is a great example of a narrative style music video, as it follows the

novel of ‘Romeo and Juliet”, slightly changed with their own added ideas of a typical love story, wherea boy meets a girl. In addition, the video is set in various locations in order to conform to the narrative

and to follow the story. Also, this video uses a main convention of pop music videos, as it involves shotsof parts where it constantly cuts to Taylor singing on her own directly into the camera, whilst the

narrative continues in the background.


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MIXTURE

A Mixture style music video is a combination of both performance and narrative.

It is used in music videos, as it instantly becomes more interesting, appealing and

enjoyable for the audience to watch, since the video consists of both performance

and narrative. In addition, an example of a mixture style music video would be,

Kelly Clarkson’s music video for “Since you’ve been gone”. This is because, the

video consists of Kelly performing, as well as there being fast cuts in between,

showing the story and narrative of the music video.


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CAMEO

A Cameo style music video is when a band or artist features in the narrative

but does not perform. An example of a cameo style music video would be

Rihanna’s Music video for ‘What’s my name’ featuring Drake. This is because,

both artists play apart in the narrative but do not perform.

codes and conventions of a music video 3

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