Purpose and Conventions of Promotional Music Videos

Definition of a music video -

• A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. It's a performance on film or videotape of a musical recording accompanied by synchronized actions, such as a dramatic interpretation of the lyrics or a series of, sometimes surreal, images.

Styles of music videos -

• Narrative = a video that tells a story reflective or relating to the song lyrics and the general message of the song.
• Performance = a video that involved the band themselves simply performing the song, this happens at a concert/gig or sometimes at a recording studio, this is often associated with bands as appose to solo singers.
• Concept = this is a video that is harder to grasp and understand, it interoperates the lyrics in a different way and creates a more deeper and meaningful music video to engage the audience and those watching.

Example of a narrative video is - (Blank Space by Taylor Swift)

Example of a performance video is - (Death of a Bachelor by Panic at the Disco)

Example of a concept video is - (Bonfire by The Hunna)

Conventions -

• Camera = low/high angle shots, long, medium and close up shots, pan/tilt shots, tracking/point of view shots and crane shots.
• Sound = faded, loud and quite, diegetic/non diegetic, sound bridge and sound overlays.
• Mise-en-scene = props, location/set, costume and characters/actors.
• Editing = cuts/fades, filters and lighting adjustments, volume increased/decreased, text and animation.