Generic Conventions Of A Music Video

The generic conventions of a music video encompass various different elements of the video, ranging from the type of video; to fit a certain theme, the camerawork, the editing, lighting and the mise-en-scene.

Camerawork

The generic conventions regarding camerawork are extremely evident when watching a music video.

• The video will usually contain  a selection of shots and angles to keep the video interesting and varied. The most well known camera angle used for music videos is undoubtedly the close up, or extreme close up of the artist lip syncing which is usually following a long or wide shot of a dance sequence.

An extreme close up from Meghan Trainor's 'Dear Future Husband'

A close up of Madonna's 'Vogue'

• The other form of camera movement which is a generic convention of the genre is the use of pans, whip pans, crane shots and the use of dolly's for tracking which lets the audience move with the pace of the performer/ dancers.  

Editing 

The editing of a music video can differ massively dependant on what the director wants to communicate to the audience, however the main generic convention is the lack of continuity, switching between artist, story line and instrument is typically of most music videos.

• The styles of editing; jump cutting and montage editing are usually dictated to by the music itself. Many music videos contain editing which gives the impression of 'jumping' from shot to shot to the beat of the music, although continuity editing (like in Sia's 'Chandelier) can be used also to create a smoother appearance. 

Rihanna's 'Disturbia' is a perfect example of how editing is used alongside the music, each cut matching a beat.

Lighting

The generic conventions of lighting for music videos are fairly extreme as lighting is so key in setting moods, although some music videos choose to have naturalistic lighting to carry a storyline, the norm is to use lighting expressively being either very high key or very low key. 

• Extreme artificial light, or 'bleaching' can be used on the artists during close ups to give them an ethereal quality which makes them seem powerful and almost ageless

The use of 'bleaching' in Taylor Swift's 'Style' 

• The use of black and white contrasted with colour for effect on choruses and flashbacks is another popular lighting technique within music videos, as is strobe lighting which is predominantly a generic convention of pop videos. 

Strobe lighting in Jennifer Lopez' 'On The Floor'

• Lastly, another common form of lighting used in different videos is the technique of CGI to create futuristic sets for the dancer to perform in which fit the theme of their music video. 

CGI as is used in Katy Perry's 'E.T.'


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8eRzOYhLuw  - Please click on the link to view Ariana Grande's 'Break Free' another example of CGI within a music video.

Mise-en-scene

The generic conventions of mise-en-scene contain the elements such as; costume, lighting, acting, make up and props, positioning and setting. The mise-en-scene can be put together collectively to emphasise a theme or storyline within the video.

• The mise-en-scene of a video may be used to convey a historical theme, this may stay consistent throughout or there may be obvious contrasts in the miss-en-scene to switch between two different settings/ time periods. This use of miss-en-scene to create a time period is demonstrated within Girls Aloud's hit 'Can't Speak French' 

• Some uses of mise-en-scene within a music video is to create a sense of realism and authenticity, such as a performance video filmed in a recording studio like Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never'. 

 

• The other use of mise-en-scene in a music video is to have particularly beautiful sets/ locations and lots of props and miss-en-scene to confirm the artists 'star' status and show off their lucrative lifestyle, confirming how powerful they are to the audience/ fans.  

Iggy Azalea ft Britney Spears' 'Pretty Girls'