Conventions of a music video

One of the conventions of a music video is a variety of camera shots. This includes things such as close ups and long shots. Long shots are often used so that you can focus on the location of the video and close ups are used to focus on the artist themselves and their facial expressions. As well as shots, they also tend to use camera movements such as panning and tracking.

 

 

Another important aspect of music videos is the mise en scene. It is important that the video appears visually interesting. This includes things such as props, lighting and costume. Therefore when we film our music video we must make sure that we focus on these aspects as they can affect the overall look of the video.
 

Although I have already mentioned costume in mise en scene. It is also a very important aspect on its own. Often in music videos artists appear in more than one outfit depending on the different settings that they use. Therefore this is something to consider when creating our own music video that we have a variety of costumes to keep the video interesting. Moreover, the colour of the artists costume can reflect the mood. Therefore for my own video I am going to dress my artist in dark clothing to reflect the mood that I am trying to set.
 

These are some of the conventions that tend to appear in most music videos. However different genres of music also tend to have their own conventions as well. For example Indie and Rock bands are more likely to use dark locations and costume to match the mood of their music.

 

 

As Rihanna tends to appear under the R&B genre. I decided to research into the conventions that appear in these music videos to ensure we are following the conventions that our target audience will expect to see when watching the video. One of the main focuses in R&B videos is the artists make up. It tends to be quite dramatic with the use of dark colours to emphasise facial features. There tends to be a lot of focus on the artists eye make up. As well as this females also tend to wear a red or dark lipstick to demonstrate their power as a female.

Next, both males and females in R&B videos often try to demonstrate their sexuality. This is often shown through the clothing that they choose to wear. Women often wear minimal clothing to display this. However for my own music video I will challenge this stereotype as we are using a young actress and do not want to display this image. Females also tend to wear high heels to elongate their legs and appear desirable to males. This is something I will consider doing in my own music video.

Another thing that appears to be important in music videos is the use of Jewellery. Such as necklaces and earrings. This can also be used to demonstrate power and wealth. This is something I will consider using in my own music video. However I was planning on focusing on the actresses make up and outfit rather than jewellery.

When female artists are creating a fast tempo R&B music video they tend to use a lot of visual effects. As well as this there tends to be a lot of dancing involved. Therefore they do not necessarily follow a narrative style.

In conclusion, after carrying out this research I have deepened my knowledge on the conventions of a music video and I now understand that different genres of music use different conventions. Therefore when I film my own music video I will use conventions that are specifically related to my genre.