The most important convention of a music video is mise-en-scene because elements such as dress and costume can be a dramatic way of reflecting the mood and the genre of a song. For example in the Girls Aloud video “I’ll stand by you” the artists are wearing dark clothing, which indicates that the song is quite sad and depressing. Lighting is also an important technique to set the mood and genre; again in the girls aloud video the lighting is low key which emphasis the fact that it is quite a sad song.
The lyrics in this video give connotations of a sad feeling and the video mimics this, which makes the audience feel comfortable with it and able to relate to what is happening and they are able to realise that the song is quite a sad song.
The lyrics that are used in the song also establish a general feeling of the song and give the audience a sense of what the song is about. Although the lyrics can give the impression of a sad song the video may not follow this and can be quite contradictive and may not reflect the mood.
The editing is also an important factor because this will keep the audience excited. Even though the song may set the pace of the music video the cinematography and editing are important for the pace because if fast paced editing is used it makes the song seem as though it is faster, so it sets the general pace.
Most producers of music videos choose the genre and then conform to all the conventions and this is mostly so that the audience is able to relate to the music video itself. The four main categories which make it easy for us to define the genre are; mise-en-scene; performance; cinematography and editing.
Many producers incorporate intertextuality where the music videos make obvious reference to other products. For example the Lady GaGa video “Telephone” makes an obvious reference to the film “Kill Bill.” This is mostly used in popular artist’s music videos and mainstream videos because the producers know that they will attract a big audience just because of the artist. It also makes the video stand out more than others. Intertextuality is usually used with reference to films because the music video is often on the same level as the film and it can create and iconic moment or peak in the music video or film.
Andrew Goodwin stated that he believes there must be a link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals, this is whether they emphasise the mood and feeling or whether they contradict it. Both of these techniques would work very well if the audience understood what message the music video and lyrics are trying to send out.
Most artists and bands now have their own style, iconography and brand which people relate to and know so the audience are able to relate to their music video and lyrics. For example Lady Gaga has her own iconography which is her eccentric clothing and exaggerated style.
Andrew Goodwin also believes that certain camera shots are essential in a music video. For example close ups of the artist or band are essential so that the audience can relate to them. Long shots are also essential to give the audience an idea of where and what is going on.
He also states that voyeurism is generally to be used in most music videos because it sometimes invites a certain target audience. For example in the video 'Sexy Bitch' by David Guetta ft Akon, we see many girls in bikinis and not wearing many items of clothing. This would attract the male audience because they would like to look at the pretty girls who are hardly wearing any clothing.
Polly Hindle
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