Music Videos Typical Conventions

The song that I find that has most of the qualities a music video has it One Republic - If I Lose Myself





The first convention a music video would have would be that the artist is present in the video. In this music video the artist is present throughout the video whilst singing the song. This does help the audience know who the artist is if they have never seen them before or know them.

The second convention that a music video would normally have is that the song is the whole sound track to the whole song. Unfortunately with this song at the beginning and end we are presented with the teenager on a skateboard and other scenes where other teenagers are presented to us.However in between these shots we see brief scenes of the band and the singer but they are blurry and they are not full shots of the

The next convention a music video would have is that the artist is usually lip-synching along to the music. This is shown a lot in the music video as the artist and his band are singing along to the music. They are also presetented with other people also lip-syncing to the music. Normally when the artist is lip-synchin it would be zoomed in so that it is a mid shot. In different music videos it would be a mid shot, long shot or for performance use and a extreme close up for any cutaways.




Another convention that is presented in this music video is that the artist is performing in the music video either by playing instrument, gesturing or dancing. This makes the video more entertaining and interesting to watch. It also gives it the vibe that is it a energetic and upbeat kind of music if you see the artist playing their instruments.




Another convention that a music video should have is different locations. This is important because it makes the video more interesting and keeps the audience engaged and  gripped in what they are watching.




Another convention that a music video would need is different range in camera movement and try and create a dynamic look. This clip is energetic and shows different shot angles like high angles that are also used within a music video. Having the high angle creates a vulnerable or sexy look whilst a low angle will show a powerful and dominant look which is shown in this video.

Music Video Genres and Conventions

The music genre I have decided to look into was RnB because it is a highly popular genre of music within teenagers and adults. Even thought RnB is meant to be rhythm and blues ( this is what is stands for ) it is not mostly about rhythm and upbeat fast tempo'd music which also have a subliminal message. To be able to have a better understanding of it I chose to look into 5 different examples of RnB music where it has different kinds of conventions within it. Some of these might be things like the costumes, setting and the performance.


1) Zendaya - My Baby




2) Beyonce - XO




3) James Arther - Nobody Till Somebody Loves You





4) James Legend - All of Me




5) One Republic - Lose Myself





Conventions

The first convention that I am going to talk about is edit- this can be found in the song My Baby by Zendaya. I think the editing of this music video is good because it doesnt stay in one shot for long and it has different kind of edits in it such as different themes, different costumes, and different templates of the shots.By doing this they are making the song and the imagery interesting to watch and listen to. I also realised that on either every drum beat or every other drum beat they would change the shot so that it is in time with the music. What I also found intersting was at the first chorus to make the lyrics bold and stand out they had the text as she was saying it but did it in different shots. This may be confusing and you would have to go back but it shows the important parts of the song.






The nest convention that I am going to speak about is costume and cutting and this can be found within Beyonce' song XO. I believe that costume was used well in the is because the setting and the costume and the song go well all together and compliment the song. The song is also about new love and going on a date and I beieve what Beyonce is wearing in the video is  a typical ' date ' outfit.




In a music video I think the setting for a music  video is the main and most important part of the video because it allows the watcher to know what it may be about and it would keep them engaged. James Arthur did this well in his song You're Nobody Til' Somebody Loves You with his setting. This shows the diversity in his video because  he has the band intro and during his video with a few instruments that you wouldn't normally see in a music video and real life people doing everyday things. I think that the setting are also effect because they correspond  with the lyrics. The setting also is at a rural area so it is a  real thing and show the everyday life that some people live so that way whoever is watching would be able to connect with the lyrics, song and video

I believe that in the song all of me by John Legend the different shot types shows the meaning. Message and purity of the song. This is effect because it would have alternating shots where there is an exciting and blissful scene, then the scene changed to him playing the piano and singing the song live. After the piano scene it would go into a sad or less blissful scene of him and his lover. I believe this is effective because it kind of shows a realistic love and still shows the message he is trying to show. However I feel that John Legend playing the piano makes the song even more special and meaningful because it’s coming straight from the heart.