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GENERAL MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS.Group 7

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Editing Techniques The pace of editing in music videos will normally link to the tempo

of the song. For example a song such as “Hot Right Now” by DJ Fresh with a fast beat will have shorter time between cuts and more of them whereas a song such as “Small Bump” by Ed Sheeran has very few cuts at all. Slow motion is also a technique that is used in relation to the tempo of a song. In “We Can Only Live Today” by Netsky again the first 34 seconds of visuals are in slow motion as this part of the song is slower than the rest. This helps add to the effect of the different speeds within the song.

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CAmera Different camera shots are used in music videos to stick to the genre

of the song and to portray a particular message. Close-up shots are mainly used to promote the image of the artist in pop music videos and wide shots if they have backing singers/dancers. Mid-shots are used in rock and alternative performance videos to show the band playing the instruments and singing. Long shots can be also used to show the crowd if they are present in performance videos. For example 30 Seconds To Mars’ video for “Closer to the Edge” features many wide shots of the crowd as the performance was taken from one of their live shows.

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LIghting The lighting of a music video can change the entire feel of the video

as well as the effect it has on the audience. Usually, the lighting will match the genre and desired feel of the song. Kings Of Leon’s “Sex On Fire” has very low key lighting and lots of shadows to give it a dark effect, matching their style of music. DJ Fresh’s “Louder” has very high key outdoor lighting to adhere to the lyrics involving beaches and upbeat sound of the song.

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Make Up & Costume Costume in music videos normally represents the style and genre of the

artist. Pop musicians tend to dress in very flashy, modern clothes while rock musicians will dress in plain clothes to draw the attention of the audience to the music instead of their image. Hip-hop/Rap artists also wear clothes made by big name brands however their intent is to make them look wealthy by the use of fur coats and large jewelry. Make-up is normally only used by female artists to seem more glamorous, however it is also used by punk or metal artists to show their desire to stand out and be individual. An ideal example of this would be Marilyn Manson whose music teaches people to express themselves and so he wears thick eye liner and lipstick in all his videos, such as “Tainted Love”.

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The Notion Of Looking Eye contact with the camera is used in many genre’s of music video. It is used

to make a connection between the artist and the audience, a technique that can be universally used in the music video industry. For example Rita Ora’s “R.I.P.” contains many close-ups of her looking directly at the camera and is from the pop music genre, whereas The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” is drum and bass yet also contains eye contact from the performing artist . The voyeuristic treatment of women is used in most genre’s of music such as pop, hip-hop and dance. An example of this would be in Fedde Le Grande’s “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”. However in rock and alternative music videos women are generally not featured as the artist will tend to be as ‘genuine’ as they can.

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The Notion Of Looking Eye contact with the camera is used in many genre’s of music video. It is used

to make a connection between the artist and the audience, a technique that can be universally used in the music video industry. For example Rita Ora’s “R.I.P.” contains many close-ups of her looking directly at the camera and is from the pop music genre, whereas The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” is drum and bass yet also contains eye contact from the performing artist . The voyeuristic treatment of women is used in most genre’s of music such as pop, hip-hop and dance. An example of this would be in Fedde Le Grande’s “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”. However in rock and alternative music videos women are generally not featured as the artist will tend to be as ‘genuine’ as they can.