Conventions of Music Videos

Camera work
Music videos tend to use a range of different camera angles such as long shots, medium shots and close ups this is to not only focus on the artist all the time but also show the enviroment around them. Long shots are used in music videos to establish the scene and show off the setting. mid shots are used so that the veiwers focus more on the artist but can still see the setting and what may be going on in the background. Close ups are used so that their viewers attention will be fully on the artist and we will be able to see facial expressions and emotion better also we can see the lyrics being sang by the artist due to the lip sync which gives the song more feeling. Camera movements are also used in music videos normally they are used when following the artist with a tracking and a panning shot, Crane shots are often used in music videos at the start of the video to establish the shot then slowly and smoothly go in to set the scene. Tilt shots may be used also to disorientate the viewer, give the effect of disorientation or just to change the camera angles to make the shot more interesting.

Mise-en-scene is the setting, the arrangement of the artist/s, and the props, all of these should exaggerate the mood and the theme of the song. For example in a indie/rock music video the colour sheme will most likely be dark colours such as black and grey, so the setting and the lighting will be dull, the clothing will probabley be influenced by this too and therefore be dark colours. aslo in this genre the lyrics are normally dark and sad this is what will influence the mise-en-scene of the video. On the other hand an up beat pop music video would involve bright colours and bright lighting and the lyrics would be happy and positive so the genre,theme and lyrics of the song will effect the mise-en-scene.

Editing is important part in creating music videos as the video needs to flow with the beat of the song and the lyrics. Jump cuts are frequently used in music videos as they allow sudden changes between scenes so you can fit more in to the short amount of time. also jump cuts are effective when they are used to cut shots with the beat of the song this is normally used in a upbeat song with a strong beat. Other transitons are used in music videos but not as common as they don't make the video flow as well as jump cuts do. The thing that is most improtant in the editing process is the timing as the audio needs to go with the part of video so that the miming of the lyrics are synced and it will look like the artist is actually singing.