A music video is a video which showcases a song for either promotional or artistic purposes.

The main purpose of music videos is promotion and marketing. Promotion can be divided into a number of subcategories, including the promotion of singles, albums and artists. The ultimate goal of music videos is to increase the sales of the particular album which contains the the featured song in the music video.

Music videos are often made for singles that have been selected from albums because they are especially coherent with the overall theme of the album, and are constructed to help establish and further the album theme, also contributing to create the image and persona of the artist who is being promoted.

In addition, music videos are a means for creative artists and producers to showcase their talent and artistic visions to the audience. This means that music videos can have a number of presentation forms. Music videos can make songs more memorable through combining them with visual impact, and are a method for artists to make the implicit messages within their songs more understandable for audiences.

The overarching structures of music videos are mostly similar: 3-4 video which involves the combination of a single with visuals. These norms were largely created because of MTV, which was the premiere platform for distributing music videos since the 1980s. Nevertheless, greater variations to these norms have occurred due to the advent of the internet, social media and other methods for distributing music videos.

The presentation of music videos also vary greatly, from live action to animation and computer-generated graphics. The majority of music videos are categorised into 3 forms: Narrative, performance and concept.

Narrative

This form of music video draws heavily from music films, which were largely the precursor of modern music videos. The music videos involves a short narrative developed for the music video, which is usually linked with the lyrics of the single. Narrative in these music videos could also also be excerpted from a movie in which the single was theme song. This form of music video often features professional actors instead of the artist, or the artist as narrator of the story. However, the artist can play the lead role in narrative music videos (e.g. Thriller, Michael Jackson), or even as multiple roles! (e.g. Stan, Eminem) These music videos help strengthen the message of the song or album that is being promoted.

Performance

Performance music videos are developed from video recordings of live performances. This type of music video features the artist performing on set or onstage as the main content of the video, and often include backstage or offstage shots of the artist. Performance music videos are often made for artists or bands who have strong instrumental talents (typically in the rock genre), and for songs that focus more on the feeling created by the music than the lyrics. These music videos showcase the artist, and contribute more directly towards constructing the artist’s public image. Hip-hop and genre music videos tend to use performance music videos to emphasise the importance of the artist through rapping lip-sync. Examples include ’The Next Episode’ by Dr.Dre and ‘This is America‘ by Childish Gambino.

Concept

Concept music videos are created around a particular concept or theme that the single is trying to convey and promote. These music videos often feature wider or more abstract themes that are difficult to capture using narratives, and are usually associated with less mainstream artists, particularly alternative artists. Meaning in concept music videos are often constructed through symbolic codes and binary oppositions, serving as a presentation of an artists’ creative vision. An example is ‘Best of You’ by Foo Fighters, which repeatedly utilises a combination of extreme close-up shots with montages to deliver a powerful & evocative social message.

Genre Conventions

Generally, music videos reinforce stereotypes to appeal to wider audiences. However, concept MVs often subvert stereotypes to create a stronger impact on the audience which makes the MV more impactful and memorable. Some common conventions include:

Pop: lip-sync & dancing, younger audience

Rock: long cuts of instruments

Rap: Slow motion & close up shots of objects associated with wealth & social status

I analysed some technical conventions in the hip-hop genre:

Lighting: youthful/mature atmosphere

Camera: low angle/close ups for rap: power / emphasise objects, wider shots for pop to show choreography

Sound: diegetic/non diegetic

Editing: synchronise with pace/beat, length of cut depends on lyric length

Clothing: colourful shirts & dresses for youth, weird hairstyles & dark colours for subculture stuff, hoodies & caps for hiphop culture

Items: cell phones in pop, love; watches, cars & jewellery in rap, wealth;