Styles, Conventions and Techniques

There are many different styles in which a music video can be made. It completely depends on the artist and/ or the director on how they want to present their music video. The first style is in-concert/as live performance. These are of the artist performing their song live which is then made as a concert video. An example of this is When You Look Me In The Eyes by the Jonas Brothers. Although they're not playing the song live, they are clips of their recent tour.

The next is narrative and interpretive. This is where the music video represents what the lyrics are saying. It also adds more meaning to the lyrics. For example, in You Sound Good To Me by Lucy Hale, a lyric is "...when you lean in" and a moment after this, she leans into him. 

A narrative is where the music video follows a story. This could be related to the lyrics or anything at all. SOS once again by the Jonas Brothers, includes both narrative and interpretive. 

Surreal videos may mean that they do not relate to the lyrics at all, instead they are unique and often quite strange. Love You Like A Love Song by Selena Gomez is an example of a surreal video. Here you can see how parts look 'trippy' and extremely surreal, more so with the first image. 

In an impressionist video, the tone of the song is created through it and altogether forms a more artistic look. Usually the artist stars in it while lip-syncing. Cannonball by Lea Michele which includes soft colours and lighting to convey how she is feeling.

Many synergy music videos use footage from a film, however some do use references to the film. This is much like the music video Let It Go. There are two versions and both use footage from the film, Frozen. The first version, sung by Idina Menzel, is all footage from the film as it is the actual version. The second version, sung by Demi Lovato, which includes interpretive clips of Demi and clips from the film. 

An allusion music video often relates to some event that has happened either in the past or for culture. An example of this is Love Story by Taylor Swift which alludes to the Shakespeare story, Romeo and Juliet. 

When an artist imitates another artists style, this is called a pastiche. It's similar to a parody, however, a parody is a mick take of another video. The Michael Jackson, Thriller music video mimics the style of film making and editing in the era is was released, therefore is in someway a pastiche. The music video, Nuthin' But a Glee Thang is a parody of Dr Dre's Nuthin' But a G Thang. 

A homage is also like a parody, but in a homage they are showing respect to the artist. Michael Buble pays homage to Justin Bieber amongst others in his music video Hollywood. 

Animation is self explanatory. The artist may use clips of animation or clips. The animation could be digital or stop motion. Two examples is the hit from last Christmas, Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen and E.T by Katy Perry. E.T isn't fully animation as Katy herself stars in it, however, her surroundings are digital.

The majority of artists use lip-syncing in their music video if it fits the style of performance of narrative. Sometimes the video is played backwards but the artist mimes perfectly to the song. This is displayed in Pixie Lott's music video, Can't Make This Over. 

Music videos are edited very differently and in interesting ways. MTV even have an award for the best editing. 

Cutting to the beat is once again explanatory. This is where a shot is placed so it matched the beat of the music. An example of this is Jessie J's Domino. It's mostly at the beginning and during the chorus. 

Effects are put in during post-production which adds a whole new visual to the music video. This will possibly impress the audience and give the artist a whole new audience. The type of effects used will determine of the genre of the song. Safe And Sound by Capital Cities is a good of example of effects added during post-production. They even won MTV's Best Visual Effects in 2013.

Another effect used in some music videos is split screening. This is were two, three or more images are shown at the same time. In some ways it is quite disorientating however it is still an interesting effect. A good example which uses split screen throughout the video is Whispers In The Dark by Mumford & Sons. 

Chroma key is green screen. Things are shot in front of the green or blue screen then during post-production, images are placed onto the green or blue screen. Chroma key is used in Katy Perry's Dark Horse as the background to the set. Another example is Popular Song by MIKA ft Ariana Grande however, chroma key is only used in small sections.

The camera movements used in the music video can create a whole new feel to the piece. It can create a good flow as well as make it interesting to watch. During Bridgit Mendler's Ready Or Not, there is constant camera movement which creates the feel of movement as well as using pans and good editing. 

A range of shot lengths can create meaning which is used in Demi Lovato's Give Your Heart A Break where you are able to establish where they are then see the emotion in their faces when zoomed in.

The mise-en-scene in a music video can emphasize the mood of the song. This includes lighting, colours and objects.