Music video conventions: Genre

Music video is a particular genre of film in it's own right, which is then further split into the different sub genres such as hip hop/ gangster and mainstream pop artists. Before we can further look at a specific genre we need to determine the typical conventions of the music video genre as a whole.

Andrew Goodwin - Dancing to Distraction (2003) suggested that the conventions of music video can be split into six points.

Genre characteristics
Visuals/ lyrics
Visuals/ music
Need to sell artist
Intertextuality
Voyeurism

He stated that:-

- There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals ( with the either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics)
- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music)
- Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography (such as live performance in heavy rock)
- There is a demand on part of the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist/ vocalist.
- The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which over time become part of their star image.
- There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of  'looking' e.g. screens within screens, cameras etc.
- There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos, films or TV texts.

Another media theorist, Peter Fraser also came up with some ideas for the conventions of music video referring to what the certain conventions are used for.

Here are some of the things he outlined.

Lyrics - Tend to establish a general feeling or mood rather than offering a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the visuals associated with the song but very rarely will a video mirror all the lyrics of a song.

Music - A music video tends to make use of the tempo of the track to drive the editing.

Cinematography - As with any moving image text, the way the camera is used has a significant impact on meaning. Camera movement may accompany the movement of performers (walking, dancing) but may also be used to create a more dynamic fell to the stage performance.
The close-up predominates music video, due to the desire to create an intimacy for the viewer (make them feel a connection/ emotional involvement with the artist.

By Evie