When producing any music video, in order for the video to appeal and be successful music video's tend to follow conventions.
According to Andrew Goodwin there are six points to a music video, these are:
Genre characteristics- certain music genres may tweak the typical conventions and instead have their own video style and iconography such as a live performance by a band in the rock genre.
Visuals/lyrics- there should be a link between the visuals and lyrics with the lyrics illustrating/contradicting the lyrics.
Visuals/music- there should be a link between the visuals and the music with the visuals illustrating/amplifying/contradicting the lyrics/music.
Need to sell artist- the artist may develop their star image throughout music videos therefore star iconography should be visible along with lots of close-up shots of the main artist/vocalist.
Intertextuality- intertextual references to other music videos/films can be used.
Voyeurism- reference's to voyeurism is likely to be seen for example through the use of women and also through the terms of "looking" such as using screens within screens.
Alternatively Pete Fraser see's music video's as having different conventions with a big focus on the narrative and performance, this is because music videos tend to suggest storylines and offer fragmented non-linear narratives which leaves the audience wanted to see the artist again, also a music video can allow up close and personal access to an artist more so than a concert which can be seen through live performances of the artist.
Other alternate conventions are:
Lyrics- these tend to create a feeling or mood rather than offering a meaning, visuals may also be connected to key lines in a song.
Music- editing is usually parallel with the tempo of the track eg slow pace transitions/cuts can establish a darker mood.
Genre- the type of genre can be determined by the use of media language such as cinematography, mise en scene, editing, themes and performance.
Cinematography- the camera movement is important in showing the meaning of the video, movement can create a dynamic feel to the performance and also go along with the performers movement such as walking.
As the genre we have chosen for our music video is pop/rock I have chosen The Killers "Mr Brightside" music video to analyse the typical conventions as this music is the same genre that we have chose.
The plot of this narrative is that of a typical fairytale love story, the "damsel on distress" is watched by her overprotected father whom tries to stop his daughter from falling in love with the "hero", the hero tries at many attempts to win over his princess, after many failed attempts although in the end he wins over the girl he decides not to pursue his love for her.
Propp's theory describes sets of characters who appear in narratives based on what roles they play, characters which appear in this music video are:
The hero- lead singer
The villain- girls dad
The princess- blonde haired dancer who the hero is after
This complies with the convention that key lines and visuals are associated with the song
To start off as the genre for this video is partly rock a typical convention is that as part of the iconography live performance is usually shown. A live performance is shown of the band throughout the video, to accompany this convention as part of the cinematography close up shots of the main vocalist and musical instruments are also seen throughout the video which gives the audience an up close and personal view of the band. Furthermore camera shots accompany the movement of the performers when they are dancing which creates a dynamic feel.
There is a link between the visuals and the lyrics, when the lyrics "while he's having a smoke and she's taking a drag" the lead singer is seen doing hand gestures of someone smoking again when the lyrics " I just can't look it's killing me" the lead singer covers his face with his hand. Furthermore the lyrics/music create a feel good mood as the music is quite upbeat, this is represented in the video through the performance of the characters as they are seen putting on show/dancing. The editing keeps with the tempo of the music throughout the video, as the music is quite fast the editing is at a constant fast pace and increases in speed when the tempo increases.
Voyeuristic shots of females are used which applies to the female gaze theory- using close-up shots etc of the female body for the pure satisfactory of men, as the band are males this is a typical convention that a male band of the pop/rock genre would use. These shots are mainly seen during the performance scenes which will attract the audience and make them want to watch further videos.
Typical male representations are seen throughout the video, in one scene a man is seen watching the females in voyeuristic shots which again shows the female gaze in the video, also in the narrative it see's the lead singer go after the girl that he loves which is typical of the male role when it comes to a "fairytale" relationship, the boy is suppose to go after the girl and live happily ever after. Representations of young adults/teenagers such as having fun/partying/ being intimate are also seen which could be to attract the target audience whom are of this age.
By Heather Ainsworth
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