Codes and Conventions used in Music Videos

Codes and Conventions used in Music Videos

What I learned

In this task I learned about what it is that makes such a good and successful music video, and how some music artists represent themselves in their videos, as well as relating the video to the song. I have explained a lot of my finding in the 'Theory' section in the table below.

I took extra note on the 'Mise en Scene' and 'Sound' sections as they are the two things that people are most likely to take notice of, however, it is also important that I know the different camera angles and editing techniques that I could use in my video.

Table of my findings

Video	Mise en Scene	Sound	Editing	Camera Angles	Theory
Bastille – Pompeii	Building rooftop -At the starts of the song where he was over looking the city below him City streets -walking around, and he was also riding a bike at one point Desert/countryside – wind farm -Walked through desolate scenery	Wind at the beginning – when he is on the rooftop, this wouldn’t been heard in the song (original/ recording/live), but you can hear it only in the video	Cut Jump cut	Low angle shot Long shot Close up Over the shoulder Rule of thirds Tracking shot	The location setting of the video keeps the audience intrigued in the video as it keeps changing, He starts off on top of the building, before walking through the city streets. The video finishes in the countryside. The added sound for the video makes the audience feel as if they are really there, for example the wind at the beginning of the video. The Low angle shot shows that he is the main centre of attention, and helps the audience to focus on him.  The long shot can help the audience to see the whole scene and location all in one shot, and the rule of thirds allows a number of people to be in one shot. The close up shots really helps us to see his facial expressions and gives us an idea of what he is feeling.
Kasabian – Fire	Town street Bank – Old video footage, added in as an edit, CCTV in black and white Back street alley’s	Dialogue, someone talking at the start of the video, and at the end – This dialogue helps give a background of the story of the video Gunshots	Added in CCTV footage throughout the song during the Instrumental’s	Tracking Pan Over the shoulder Medium shot	The setting goes with the tune of the music, a slow paced soundtrack, so it makes sense to have a slow paced video.  It is different to a lot of music videos of this genre, as it has flashbacks from CCTV images to help move the video along, and it is also shown in black and white at times. The dialogue at the beginning and the end of the song helps the audience to find out what the background of this song/video is, which helps get the audience intrigued to find out what will happen in the video. There are a lot of tracking/panning shots, which shows that he is running away.
Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah - Earthquake	Empty Warehouse/Hall	The beat drops match the timing of the speakers etc.. Exploding in the music video	Animations – all the computerised laser lines on the floor, and the speakers in the background Special effects - effects and added simulations through the whole video.	High angle shot High angle close up Close up Over the shoulder	The setting isn’t the most exciting, but there is a very good reason why the artists has made the location a boring one. Its because he wants the audience to focus on what is going on in the video and what he has added n to it, rather than the actual location of the video. He has added n a lot of animations, with a lot of computerised laser lines on the floor, and speakers in the background, moving out at the same time as the beat. There are a lot of special effects and added stimulations throughout the whole video.  The close up shots help us to see his facial expressions more clearly, and the over the shoulder shot is mixed with a side on one, as he is looking to his side. It helps us to see half of his face as he is looking down, which makes it look very mysterious as we cant see the ‘full picture’.
Jake Bugg – Two Fingers	Nottingham Train station – City centre His house - His mum and dad arguing, then they’re having fun, then arguing again	Brakes, bus and cars, City noises Crowd cheering -At the end of the video when it shows Jake Bugg performing in front of people on a concert stage	Cut Jump cut	Wide shot High angle shot Close up	This video links with the song quite well, and along with the song it tells the story clearly.  The ambient sound that is in the video also helps us feel as if we are really there, when he was walking along the street and we firstly see the bus rive past, before we hear the bus brakes. The close up camera angles help to show his feelings and emotions and makes his facial expressions more clearly to the audience. Wide shots that are used help us to see the whole scene, and the Low angle shot shows us his dominance that he has on the camera, and aligns him in as the main figure. Where as the High angle shot on his mother, when his father is shouting at her, shows that she is helpless and can’t do anything to get out of it, it shows that the father is more dominant over the mother.
Professor Green ft. Ruth Anne - Remedy	London – Streets, Alleyway, house party		Cut Jump cut	Low angle shot Medium shot Over the shoulder	The setting of the video portrays the song, and before he even starts singing we can guess that it is going to be in the genre of rap. It is set in the streets of London and in some alleyways, as well as showing at a house party. The low angle shots show that he is the dominant character in the video, and the over the shoulder shots give us some sort of idea of what he is looking at and what they can see. The medium shot shows hand or any other body expressions as well as the facial expressions, so it gives us an even bigger idea of what they are feeling through their body expressions, rather than the close up on facial expressions.