Codes and Conventions

Camerawork:

Camera work is essential for the basis of a music video to create the right representation for the artist and the song whilst making sure it builds meaning for the story. In addiction the camera work has a direct impact on the audience engagement with the narrative of the music video making it very important. The camera work is used differently depending on the type of music the video is for; for example pop music videos could have quite simple camera angles but edited to match the music pace. The camerawork is also essential as it makes the video more dynamic and this gets interest by leaving a memory for the audience so whenever they hear the song, an image from the video will be triggered. Therefore the camerawork telling a story is extremely important as it needs to be memorable whilst also fitting with the genre. A range of different camera angles often are used to follow a performer or the actor in a video as they move or interact with others in the video. Long shots are normally used in dance routines in a video which are combined with close ups of certain dancers and the artist themselves whereas close ups of artists can be used to increase the connection between them and an audience which engages them to the video. John Stewart of Oil Factory said that he sees 'the music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting being used most prominently for the star’s face'.

Editing:

Even though the most known form of editing in a music video is a fast cut montage normally seen in a pop video, it is important for music videos that have a slower pace to have slower edits and transitions between shots to establish the right mood for the song. This works for artists such as Dido with broad audience appeal.

Star Image:

Richard Dyer has noted: “a star is an image constructed from a range of materials”. For pop music these materials include:

1. The songs and their lyrical themes and musical structures/ genres
2. The record covers- singles and albums display a large part of the image the artist wants to create and present to an audience
3. Media coverage including tabloid gossip and interviews about their career and private life
4. Live performances- the images presented through the costumes, themes and props used in a stage show.
5. Music videos, which may draw upon the image presented in each of the other aspects.

Music videos are now one of the most important parts of a song and an artists career. They create more meaning for the lyrics and something that makes an artists song or the artist themselves more memorable such as Madonna, Lady GaGa or Michael Jackson. Due to Madonnas change in appearance and song style with every album she brought out, her career has spanned over 30 years as people engage with her different styles. Similar to this Lady GaGa (who has been described as the new Madonna) has also taken to a complete change of image from her single 'Just Dance' to 'You and I' or 'Born This Way' and this is what people find intriguing and engage as people now anticipate what level GaGa will go to in her next video in terms of outrageous costume and locations.

Voyeurism:

This convention means for an female or male artist to look promiscuous or sexy in order to gain sex appeal from an audience that they find pleasurable. Camera angles and editing techniques are sometimes used to emphasise the female artist to enhance their sex appeal and to attract audience who are mainly men, this resulting in them not only being attracted to the video but helps sell albums and merchandise. Nowadays, due to provocative videos of artists such as Kylie, Beyonce and Brittney it has been easier for future female stars to act provocative in their videos as those big artists have set the standard and now it is seen as normal to see dancing or strange but effective camera work in music videos. This is also evident in male artists videos but this time used by their dancers, mainly female, so the sex appeal is still evident for men but also with such artists like Enrique Inglasias, women find him very attractive, leading to sales of merchandise such as posters.

Intertextuality:

Intertextuality is when music videos frequently use existing texts within the videos to recreate particular sequences or styles and to spark recognition in the audience to help them engage. Not everyone instantly remembers and even in some cases fail to make the intertextual link in certain videos. Videos can use images from different films or add them to the lyrics and even certain artists use cinema as a starting point due to their directors studying film or cinema who are new to the industry, for example Madonna's "Material Girl" (Mary Lambert, 1985). This video connected to "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" and Madonna is dressed like Marylin Monroe. Intertexuality draws from perhaps popular films or programmes can make a music video more interesting by using elements and parts of other media.

Narrative and Performance:

"Narrative in songs is rarely complete, more often fragmentary, as in poetry".

This concept keeps the viewers attention and hopefully makes them want to know what happened and perhaps watch it over for to gain more information that they might not have picked up. E.g. I had to watch 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran before I saw all the parts of symbolism connecting to the topic of Angels.

“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-sync close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)

Music videos allow an element of acting, such as eye contact and facial expression, this sort of convention is used to establish relationship, leading to the build up of a story. This adds a story to the song which can match the lyrics and also used to explore other perhaps deeper meanings. Including star image this makes the song memorable for an audience and allows connections for the song because if a music video wasn't used, the whole meaning could be completely lost for an audience.