Conventions of a Music Video

Music videos typically have similar traits.
These traits are known as Conventions.

The conventions of a music video cover many different things including camera movements and location.

I will use The Lumineers - Ho Hey to show the conventions of a music video.

1. The artist appears in the video
2. The song is the soundtrack to the whole video, the video starts and finished when the song begins and ends
3. The artists lip-synch's along with the lyrics
4. The artists perform throughout the video, they sing, play instruments and dance
5. The video has more than 3 locations, changing when a new verse or chorus begins
6. The costumes link to the locations, they often change depending on the location
7. There is a section of the music video that is filmed in a set location, a studio that has been specifically designed for the video
8. The video has a slight narrative, the artists are attending a party and there are frequent shots of The Lumineers performing
9. The video contains a range of camera movements (including tracks)
10. The video has close-ups of the artists lip-synching and mid/long shots whilst they are performing
11. The video used high angles to show how the other people featured in the music video were having fun and enjoying themselves
12. There are a wide range of shot types and camera angles in each location
13. The editing is cut to the beat of the song and is edited in a montage format
14. There is the occasional use of slow motion throughout the video
15. The video is based around the concept of fun and love, this is shown through the video however it is not emphasised
16. The artist makes eye contact with the audience occasionally through the video

For a second example, I will use Zedd ft. Hayley Williams - Stay The Night to show the conventions of a music video.

1. The featured artist appears in the video
2. The song is the soundtrack to the whole video, the video starts and finished when the song begins and ends
3. The featured artist lip-synch's along with the lyrics
4. The artist performs throughout the majority of the video, she sings and dances however there are other dancers in the video that enhance the performance
5. The video has more than 3 locations, often changing when a new verse or chorus begins or some way through a verse
6. The featured artist's costumes link to the locations, they  change depending on the location
7. There are a few sections of the music video that are filmed in a set location, a studio that has been specifically designed for the video (one set for the dancers, one set for Hayley Williams)
8. The video has a slight narrative, the dancers in the video perform and show the meaning of the song
9. The video contains a range of camera movements (including tracks and whip pans)
10. The video has close-ups of the artists lip-synching and mid/long shots whilst she and the dancers are performing
11. The video used lots of eye level camera angles so as to capture all the movement whilst the dancers are performing, however there are high angles used as well as low angles to compliment different phrases of the dancers performance
12. There are a wide range of shot types and camera angles in each location
13. The editing is cut to the beat of the song and is edited in a montage format
14. There is the occasional use of slow motion throughout the video, mostly at the beginning
15. The video is based around the concept of open relationships, the video shows the dancers as individuals, never as a couple and therefore presents the idea that they are in an open relationship as they are on their own more than they are together.
16. The artist makes eye contact with the audience frequently throughout the video

Music Video Genres and their Conventions

The genre of music I will be exploring is Rock.


I will show 5 examples of music video's from this genre and explain the common conventions.








The style of video is common convention in Rock music videos. The artists/bands have a section of the video showing them performing the song.
2 examples of the performances are from Walk and Lived A Lie.





Another common convention in Rock music videos is varying camera shots. The artists use different camera shots to show the band performing. Some shots the lead singer and others show the other musicians in the bands.
2 examples of the varying camera shots are Stay and Mr Brightside








A convention occasionally used in Rock music videos is the integration of non-diegetic sound. This is sound that does not naturally occur whilst the music is being played.
2 examples of the insertion of non-diegetic sound is Bring Me To Life and Walk


The Mis en screen in a Rock music videos show many similarities. The costumes in Rock music videos are commonly dark  coloured and casual, however some styles of clothing vary from denim to leather jackets, to suits, depending on the meaning behind the song.
2 examples of dark costumes are seen in Lived A Lie and Stay




More than one aspect of Mis en screen in Rock music videos are shown. The hair and make-up in a Rock music video may not necessarily be shown on the artist, it may be shown on other characters in the video. This may be to attract attention to the other figures in the video. Hair and Make-up is important for the artist as they are they may be the feature of the video and therefore need to look their best or represent the theme of the video or song.
2 examples of hair and make-up are shown in Bring Me To Like and Mr Brightside