Codes and Conventions Essay

For every different music genre video they follow different codes and conventions the helps makes them different from other music videos.

Sound

The sound that is used in the music video is the song that the music video is about. However in some music videos there is a narrative at the beginning or in the middle on the video. The reason for this is to help tell the story of the song or the meaning within the music video. Sound effects can be used in the music for example in certain genre music the volume of a certain instrument or the base in the song can be changed so the audience can hear a particular part in the song.

Editing

There are two different types of editing that the music video may have in it, continuity and montage. Continuity editing may be in the music video to make it look very simple and that it may give the video a different effect. Montage editing may be involved in the music video to show that there is a lot of different things going on in the music video, to help show that there are a lot of different stories going on within the video. Jump cuts are usually used to change from shot to shot in different parts of the montage or the continuity editing. Computer Generated Images also known as CGI may be used to help import animals that are not there. A green screen may also be used to out in a background that wasn’t originally there.  CGI and a green screen could be used to make the music video seem a lot more intense or exciting for the viewer to watch.

Mise –en-scene

Mise-en-scene is the one way in which can make the music video seem unique and can make the viewer of the music video tell what genre it is. Mise-en-scene in a music video is a good way to help the artist be individual and give them an image, for example Lady Gaga is known for having weird costumes and make up in her music videos. When the audience are watching the music video they can immediately remember who it is and this is a good way to publicise the song because people will be talking about the costumes in the video, therefore more people are going to watch it. The lighting is involved in the Mise-en-scene because the high amount of light could affect the mood of the song, you are more likely to find that in a happy song there is a high amount of like, but on a rock song the light is going to be dark and not a lot of light. Usually there is a lot of light ion the singer making the audience focus on them because they are the main feature in the music video. The Mise-en-scene in a rock video is that they are mostly always wearing black, in the music video they are usually shots of the whole band playing their song with low lighting. In an R&B music video there are usually a lot of women in it, and the men are always wearing chains or expensive looking jewellery to show off what they have got because they are usually from a rough background in the Bronx of New York. So wearing the big chains and the jewellery lets people know that they are moving up in live and that they are making money. 

Cinematography

Cinematography is usually very similar in every music video; there is always a close up, medium shot, and a long shot. The reason for the close up is to show the artist singing the song and the expression on their face whilst they are singing it. There may even be an extreme close up in the video to show a musician playing the guitar or a close up of the artist lips when they are miming the words. The reason for the medium shot could be that it could be to show the artist body language and the long shot could also be known as an establishing shot to let the view of the music video know where about they are where the artist is, whether they are in a club or somewhere that suits the genre of the film. A long shot could also help show that a group of people doing a dance routine, so the viewer can get the full affect.