Friday 17 September 2010

Music Video Codes and Conventions

What are codes and conventions?

  • A way of constructing meaning in media texts.
  • Can be divided into two separate categories: Technical and Symbolic.
  • Technical: - How equipment and technology are used to construct meaning. - Camera – different angles, shots… - Editing – pace, style… - Sound – Diegetic / Non-diegetic, genre...
  • Symbolic: - Meaning created beyond what is obvious to see. - For example, specific facial expressions. - Mise-en-scene.
The reason for codes and conventions:

  • Codes and conventions are a firm set of rules or ways of doing things.
  • They slowley adapt and change over time.
  • Shouldn’t be challenged on too great a level.
The reason for them:

  1.   it allows the audience to become familiar with a certain genre as they become accustomed to seeing certain things.
  2. it ensures that a certain text works well and fits into it’s genre.
Codes and Conventions specific to Music Videos
Styles of Music Video

Music video’s can be categorized in terms of style.
These are:

  • Performance – Band / artist playing.
  • Narrative – Includes story.
  • Mixture – Both performance and narrative based.
  • Cameo – Band / artist features in the narrative but doesn’t perform for example the Foo Fighters
  • Animation – Digital / cartoon.
Camera

  • Variety of shots depending on the style
  • A lot of Close-Up’s (especially in performance music videos). - Perhaps even Extreme Close-Ups of lips, guitar strings being strummed, sometimes the dancers feet etc…
  • Crane shots – hovering over stage.
  • Low-angles.
  • Long Shots and Extreme Long Shots.
  • Pans and tilts – move from different performers.
  • Tracking
Editing and Sound
  • There are many different editing techniques used in music videos.
  • Music videos usually feature jump cutting to make an abrupt change to the scene
  • Footage is usually edited to match the music.
  • Split-screens
  • Choosing to include Diegetic sound.
  • Change in levels of sound.
Mise-en-scene

  • The mise-en-scene can vary greatly depending on the genre of music and the type of music video.
  • Props – performance equipment, band merchandise. 
  • Costume – certain outfits.
  • Location – concert halls, venues, streets  
  • Facial expressions

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