Conventions of a Music video

Conventions of a Music Video

Lip-syncing:
In Music Videos, the convention of lip syncing is one of the most fundamental conventions that the music video need. Lip Syncing is where the artist mimes the word and emotions to their song and then a recorded version is played over the top and synced to the artists movements. This makes it look like the artist is singing the version being played.

Suitable Setting:

This convention is to do with the settings or location the music video is filmed at. The locations used in the music video must relate to the genre of the music. This is so the audience can identify the genre by what’s in the video and where it is set. For example, the sreen shots below have been taking from pop music videos. These are generally set at parties with everyone having a good time.

Three or More Locations:
To keep a music video fresh and interesting for the viewers to watch, Music Videos will contain more than three locations which the artist is preforming in or that something is happening in. This catches the audience attention and makes them watch on to see where the artist will be next.   

Close up of Artists:

In Music Videos, there are generally a lot of close ups of the artist or the members of the band which are in the music video. This helps the audience relate to the artists on screen and gives a more personal performance to the viewers, as if they are singing directly to them.

Montage Editing: 
The main type of editing used in Music Videos is montage editing. This is where a number
of shots are put together to show the passing of time. In Music Videos, lots of different
shots of the artist singing, dancing or acting is put together to show emotion or meaning
behind the video.  

Different Shot Types; 
Another way to keep the music video fresh and exciting for the viewers is to contain a number of other shot types as well as close ups of the artist. This is also another way to keep the audience watching and create an original and interesting. 

Performance:
One very common convention seen in music videos is the artist/s or band members either dancing or preforming whilst playing their instruments. By doing this, it creates an energetic connotation which will make the audience watch the video to see them dance and preforme. This also creates a sense of unity between the artist/s and band members as they are all working together to preform the dance routine or play their instruments.

Narrative: 

In many music videos, they commonly follow a narrative, whether this be resulting in something good or bad, the audience follow the story and can feel apart of the music video. This can help connect the audience to the video as they might have been in a situation similar to the character in the video and therefore helps them feel as if the video is personal to them and can feel apart of the action. This can also help the artist convey hidden meanings behind the song which the want to display. 

Eye Contact

This is a very common convention which can be seen in all music videos that involve the artist/ band members. Eye contact is vital within a music video as it is the one of the most easy ways to engage the audience. If the artists are singing into the camera and making eye contact, it makes the viewers feel as if the artist is talking directly to them, giving the music video a more personal feel towards the audience.