Music Video Codes and Conventions

Andrew Goodwin said that there are certain things that need to be included to make a music video what it is, which are basically some of the codes and conventions you are bound to see in a music video, but may not notice. 

• Thought Beats:
  Editing the clips together to the beat of the music
  Represents the voice of the artist.

• Narrative and Performance:
  Must be able to watch again and again, so there has to be an element of performance.

• Star Image:
  Used to promote the star with certain angles
  Gives them the most screen time
  Proliferation of a close-up on the artist

• Disjuncture- the video has nothing to do with the meaning of the lyrics
• Amplify- meaning is exaggerated through visuals
• Illustrate- meaning is made clear throughout the video and the most common use!

• Technical Codes:
  Camera angles
  Lighting
  Movement
  Editing
  Visual effects

In our music video, I feel that it will maybe amplify the lyrics. The plot doesn't exactly tell the same story that the lyrics do, but I think that it will help exaggerate them. I mean this by having certain visual motifs- such as the girl in the red dress, and then we see her later on with a red necklace. Red will be a common colour in the video, as the song is called "Bleeding Out" and it's also the colour of love, but also danger, which can be associated with many cultures around the world. We are following these codes and conventions, as there is a strong narrative (as we found through our Audience Feedback) and there is certainly an element of performance and star image. Lighting and editing will be really important, as I imagine the video being fairly dark, as well as the fact we plan to start filming mid-October/early November. 

-Janet