Music Videos: Styles of Music Videos

 What is a music video?

A music video is a visual short film that accompanies a song or piece of music. There are three types of music video; performance, narrative, and artistic.

Performance:

the musician(s) performing their song - this can be done either them just singing on a stage or them singing on different sets and in different costumes. This gives the video variety and makes it more interesting for the viewer. This is a good example of a performance music video:

This video clearly shows the band performing their song. It keeps the audience engaged by showing members of an audience enjoying and dancing along to the music.

Narrative:

a story that is happening while the song is playing - it does not have to be related to the song but it must not have any singing. The story should be easy to follow and will give the song meaning. This is an example of a narrative music video:

This video shows a clear narrative of a young girl training to become the best postwoman she can be. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end which allows the audience to connect the music to the character in a clear way.

Artistic:

the video shows different artistic elements that haven't got a narrative or singing. They are often unrelated to the song and are quite experimental. This an example of an artistic music video:

This video is very abstract and the painting on the walls and the people do not have much relation to the song but it creates a very prominent effect of the audience. This effect is the loneliness a breakup can create for someone - the audience may be able to relate to that.

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Task - Snow Patrol Music Video Analysis

First Watch: 00:00-01:30

- the band are set in some kind of warehouse/factory

- they are all stood in a very classic band formation; lead singer/guitarist in-front, bass, keys supporting behind, and drums at the back.

- shots are mainly focused on who is taking the lead at the moment, e.g. lead is singing so its close on their face.

Second Watch: 00:00-01:30

- close ups; 20

- medium close ups; 8

- extreme close ups; 5

- master; 9

- full; 2

- medium full; 2

- most of these shots do not last more that a couple seconds to keep up with the fast pace of the song

- by doing the this the audiences attention will forever be being moved from one shot to the next; this will stop them from getting bored as they are always seeing something new before they get sick of the last part.