Music Video Conventions

Music Video Conventions

In order to start thinking about what genre to choose, I decided to look into conventions of 5 different genres to think about which I would enjoy doing. I decided to look into rock, alternative, pop, grunge and indie, as these are genres I would be interested in looking into.

   Rock

EXAMPLE: The Pretender - Foo Fighters

Rock is often set in a large building, like a warehouse, or in music venues. This is largely due to the fact that most rock videos are based around performance with the band playing their song. There are some rock videos that do include amplification, and these vary depending on the message of the song. The iconography of rock is mainly to do with the performance, and therefore is mainly musical instruments (especially electric guitars and drums) and people screaming into microphones. The performance is also very emotionally charged, with the artists giving their all to portray the feelings their songs are trying to create. The videos are often quite dark and angry, often including themes of violence associated with this angry feeling.

   Alternative

EXAMPLE: Black Chandelier - Biffy Clyro

Alternative music, similarly to rock, is often set in a city location, and often uses large empty spaces like warehouses. The videos often contain performance, generally of the band singing their songs. They often intertwine this performance into amplification narratives, often revolving around love or loss. There are also some videos which are purely performance and some that use disjuncture, but a combination of amplification and performance is most common. The iconography of alternative tends to be similar to rock, with electric guitars and drums, e.t.c. There are also sometimes themes of fire or destruction, quite often with the instruments themselves getting destroyed. The videos tend to be fairly dark and emotionally charged, creating feelings of sadness or anger in the viewer.

   Pop

EXAMPLE: Blank Space - Taylor Swift

As pop is quite a varied genre there are few common settings. However, the videos all tend to have high production values, with smart sets, elaborate costumes and detailed mise en scene. The videos are often amplification based around the song, which often involves a relationship between a man and a woman. Performance is also often used in the video of the artist singing. The videos tend to be brighter and more colourful, although it depends largely on the mood of the song. However, the videos are rarely dark or gritty, reflecting the wide viewership that pop appeals to. Due to the variation within the genre there is little iconography, although themes of love are very common.

   Grunge

EXAMPLE: Lithium - Nirvana

Grunge videos are often set in music venues as well, and often involve them playing to a crowd. These videos are often performance based, although there are also some that include amplification or disjuncture. No matter what the narrative of the video is, the videos are always dark, gritty and dirty, focussing on the raw emotions of human life. The iconography is similar to rock and alternative in that it is based around the performance, with guitars, drums and singing being the main images. The videos often have a cheap quality to them, reflecting the ideology of the movement. the videos often elicit feelings of anger, hurt or sadness, which is mainly portrayed by the emotion in the artists' faces.

   Indie

EXAMPLE: This Charming Man - The Smiths

Indie music tends to be quite varied depending on the style and popularity of the artists. As the genre, like pop, is so wide, it is hard to find a setting. However, there are many indie videos that are set in warehouses or music venues where the artists can be seen performing, and many are also set in big cities. Videos in this genre also vary hugely in terms of narrative, with some focussing purely on performance from the band, some using amplification, which often revolves around the theme of love, and others being totally weird and using disjuncture. Once again there is little common iconography, but it can be argued that musical instruments, such as guitars, would count. The overall atmosphere of the videos are also varied, but they all try to present some sort of emotion, although this tends to be less intense than rock or grunge.