Genres
In- Concert and 'as live' footage:This is a very simple genre where i'm sure many people know about. This is simply when a band or artist decides to perform in front of a crowed. This is very popular and most of the times successful as bands and artists normally sell out every single ticket. This is also seen as live performance because they are actually there performing at the time and it may also being recorded and broadcast directly to a TV channel where people may watch to.
Here is a great example of a live concert, the singer is Beyonce, one of the major label actors.
Narrative and interpretive:
This is one of the most common music videos made, narrative and interpretive music videos are made on purpose for the audience. This normally tells the audience a background story that goes along with the lyrics and helps the audience understand better, however this is not always the case. Some stories tend to completely ignore the lyrics.
The music video from Basshunter "now your gone" is a good example of a narrative and interpretive. When watching the video while listening to the song it is much easier to understand and follow, it also catches the audiences eyes as it is telling a sort of love story between a couple who had split up.
Surrealist/absurdist:
These music videos tend to be unique, and normally made by the same artists and bands. They normally give the audience something to think about, they are surprising and unexpected. Most of the times the video and the story being told has no relation what so ever with the actual lyrics being sang.
One of my favourite example for this type of music video is "Without me" by Eminem. The video itself kind of follows the lyrics but not completely, also the video is surprising and unconventional.
Impressionist:
This is another unique type of music videos, when we talk about impressionist music videos we are talking about expressing the artists feelings by recording how the artists actually feels rather then following what the lyrics are saying. Chris brown made a song called "With you", this is another good example of Impressionist music video. Most of the time we see Chris Brown dancing and expressing himself, showing how he feels rather than seeing a story of what he is singing.
Intertextual (Synergy, Allusion, Pastiche, Parody and Homage):
Some music videos are sometimes made on purpose in reference of another source such as movies, for example soundtrack videos normally refer to a film. This is called "Synergy", where a soundtrack is made specific to the film. An example of synergy would be "Let it go" soundtrack video which was also used in the film frozen. Because of this we can say that some music videos may also allude to another media text. Meaning the soundtrack video "let it go" may call attention to the film Frozen itself. More people may be motivated to go and watch the film after seeing the soundtrack video separately. Pastiche is when someone makes an identical, or imitates another artists style and work, this fits well with parody. Parody is another style that comes under intertextual, when we see a parody of something it is simply making fun or having a laugh at the original piece of media. Some music videos are made with compassion, they are made to pay respect for an artist or a certain subject, these type of music videos are called homage.
One of my favorite example of an Homage music video is "Never Over" by Eminem where he pays his respect to Proof, and tells him to Rest In Peace.
Animation (Stop motion, Digital):
These are music videos which are animated in some way. Some are animated throughout the whole music video and some are just animated in some areas. "Feel Good" by Gorillaz is an example of full animated music video with background footage of real life people.
Techniques
Alongside with the genres used to make the video clips there are also different techniques artists and producers use in order to give their music video that little boost into looking much better than others. Again bellow there is a list of different techniques used in music video production.Lip-Synch (Playback):
This is one of the most common techniques used in media when producing a music video. Lip-Synch is when the artist pretends to sing the lyrics while being filmed so when editing it would look much nicer to see his lips moving to the audio. This is also very common at live concerts.
I found an example of lip-synch from a program broadcast on "Spike", where the actor Dwayne Johnson has a lip-synch battle against Jimmy Fallon. They both pretend to sing a song made by another artist, normally this lip-synch is done by the artist who wrote the actual song.
Editing:
Music videos are edited very differently than normal films and other videos. When it comes to music videos continuity is not as important however it is also taken very serious. One of the edit most used is slow motion visual image as the audio is still playing at normal speed, this is very popular in music videos. Some music videos have been awarded as the best edited music videos in history. The latest winner for the best edited music video was "Rap God" by Eminem in 2014.
Here is a link to the list of the winners for the best edited music videos since 1984, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Video_Music_Award_for_Best_Editing.
Cutting to beat:
Cutting to beat is another popular edit within the music videos industry. This is when the visual images normally stop, cut, or change whenever we hear or feel a beat. This gives your music video a bit more rhythm. "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and Bruno mars is an ideal example of a music videos that cuts to the beat. Whenever the beat drops the shots change.
Post-production effects:
Effects are the main thing in music videos, these are what normally get the audiences attention whenever watching a music video. Music videos are one of the best source of media to use effects, this is simply because most editors do not have the chance to bring their own stunning and originals effects to other type of media such as movies, and news etc. However when it comes to music videos there are no limit on the effects you can use, anything fits and gives you that unique view. The music video "Stronger" by Kanye West shows a good example of how to bring effects into your music videos to give it that original look.
Camera movements:
Camera movements are something vital in media, without camera movements in a film or any other moving image media the footage may end up looking boring and lame. This technique again gives music video another perspective and attracts the audience. There are various types of camera movements varying from tilts, pans, crabs and even tracking shots. We can find some camera movements such as tracking shots, tilts and pans on the music video "Part of Me" by Katy Perry.
Camera angles and shot types:
Again another technique that can give a lot of meaning to a media text. It is similar to camera movements, without these the audience may not always understand what exactly is happening within the scene and not follow everything. Without them a media text may again be lame and boring. Again Camera angles can vary, so can the shot types, from close ups, to medium and long shots. Also there are establishing shots and birds eye view shots. The music video "Earthquake" by Labrinth is a great example of different shot types and angles.
Mise-en-scene:
Mise-en-scene plays another important role in media text such as films and music videos. Mise-en-scene are all the things that can be seen in a shot. This is normally important as this is what enforces the mood of the song. It will get the audience thinking and feeling. "Written in the Star" By Tinie Tempah and Eric Turner is a good example of this, as the shots and settings change we have different mise-en-scene. For example when is Eric Turner singing the only mise-en-scene we have is just a piano in a white room.
Effects (Split screen and Chroma key):
This is a good technique used in music video. This is when then screen is split into different individual screen and shows multiple visual images at once on the same screen. This could be multiple images of the same even or even multiple images or different events. This is normally done to give that interesting panorama feeling. Bellow is an example of a music video with a lot of split screen technique being used.
Chroma key is another effect that is used not just in music videos but all around media, especially when making and editing films. Chroma key is done by using a green or blue background where you can later use the green and blue background to replace it with another background you would like to use but could not use it when filming.
Here is an example of how chroma key works in media. As you can see the above picture is what is really happening, there are two reporters standing in front of a green screen, this is then replaced by another background to make it look more professional.
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