Music Video Conventions

Conventions of music videos

- Videos may use linear narratives telling the story of the song or performance montages to draw attention to the song or the performers

- Videos may use contrasting settings and associated lighting – location or studio or in performance, urban or rural, exotic or everyday, to match the style of music and the musician’s image

- Videos may use contrasting camerawork and editing to create a tone to match the song and the musician(s), by creating documentary style naturalism or a more stylised performance, for example

- Videos may use only the music track as soundtrack or may add diegetic elements to help create a self-contained fictional world

- Any other valid contrasting media language

- Narratives

- Mise–en-scene: Costumes, facial expressions, props

- Different camerawork and/or editing

- Representations (We will have a separate lesson on this) 

- Bright lighting

Katy Perry TGIF

Task 1 - What pop conventions feature in this music video?
- bright colours
- bold and bright outfits to allow Katy to stand out
- stereotypical characters (nerd, jock)
- settings such as, party, bedroom, garden.
- closes up shot of the artist allowing her to be the centre of attention

Task 2 - which genres do the video conform to? For example: comedy / romcom / horror?List 4 genre conventions you spotted in each
- pop
- comedy 

Task 3 - According to Todorov, all stories have 3 parts: Equilibrium, disruption, new equilibrium. Apply this to the video
- Katy is a typical 'nerd' and gets transformed into a pretty, bold, colourful girl.
- she woke up the next morning everyone confused about what had happened, she was surrounded by passed out boys.