CODES AND CONVENTIONS
On this page, I will cover the main codes and conventions within the music industry when filming a video, such as camera angles, editing styles, CGI, sound, genre, Mise en scene, colour and lighting.. Also, I will give examples and describe how they have been used and the effect it gives off.
Tracking Shot
Tracking shots are used within only some music videos which then follows the main character throughout a specific location.
This music video follows Kiesza as she walks down a street and engages with different characters and different activities. This music video is semi iconic but very memorable because of the difficulty and how unique it is. For example, there are many different people involved which all had different tasks such as making sure the dancers are perfect otherwise the whole music video would have to be re shot.
Despite the drama and controversy this caused, this is also a very well known song and music video. This music video is also mainly done using tracking shots which follows Gambino as he walks through different situations within America.
Camera Angles
Different camera angles are used within music videos and films to create an emotion or set a mood for the scene.
Long Full Shot
For this first shot, we began by watching music videos to find a scene we could replicate. We found that 'See you again' By Tyler The Creator had all the shots we needed. Therefore, I took screenshots of all the scenes we were going to replicate and then planning the setting.
Establishing Shot
Establishing shots are used within music videos to help allow the audience to gain more context and an overall image of the current scene and what is happening. We recreated this by finding a scene from 'See you again' and then planned out how to make it similar. Then, we placed all the chairs to match what was happening on screen and set a timed photo.
Long Shot
Finally, we found a long shot that we could re create. To do this, we once again set up the timed photo and stood in place. These shots are used to show the audience the setting and location of the scene.
Low Angle Shot
Low angled shots are mainly used to show a character or something that has great power. This is because it is as if we are looking up at them showing their dominance. For this shot, we used 'Circles' by Post Malone as the shot makes him look very powerful.
Dutch Shot
Dutch shots are used more in film but still often occur in music videos. These can be done to create dramatic effect, show an action of a character (falling) and other reasons.
High Angle Shot
High angle shots are when the camera is placed above a character. These are used to show a character as vulnerable or weak. For example, we recreated the high angle shot from Post Malone's 'Circles' in which a dead soldier can be seen from above with arrows in him.
Scale Shot
Scale shots are when a character or something is closer to the camera than someone else or an object. This makes whoever is closer look bigger to possibly show dominance or just to show who the audience should be focusing on.
Close and Extreme Close Up
Both of these shots don't occur that much within music videos, but when they do, they are used to show emotion on the characters face to hopefully allow the audience to understand how they are feeling
SOUND
Diegetic
Diegetic sound is when the people within the video can actually hear what is being played. For example, this live performance from Juice WRLD is a good example as everyone is hearing what is actually being played.
Non Diegetic
On the other hand, with non diegetic, this video involves several characters however, they cannot hear the same music that we are hearing.
Editing Styles
Fast
Depending on the mood and pace of a song, the music video will sometimes consist of very fast paced edits to make sure it matches how the song is going. Fast paced edits are usually used within fast paced songs and upbeat songs. For my example, I have chosen 'Gimme Love' by Joji. This is a fast paced song that uses loads of small quick clips that help tell a story of a specific character. This works well as it keeps up well with what is happening and it makes sure the clips are edited at a good speed as we can still easily tell what's happening.
Slow
When looking at music videos with slow paced edits, they are more commonly found in slower/ sad music videos. A slower editing style are mainly used to help set the tone and theme of the song. For example, I have used 'When the Party's over' by Billie Eilish. This is a very slow and fairly sad song which therefore comes with a slow edit. With this video, all the shots used are very long which helps create a sad and also creepy vibe with the video as they don't usually last that long.
CGI/ Special Effects
CGI and Special effects can and have been used in loads of music videos as they help to empathise a scene/ location to really make it seem more entertaining. The difference between the two is that CGI (computer generated imagery) is images/ videos made completely from a computer and none of it is real. However, special effects can be added on to real footage to give of a specific effect such as using a green screen to make it look like you are somewhere else.
CGI
This video by 'Lil Dicky' gained a lot of attention, not only for the message in the lyrics, but also because of the very unique and expensive music video. This video is almost completely CGI as it shows us the whole planet in an animated form. This whole video is extremely entertaining and well done as it is still realistic but still has a cartoon feel to it. There aren't many music videos that are completely CGI which therefore helped stand out against other music videos.
Special Effects
To be honest, this whole video is filled with loads of different special effects which help to create a very visually pleasing video as there is always so much to look at. These effects help to create a video which could potentially show the effect while being intoxicated which Travis Scott does rap a lot about. This fits the song as he mentions drink and drugs a few times which really gives the audience a taste of what it is like to be like him.
Tie-ins
A Tie-in music video is a music video which either consists of constant themes from a film or another media project. These are sometimes just done for entertainment purposes but are sometimes made specifically for the film to possibly help promote the film and also so they can use them for specific scenes and any other reasons. For my example, I have chosen 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa. This song was made for 'Fast and Furious 7' which grew to be one of the biggest songs in recent times because of the meaning behind the song. This song had a strong connection to Paul Walker who sadly passed away whilst filming the end of the film. Therefore, this song had a much deeper meaning which helped it gain attention and also helped the film gain more viewers. The video consists of small montages of Paul Walker and the rest of the cast whilst the song talks about friendships and family.
Genre Themes
When it comes to a specific genre, there are specific themes and similarities within many music videos with the same sort of style and target audience. Obviously, depending on the genre, the themes in the video can often relate to the people who listen to them a lot. In this section, I will cover some genres and the themes that help to make it match up.
UK Grime/ Rap
Despite not really listening to this genre, anyone can easily tell some of the main themes within a stereotypical UK grime video. For example, there are almost always some expensive/ flashy cars on show, lots of money, alcohol and drugs and a large group of people wearing designer clothes and expensive jewellery. However, some of these themes can be seen in other genres such as American rap and even some Hip Hop.
Mise En Scene
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Lighting
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