Conventions Of Music Videos

All music videos follow a set of conventions to make a successful music video. These were put in place and haven’t generally changed that much, as usually by sticking to conventions are more appealing on the eye for the audience to watch. In lesson we compared the two music videos, from different eras, such as “Tell Him” by the Exciters from 1962 and “That’s what makes you beautiful” by One Direction made in 2011. 

Here is the music video of  Tell Him - The Exciters, 1962 below:

There are a variety of conventions that this particular music video follows, for instance:

• There is a close up of the person who is the lead singer
• Show random clips, which can be irrelevant
• Synchronised dancing or movements included
• Lip syncs
• Slow pace editing techniques used
• Random location choice, however, they change within location to keep the viewer interested
• Poor quality due to  the camera not being that advanced yet
• A variety of camera shots such as panning, tracking, zoom in and out, close ups etc
• Direct mode of address

Here is the music video of  What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction, 2011 below:

Similarly to "Tell Him" the One Direction song also includes conventions to make their music video successful and appealing to the audience. As shown by the list below:

• Editing techniques such as cross dissolving and quick cuts
• Direct mode of address (where the singer point at the camera to imply they are talking to the viewer
• The setting is the video is shot from the beginning to the end of the day
• Change of outfits
• Tell a story (the lyrics fit in with the shots shown on the screen)
• A variety of camera shots such as tracking, panning, close ups etc
• Mobile shots of the singers (both high and low angles of them)
• High Production costs
• Rather conventional scene on the beach, yet rather irrelevant
• Singers move around their location
• Lip syncing
• Opposite sex is used

Conclusion:

Although there are nearly 50 years between the music videos there are a variety of similarities as they both are performance videos, the cameras focus of the one who is singing, use direct mode of address, mixed locations and a diversity of editing techniques etc. On the other hand, modern music videos have a higher budget, meaning they can spend any amount of cost to create their successful music video. Unlike the “Tell Him” video, the more modern music videos have fewer limitations when creating their final piece. Due to the advance of technology too, modern music videos look much more professional and like a mini movie, which appeals on the audience’s eye. Another difference you notice in the more modern times that the existing singer are rather attractive on the eye, which also gains them more popularity. Therefore, there is more of a variety when creating a music video in this moment in time. Overall, I discovered that music videos in general never look the same, however, once taken a part and analysed are surprisingly more similar than first glance.