Speed is the Essence:
Camera Shots: jumping directly between long shots, close ups and extreme close ups. Primarily the close up on the singer’s face is the main generic convention for music videos. Also the extreme close up on the lips for lip synching.
Camera Movement: whip pans, fast dolly track shots and fast overhead crane shots to follow the running, walking or dancing of performers. Also fast vertical tilts and horizontal pans.
Editing: various terms: jump cutting, MTV style editing or montage editing. Creating the visually de-centred experience of ‘jumping’ from location to person to instrument without any normal narrative continuity. It is often the beat or the rhythm of the track which provides the organisng principle for editing movement. The editing moves so fast it creates the need for viewing ‘repeatedly’.
Post-production digital effects: ‘split screens’ ‘colourisation’ ‘slow motion’ etc These are now conventional for music videos. Please look out for other innovative effects.
Lighting: Expressive lighting a key feature of music videos. Extreme artificial light to create the ‘bleaching’ effect on pop stars faces (making them seem ageless). Also the use of switching from colour to black & white or sepia to indicate a shift from chorus to verse. Also lighting effects such as strobes or flashing needs to be identified. This obviously links into the use of CGI in dance music videos to enhance the atmosphere.
Mise-en-scene: look for the overall artistic concept in a video. Is there a theme such as the historical period e.g. the sixties (Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with its intertextual link to the Austin Powers film) or the seventies (The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage). Consider also the need for authenticity in performance videos by using the concert hall or rehearsal studio setting.
