Conventions of Music Video

Camera Shots and Angles
The use of camera shots and angles not only apply to music videos but any sort of clip across the media world. They show things in different perspectives, views and give meaning to certain situations. A specific shot or angle used in a music video could mean a lot more than when it is used in an advertisement. Close-ups are the main camera shot to use as it helps to recognise artists, they also show expression and emotion in music or in relation to the song and lyrics. It's important for us to notice this as it helps us recognise and understand meanings. Not only do close-ups of the artist help to promote them as a unique person but closeups of certain products can do this too. If there is something of a particular brand in a music video, the camera man will take close-up shots of these adding to the sales of that product if members of the audience are interested in buying it. If a music video is being shot on an outside location, establishing shots are often used to set the scene, and frame everything that we see on screen. Long shots convey the similar sort of action. When setting the scene, the shts do not stray away from the main focus point which is the artist. As a producer you want to maintain flow in your music video, and linking locations and backgrounds to the actual song is a way of doing this. It's more meaningful and gain a better understanding of messages the artist is trying to get across. In Rihanna's video for Rehab, the scene is set in an amazing area where there are mountains in the background, and the sun is shining brightly. This shows that where they are is somewhat dreamy and that shes infatuated with it. This links in with the meaning of the song claiming that she needs to check in to rehab, because she has an obsession with a man, who she says is her disease, meaning she needs help. She wants to get away from him but becasue she is too addicted, she can't. To signify the high level of emotion that we feel by watching it, there are many close-ups of both the objects faces. They display want and need for eachother and by slow panning the camera and zooming in and out ever so slightly, the emotion is expressed more and more.



Editing and Effects
Editing is probably used about 95% of the time when creating a music video, becasue although you can edit shots together, some are filmed in one long continuous shot whcih doesnt need any ediitng done to it. Shots are cut together to create one final video, and if done coorrctly, the level of continuity should be visible and whether it's been edited seamlessly should be invisible. Although editing is a key technique, in the world we live in with technology forever expanding, artists rely more on effects. You can edit together a music video and it would be good, but you can add effects to it and it can make it even better. There are so many abstract music videos where they hve relied purely on effects. Arists do this to stylize their video becasue they want it to be the best.

Lyric Interpretation
Lyric interpretation is linking song lyrics with the visuals of what you see on screen, quite the same as Goodwin's theory. Although this method can be overused and is seen as thhe lazy rote, its thhe main way to portray messages and meanings. It also can mean an artist singing about something they like to do, or a certain lifestyle, and the music video will show them living this lifestyle to the fullest, and most of the time in a good way this is promoted. How We Do by Rita Ora is a very successful track and illustrates Rita by having a good time, partying and basically having a laugh with people you love. Although people may see this song as a bit obscene due to the song lyric 'I wanna party and bullshit', she is basically saying she wants to have a good time becasue thats what young people do. I think this has very minor effect on the success of the song, becaseu it is positively recognised by a lot of people.  The lyrics link to the video and the actions in the video significantly and is done very well by doing so. I think more people can relate to this song because it's talking about a lifestyle that everybody would love to have, but it is mostly aimed at young people, teenagers, and students becaseu it's the nature of the song.



Extending/Consolidating Song Meanings
Extending or consolidating song meanings is the use of symbolism to demonstate meanings further in a msuic video. In a music video where the mise-en-scene is established, there may be symbols in the video that relate to what is being sung, but also to develop the meaning of it and express emotion. Symbols could include the use of women, men, material things, beliefs and actions. I suppose when you think of symbols and meanings, that the subject is going to very deep but this is not always the case. There could be a situation where the song is very straight forward, but incorperating extra meanings and symbols in to the background can help elaborate this.  In the music video for Just Be Good To Green by Professor Green and Lily Allen, they are singing about Pro Green having a reputation with women, and shes unsure on what to do. To express this meaning even further there are women all around him, and as the stereo typical man, he tries his best to resist. It's a straight forward song as i said previously but having extra objects in the setting explains the core emaning further. This does relate to Goodwin' theory of sexualising women, but in this video they are not being used for that reason, they are being used to show how having a repuatation with one particular man isn't going to end well, and that it all comes down to attention.



Allusion
Allusion has the exactly same meaning as inter textual referncing, just not as full on, as it is done in a very suttle way. Allusion is only the process of mentioning something or someone iconic in the music and film industry, and only mentioning it briefly using symbols of the artist. This means you don't directly mention their name, you have to incorperate it disceetly into your msuic by using certain objects to symbolise them. It's very indrect towards the person it is about, but by doing it this way it doesnt take the attention off the artist. In his case, if you identify somthing alluding in a video, and you want to discuss it with your peers, it lets you have your own perception of what you think it could all mean, without actually knowing fully what their intentions were.