Codes and Conventions of music videos

There are many codes and conventions used within music videos through the used of camera, editing, mise en scene and clothing. Codes and conventions are certain things done within videos which represent something that can be recognised by the audience.

In the music video I analysed ' Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon a close up shot of the artist (lead singer of the band) is used as soon as the music begins. This is a convention of a music video as close up shots of the artist are always used in order for the audience to recognise them and also because artists tend to mime the lyrics making it a performance based song. Close up shots are also used in the two other videos I analysed; 'Trust' and 'What's it gonna be'.

In 'Use Somebody', the emotion can be seen on the artists face as he begins to sing the song, this is a symbolic code as it allows the audience to know what the artist is feeling and therefore sets a mood for the song and the audience. This is also done in 'Trust' as both artists tend not to look directly at the camera but are looking down or the camera is placed where the audience only see the side of their faces. This is effective as the song is emotional and it lets the audience become aware of the emotion in both the lyrics and the performance.

In the song 'What's it gonna be', symbolic codes are also used when the artists are performing the song, the are always in the location of the library. This is done as it gives the audience recognition of who the artists are because they can link them with the location. This is important because the song is both performance based and narrative based but by creating this location it breaks these up and lets the audience know which is which.

As the video by HtwoO begins the location is set straight away with an establishing shot of a school or college building. This is then backed up by the clothing of a school uniform, which lets the audience know for certain where they are. This is a convention of a music video as clothes can be used to set a location, mood or to even indicate the genre of the song. In this case the clothes are used to set the location.
The use of the establishing shot at the start of the song is very much the same as the music video 'Trust'. At the beginning of this song a shot of a mansion is used but instead of clothing setting the location, text is used at the bottom of the screen, saying 'Tuscany, Italy'. This again sets the location.

Another convention of music videos is the editing; in all three of the videos I analysed editing is used in order for the shots to be in pace with the pace of the music. This a convention used in most music videos because the pace of the shots can set a mood or feel to the song. For example the song 'Trust' is a slow song with a lot of emotion, so shots are not fast and short but a longer.
On the other hand in the song 'Use Somebody', fast, short shots are used as the genre of the music is rock and therefore fast paced. However at the start of the song long shots are used as the pace of the music is fairly slow.

In the HtwoO video fairly longer shots are used then in the Kings of Leon video although it is a fast paced song, however fast dancing is used in there video which makes the pace seem quicker.

All of these are codes and conventions of music videos, which all vary depending on the genre and pace of the song. Overall all the videos have many things in common which are likely to be found in most music videos, hence why they are conventions.