2. Introduction:
In this presentation, different genres of music video will be introduced and
compared. The genres to be explored are Pop, Rock and R&B.
This will help understand different styles of music videos, their
characteristic, mise en scene, editing preferences and camera shots.
3. Pop
In this music video genre, bright colored lighting and some form of
bright costume will usually stand out. This aspect in such videos
make them appealing to the young audiences. They are often lively
and fun as a strategy to attract young audiences mostly.
Examples: “Psycho”, performed by Anne-Marie x Aitch and “Last
Friday Night”, performed by Katy Perry.
4. Ballad
Ballad music videos tend to be slow
paced because of their deep lyrics and
melody. Their music videos are often
narrative, telling a story throughout
the video and with the arstist lip
syncing in deep emotion.
Since most ballad songs are about love
and intense subjects, there is usually
minimal editing and dark color
scheme.
Examples: “With or Without You” by
U2
“Evergone” by Christina Perri
5. R&B – Rhythm and blues
In R&B music video visuals reflect the music and the lyrics. There is always a constant
match in the visual and lyrics’ relationship. The visuals depend on the tempo of the
music and the topic of the song.
For example, if it’s a slow and sad song the visuals are likely to be a narrative linking
with the lyrics, for example “Stole” by Kelly Rowland, whereas, if it is an upbeat tempo
song (Contemporary R&B) there will be choreography and visuals that might not relate
to the lyrics, such as “Waterfalls” by TLC.
The cool color scheme, on the other hand, is always something that stays in trend with
all R&B music videos.
6. Rock
Rock music videos can range from
different styles depending on which
specific type. But the general atributes
are the steryotipical props that appear
in such videos, such as electric guitars,
a drum set, a microphone and very big
speakers. Often, rock music videos
tend to tell a story and the artist
commonly seems to be deep in
emotion while lip-syncing.
Examples: “Don`t Go Away ” by
Oasis and “Rock Believer ” by
Scorpions.
7. Country
Common conventions for country
music videos are the slow paced,
mixed performative and narrative
video. This is often used because
country songs tend to tell stories in
their lyrics, and these stories are
usually perfomed in the video clips.
Deserts, the countryside, farms are
some of the preferred settings used
since these elements best portray the
Western American story. Cowboys
are also part of the scenario too.
Examples: “Country on” by Luke
Bryan.
“What Hurts The Most” by Rascal
Flatts
8. Summary
To summarize, every genre of music seems to have their own
theme and a distinct way of presentation. Aesthetically, each
genre has their own style of expressing emotion or/and
rhythm.
This research has helped me not only understand the different
codes and conventions of each music video genre chosen, but
also helped me decide the music genre that I will end up
choosing as a final project.
