Conventions

Conventions of a Music Video

Goodwin's:

• Lyrics and visuals are related (visuals might illustrate, amplify or contradict lyrics)
• Music and visuals are related
• Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography (heavy rock videos often use live performances) CHALLENGED
• Lots of close-ups of the main artist/vocalist CHALLENGED
• References to voyeurism especially in the way women are treated, but also by using screens, cameras, binoculars etc.
• Intertextual references (to other music videos, films or TV texts)

Pete Fraser:

• The tempo/pace of a track might be matched by editing (e.g short cuts to match a fast pace)
• Images of guitars, keyboards, a mouth etc. might be used to emphasise a particular sound in a track.



Conventions of a Thriller

"Settle them down and create a sense of anticipation. . hit the ground running"

(Complexity within simplicity) Saul Bass

• A build up to the action
• Creation of fear / apprehension / anticipation / unsettling feeling / confusion / doubt over a character
• Dark, shadowy atmosphere (use of light and dark images)
• Establishing mood and atmosphere throughout the film
• Delay in showing the face of a significant character, or the action of an important event by first showing the hand of the character for instance or a reaction of someone watching the event
• Creation of suspense using soundtrack music - eerie innocent music?
• Morally ambiguous central character - film noir (Seven)
• Murder encouraging a suspecting audience
• Realistic settings to create a sense of 'the unusual' occurring within a normal setting
• Flashbacks
• Hero(ine) in situation of threat or struggle
• Red Herrings (Hitchcock movies)
• Twists and unexpected turns (The Usual Suspects)
• Making and keeping the audience tense and on the edge of our seats.

"the conventions of each genre shift, new genres and sub-genres emerge and others are 'discontinued'" (Chandler).

In my thriller opening I stuck very closely to the conventions by including flashbacks, a dark, shadowy atmosphere and morally ambiguous central character... In my music video I challenged the conventions a lot more by including close-ups of a toy camper van instead of the main vocalist... I took more risks by using a concept idea with the camper van and use of stop frame animation...

"one could... argue that no set of necessary and sufficient conditions can mark off genres from other sorts of groupings in ways that all experts or ordinary film-goers would find acceptable" (Bordwell 1989, 147).

I think it is good to have a set of 'rules' there to provide guidelines when making a product, however as long as you are aware of the conventions it is ok to subvert or challenge them... My creativity would have been more restricted making my music video if I was not able to break the 'rules'... I followed them in the production of my thriller opening but felt a lot more confident to not follow them with my music video... Ibroke them a lot in my music video by using googly eyes on the toy camper van in relation to the concept of the notion of looking instead of real eyes...

"conventions give the producers a framework to work with - a set of guidelines" (McQuail).

I was able to work within a set of guidelines to produce a convincing product but also work against them to be more creative...It was helpful but also allowed for creativity...I felt more secure knowing what I had to do to create something convincing...

"sometimes, working within constraints produces the most interesting work" (Branston and Strafford).

I think breaking the conventions actually allowed me to express more creativity by not producing something predictable with my music video...In my thriller opening I didn't challenge them as much which I regretted.