Conventions of Music Videos

• A typical convention of any genre music video is the construction of 'STAR IMAGE.' 

For example Katy Perrys star image is her beauty as well her sarcastic querkiness that goes hand in hand with her music videos. The constructors of the video achieve this by using close ups of Katys face and such iconic things such as her multi coloured her and her breasts ( which are part of her star image, as they are constantly being debated about throughout the media.) Another way of focusing our attention onto the star is having a performanced based video alongside a narrative, as it shows their personality and in Katys case, qwerkiness however it still shows her singing reguarly, to emphasise the fact she is still a gratified singer. As well as this her income will predominantly come from her tours, therefore she wants to advertise herself as best as she can.

• The Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a regular occurance shot seen within various music videos in order to create a beautiful , professional well thought out shot. It is significant within a music video in order to create a sense of foreground and background, as you can see in the image above. it Focuses our attention to a main object, sometimes even the star.. therefore highlighting their image. 

• Soft/High Key Lighting

• soft and high key lighting is often used in music videos as it is conventional to produce a flawless, angelic image (especially in up beat/vibrant videos.) In this example of Ellie Goulding lots of lights have evidently been used to construct this flawless image. There is most likely a 3 point lighting scheme, where the main force of light is coming from the fill light, creating an attractive shadow acrosss her face, as well as giving her an angelic glow. 

• Voyeurism (presented by Andrew Goodwin)

• voyeurism is key within every music video in order to enhance the main figures star image (especially seen with females.) Voyeurism is pleasurable watching usually including some form of sexuality. Voyeurism is often seen through a specific frame such as a window or an extra screen... this creates a sense of 'i shouldn't be watching' which is what audiences tend to want to watch. Andrew Goodwin says voyeurism is pretty much neccessary to create a provocative music video.

• Visuals and Lyrics Matching! - in order to create a continuous flowing music video, matching the visuals with the lyrics is key. Andrew Goodwin stated that this must be achieved or a music video would not seem authentic. However it creates the same effect if the visuals and lyrics contradict each other, this is effective as it adds another dynamic to it as well as being abstract. 

• Camera Movement is vital when constructing a music video as it creates a continuous flow as well as making the video look professional. If the camera is moving it creates a dynamic effect with the light as it produces camera and light flares which make the shot look more interesting