Music Theory - Forms and Conventions

Music theories give an insight to the purpose and reception of music videos by its audience. Different theorists have put across different ideas on typical conventions and elements within a music video.

The theorists that I have explored within this task is Andrew Goodwin and Bordwell & Thompson.

Andrew Goodwin: 


Bordwell & Thompson (2001):

Researching into forms and conventions is vital to ensure that you understand the components which make up a video as we want it to fit in the real media world so we have focused on how the music videos are presented by the artist and the institution following Andrew Goodwin's theory which has almost been our bible in understanding what really does make a music video! Looking into the different areas which make up a music video already kicked up conversation of creative ideas and how it could be implements within our own music video but with our own unique spin! 

Ruby:

I compared the length of music videos and the camera angles used within the alternative and pop genre:

Here is a list of popular bands/artists which fit into the alternative genre:

Florence and the Machine

Two Door Cinema Club

Imagine Dragons

Kings of Leon

Lana Del Rey

Jake Bugg

The 1975

Coldplay

I researched into the length of music videos and the camera angles that are used within the alternative genre. 

Firstly, I looked at the Artic Monkeys where I found 6 official music videos on their Vevo YouTube page. The music videos were 3:01, 3:23, 3:36, 3:45 and 4:26 in length; this shows a wide range in the lengths with these lengths it is assumed that because that is the conventional length of a song that there will be no introductions/conclusions or added speech throughout. I looked at their song 'R U Mine?' which has the most views on YouTube which perhaps insinuates that it is their most popular song. Despite the video being 3:45 in length, surprisingly there is a 23 introduction to the song in the form of a radio DJ. As well as this there is also a 2 second period whereby the music has finished and there is a shot of the DJ. This video consists of mainly hand held shots such as when there is a long shot of a man playing air guitar and when the audience is shown around the inside of the car and the people inside. The hand held camera is brought into the live performance where the camera moves towards different members of the band to make the audience feel closer. There is also use of a steady cam when there is a two shot of two people in the car.

Secondly, I looked at Bastille where I found 5 official music videos on their Vevo YouTube page. The music videos were 3:22, 3:34, 3:41, 3:53 and 4:21 in length. I watched the most viewed video which is 'Pompeii' and found that although the song is 3:53 in length, there are 17 seconds at the beginning before the music starts and there is 7 seconds of nothing after the music finishes. I found that with each location there was an establishing shot which made it clear to see where the scenes were set. Along with this there was a wide range of other shots frequently used such as tracking, close up and over the shoulder. Most of the footage was filmed hand held which creates a shaky effect which worked well when the man was running away from danger. 

Thirdly, I looked at Alt J where I found 4 official music videos on their Altjband YouTube channel. The music videos were 3:09, 3:42, 3:47 and 3:49 in length. I watched the most viewed video which is 'Breezeblocks' and found that although the song is 3:47 in length and the music starts straight away, there are 3 seconds of silence at the end. The video is in reverse which is different to the majority of videos, there is the use of a close up on certain aspects, a two shot used between the two characters in the video and a large use of a steady cam. 

Overall, from viewing these three music videos, it was found that the length of the music videos vary from 3:01 to 4:26 minutes with most videos fitting into the 3 minute section. This indicates that the whole video consists practically of every second being the length of the song as traditionally songs are 3-4 minutes in length. 
The conventional camera angles are usually taken on a tripod, the most used shots is the two shot, this may be due to the videos being of bands therefore two of the members could be shown at once. In some videos a particular angle is favored such as the establishing shot and tracking shots in the Bastille video.

Here is a list of popular bands/artists which fit into the pop genre:
One Direction
Justin Bieber
Miley Cyrus
Robin Thicke
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Rihanna 

I researched into the length of music videos and the camera angles that are used within the pop genre. 

On the BritneySpearsVevo Youtube channel there are over 70 videos uploaded with not all being official music videos. I looked at the most recently uploaded videos where I found the lengths to be 3:55, 5:23, 3:10, 4:34 and 3:57. I watched the 'Piece of Me' video which has 9,344,221 views after being uploaded two years ago. The music video wastes no time and has the whole 3:10 being filled with music rather than a silent start or finish or talking. The close up is used quite a lot in order to show both Britney's face where she lip syncs and for focus on specific parts of her body. The use of low and high angle shots are used when the group of girls are walking down the stairs. There are also many medium and long shots used when Britney dances in the studio, these are combined together by the use of cuts.

I checked out the JessieJ Vevo channel on YouTube where the most recent videos consisted of 3:52, 4:48, 4:01, 3:43 and 3:55 in length. I watched the 'Wild' video where the music does not start until 48 seconds, before this the camera follows Jessie whilst she walks through the studio until she reaches her set. The music video also finishes as 4:34 despite being 4:48 minutes long, the rest of the time is used to show the record label. She is filmed from all angles, with a 180o view of her in a medium shot as the camera moves around her body. As always there is use of long shots and close ups, some of which were filmed from diagonal angles in order to frame her from all angles. There is use of side views, zooms into her face and a quick pan between the three artists. The two featuring artists (Big Sean and Dizzee Rascal) are mostly filmed with the simple long and medium shots.

Ellie Goulding's sound consists of more indie pop rather than just pop alone, however as a successful artists frequently on the charts I decided she was suitable artist to research. The most recent uploaded official videos consisted of being 3:59, 4:01, 4:04, 3:28 and 4:18 long. I watched 'Figure 8' which is 4:04 minutes long although the music starts straight away it ends 4 seconds before the video ends. The video opens with an establishing shot of the house where it is set, it starts blurry but then with the use of a focus pull the bed becomes the main attraction, this is important because later on in the video Goulding is floating above the bed which is where a long shot of her body is captured. There is a slow track of Goulding's feet and lower legs as she walks and it is filmed upside down at first but then it flips up to the right way. An aerial shot is used when showing her laying in her bed, there is use of a quick pan going up her body. Fast cuts of shots become apparent whilst a long note is being sung, a low angle shot becomes symbolic of her desperation which is also shown by her emotion. As in the majority of music videos the stand medium shots and close ups are used. To end the video the music and the music video ends 4 seconds early and these 4 seconds are used to advertise 'Polydor 2012'.

Overall, from these 3 videos the length is hard to be conventional as they range from 3:10 to 5:23 minutes long. However, the average seems to be within the 3-4 minute range; as this is the usual length of a song this means there are no breaks in order for speech to be heard. In the Britney Spears 'Criminal' video as it is 5:23 minutes long, it is assumed that there will be some action included whilst the song is not playing. This is true as the first 1:24 consists of drama, then the song is played until 5:07 minutes in, here it then stops and goes onto the credits until the final 2 seconds are used as a black screen.
The conventional camera angles for all videos are medium shots and close ups which are used widely within these three videos. Close ups are used to convey emotion or to focus on something important. Low angle shots are a popular choice as they can be used to make the character look weak and dominated.