Codes and Conventions of a Music Video:

 

The codes and conventions are a way of constructing meaning in media texts. 

There are two separate categories to this which is technical and symbolic. The technical part of the codes and conventions is to do with how the equipment and technology are used to construct meaning within the media text, for example with the camera; the angle of the shot – if the shot is filmed from a high angle and the camera is looking down on the artist, it is to make them look inferior. There is a variety of shots depending on the style, in music videos there are a lot of close ups, even extreme close ups of lips, guitar strings and other things that they want the audience to see. Crane shots are used quite frequently where the camera is hovering over stage, then there are low angles as well as high, pans and tilt shots when moving in between different performers, tracking and long shots to see the location as well as extreme long shots and many more.

With editing there are many different techniques used in music videos. Music videos usually feature jump cutting and the footage is usually edited to match the music. Sometimes they also add in splits-screens or CGI. A technique that I will use when editing my footage will be to make the lighting darker so that it creates the effect of not being in a nice place and recreate the feel of a mental asylum. I will have to do this because to film it has to be well lit, however thanks to the effects I can add in when editing my music video will still have the look I want it to have.

The last part of the technical half of the codes and conventions, there is sound; whether it is diegetic or non-diegetic and sometimes there may be a change in the level of sound too, for example in a music video where there is an explosion added in. For my music video I may add in the sound of an electric shock when the artist is having treatment so that it has more of an effect on the audience when they watch it and feel as if they are actually there, which will make them more engrossed in the video.

The symbolic part of the codes and conventions consists of what meaning is created beyond what is obvious to see. A good example would be seeing specific facial expressions of the artist so we can see their emotion and know how they are feeling. This yet again helps you understand the song that little bit more. The mise-en-scene would also be included in this because whatever is in the shot of the music video you see is meant to be there, which therefore makes everything symbolic.

The mise-en-scene can vary greatly depending on the genre of music and the type of music video, it depends on what are used, the costumes (if the music video is set in a different time e.g. the 90s then the costume would have to be of the style of that year) and location of where the music video is set (house, dance studio, street etc.) a good example to explain all of these would be a love song and the artist is laying on their bed (location: set in their bedroom) and in the background of the shot you can see a photo frame with the artist and who they were seeing on their bed side table (mise-en-scene), this allows the audience to know who the artist is singing about and that they meant a lot to them. It is highlighted through using the mise-en scene because they have a picture that they would see every morning when they woke up and every night before they went to sleep.

The reason as to why we have codes and conventions is because codes and conventions are like a firm set of rules. They allow the audience to become familiar with a certain genre as they become accustomed to seeing certain things and it ensures that a certain text works well and fits into its genre, because of this they can slowly adapt however shouldn’t be challenged on too great a level.