Music Video Styles

There are three different styles of music videos within the music industry. Each of the styles used have a different effect and impact on the video making it different from others making the viewer’s either like the video or dislike it depending on how it is presented. The three different music video styles are;

v  Narrative Based

v  Performance Based

v  Concept Based

Narrative Based Music Video

A narrative based music video is a video which will attempt to create a story throughout the music video which sometimes goes with the lyrics of the song, however, this isn’t always the case. It will include actors which tell the narrative to the audience, sometimes other music artists or famous actors will be within the music video which can help it as more people will want to watch is as they are a fan which can create a bigger relationship with the audience.

One example of a music video which shows a narrative based music video is Kay Parry – Last Friday Night T.G.I.F. Everyone who watches the video can tell it will be telling a story as it starts off with an establishing shot, which draws the audience in as it’s like a short film reminding people of a typical teen film.

 

This video is a good example as it uses celebrity endorsement as a younger famous singer has been used within the video. Rebecca Black is has been used as the girl who throws the party which Katy Perry goes to. This video shows a ‘geeky’ girl who doesn’t seem very popular or someone people who would go out to hang around with turn into a popular ‘hottie’ after a few heads turn, Even though the artist herself continues to sing in some cases, the narrative continues throughout the music video. It’s a music video people can relate to and is still very entertaining.

Performance Based

A performance based music video can be considered the cheapest kind of music video to make as it is mainly based on live performances of the artist. The artist themselves will perform for the camera so it’s all about them, so there is no need to hire actors to be within the music video. It would be a music video all about that artist. There would be several types of shots within the music video such as close-ups, mid shots, and even extreme close ups. Performance based music videos are also another way for an artist to promote their concerts making people who are a fan to go out and buy the tickets. The best thing about making music videos on an artist’s live performance is that the music video will also show the audience which can create excitement for the viewers watching the video. It gives a sense of experience of what it would be like if they were actually at the concert.

One example of a performance based music video is Beyonce – Ego, this music video consists of the three main shots I mentioned earlier; close –ups, extreme close ups and mid shots. The camera is set on her majority of the time before it shows the 2 back up dancers she has with her.