conventions

CODES & CONVENTIONS
OF A MUSIC VIDEO:
What are conventions? What we expect to see and happen
What are codes? A sign that creates meaning
What are they for? They allow the audience to be familiar with certain genres because the audience would be used to seeing different features of different genres. They also ensure that certain media texts work well with certain genres.
CONVENTIONS & GENRES: There are different conventions for various styles of music videos, here are examples of some styles:
Performance (where the video features an artist or band playing/performing)
Narrative (where the video follows a story line)
Mixture (uses both performance and a little narrative)
Cameo (where the artist or band do not perform but feature in the narrative)
Camera shots: There is a variety of camera shots used in every music video, to help make it interesting. Long shots, close ups and extreme close ups are used more often. The reason for the close ups is to help promote the artist/s and to show them miming the song. Also a mixture of camera movements are used in order to give different impressions.
Camera movements: Pans, tracking and tilts. These are all used to follow the artist's movements.
Editing: The footage is usually edited so that it matches the music, or follows the beats within a song. Jump cut is the most commonly used form of editing. This is because the camera cuts from one location to another showing different scenes within the music video. Also, again very commonly used, the video is edited so that it cuts at certain points in the music, to create different effects. It cuts to the rhythm of the song.
Mise en scene: How the scene is set totally depends on the genre of the music video and what the song is about. It also depends what message is been put across and how the artist is been represented.5 things that contribute towards the mise en scene are:
1. Lighting.. most music videos use artificial lighting, this also depends what message is been put across. For example if the intended representation is to be scary and threatening, then the lighting would be from behind the artist, leaving a bright outline around the artist and making them seem dark and shadowed to the audience.
2. Props.. props are essential in music videos. Again it depends what genre the music is, but they are used in every music video. Instruments is the most conventional. In slow songs for example, artist Delta Goodrem uses a piano in a lot of her videos. In a video featuring someone like Lady Gaga, the props used are different. A main prop, that is used in every Gaga video is a pair of sunglasses. This is an icon of the artist and makes her recognisable.
3. Costume.. music videos more commonly now use strange costumes/outfits that put them in the public eye. Again, using Lady Gaga for example, she as an artist is famously known for her choice of clothing in both music videos and famous events. For example, her most recent and talked about outfit is the one were she dressed herself in raw meat, wearing it all over her body aswell as in her hair. Although, costume does depend on the genre of the song (again) and so this effects what the artist would wear, making it relevant to the music.
4. Colour.. colours set the mood of the song, for example dull and dark colours usually connote a sad/slow/melancholy song. In the video "how to save a life" by The Fray dark, dull colours are used to present the mood of the song.
5. Sound.. the sound used in a music video is the non-diegetic music and vocals, often a broken narrative is used so that dialogue is involved, which is becoming more popular in todays' music industry.

EXAMPLES
Rock Music:- dark deep colours- performance- not usually a narrative- awquard camera movements- handheld shots
Pop Music:- colourful- fun- light hearted- dance routines- younger target audience- has a narrativeThis is what my video should feature ^^
Indie Music:- black and white/colourful- fun- some effects- can sometimes have a narrative- calm setting- performance
Dance Music:- dance routine- located at club or party- bright colours- half naked female dancers- can have a narrative

OF AN ALBUM COVER..

The front
-Artist name.. This needs to be big and bold in order to catch the attention of the audience. It needs to be made obvious who's the album is and also because there isn't a lot of detail on the front, it needs to be made interesting by a big, bright name. It is usually positioned at the top, in order for it to be one of the first things the audience will see.

-Name of Album- This isn't usually as big as the artist name, and it usually positioned at the bottom of the cover in the middle. It doesn't have to be the same colour as the artist name but should fit in with the colour scheme of the album cover. The font is normally a little simpler than the name of the artist because it isn't always as important.

-Main image representing artist- This is the most important on the front cover, simply because it creates the whole message about the artist.

The back
-List of tracks (numbered)

-Barcode

-Information on institution

-Mid shot of artist

The spine
-Artist name

-Name of artist

-Institution logo

On the front cover of an album, the most obvious feature is the image of the artist, usually a close up; helping to present who the artist is, their attitude, and genre of music. The image is also straight on, the artist is staring straight at the camera, helping to create a connection will the audience.
The actual CD itself usually uses a design that helps to represent the artist in a certain way. The colour scheme is quite similar to the front, and it can often use the same design as on the front. The CD cover should reflect the album title, or one of the songs on the album.On both of the album cover and CD cover, there needs to be a main image, album title, artist name, and institution details on the CD cover.

OF A WEBSITE..

A logo of institution: this should be placed at the top of page, usually in the top right or one of the bottom corners. This is because it is not one of the first things you would like your audience to see, but should still be noticable in case the audience need to know anything about the institution. It also helps to promote the institution if their logo is in good view.

Underlining: If a peice of text, or image etc, is being used as a link, then it needs to be underlined so that the audience can easily identify what is a link and what isn't.

Search box: A search box makes it easier for the audience to make their way around the website and find the information they need to know quickly. It also means that they can directly reach the page they want without having to browse through various pages before finding anything relevent.

Balance between text and images: Websites are not jam packed with one or the other, they are evenly padded out with a mixture of both images and text, with varied font colours, sizes and styles.

A home page should contain:
. a home page link
. name/email address/details
. informative title
. bookmarkers
. buttons
. logo/graphics
. navigation bar


CONVENTIONS ESSAY
A convention, is something that is expected from the audience, and it becomes recognisable of a certain genre or style of media text.
One convention of a general music video is the use of different camera shots. The variety of cinematography used makes the video interesting and keeps the audience engaged. Lots of close ups are used for example extreme close ups, medium close ups and close ups. These all allow the audience to see the artist up close rather then them having to go and see them live. A pop music video uses this technique,
Simply to help promote the artist, which is the overall purpose of the video. Also, this camera shot is used to help show emotion within the video. It means we can see the expression on the artist's face, which is usually smiling.
A long with the variety of camera shots, many camera movements are used throughout a music video. The use of panning, tilting and tracking all follow the artist, it prevents the video from being boring and looking static. Because they follow the movements of the artist it makes it seem more realistic, and makes the audience feel as though they are actually watching the artist live and following their every move.
Another convention followed by a music video is the editing. The footage is editing in time with the music; is the song is quick and upbeat, the editing with be quick and upbeat, if the song is slow, the editing pace will be slow too. This is to create an atmosphere for the video as well as set a mood for the song. Also with editing, the video cuts from one shot to another in time with the beats of the music. This is so that it looks smooth, and in some cases, used to make it look continuous.
The mise-en-scene is similar in many videos, which makes it a convention. Most music videos use artificial lighting, which way depends on the mood that is being created. If the artist is supposed to seem threatening and scary, the lighting would be from behind them, making them look intimidating and dark; their face would be shadowed. Props are often used in a music video, more often then not they are essential in the video. Instruments are the most conventional prop; used most often. Props can also be used as an icon for an artist, for example pop artist Lady Gaga uses a pair of glasses in every video, they differ every time to be uniform with the rest of the video. This is a style icon for Gaga. Music videos now more commonly use strange costumes/outfits that put them in the public eye. Again, using Lady Gaga for example, she as an artist is famously known for her choice of clothing in both music videos and famous events. For example, her most recent and talked about outfit is the one were she dressed herself in raw meat, wearing it all over her body as well as in her hair. Although, costume does depend on the genre of the song (again) and so this effects what the artist would wear, making it relevant to the music. The colours within the video help set the mood of the song, for example dull and dark colours usually connote a sad/slow/melancholy song. In the video "how to save a life" by The Fray dark, dull colours are used to present the mood of the song. Where as if bright and cheerful colours were used, such as yellow, it would turn the mood around and instantly make it happy and cheerful.
The sound used in a music video is the non-diegetic music and vocals, often a broken narrative is used so that dialogue is involved, which is becoming more popular in todays' music industry. Using Gaga as another example, her recent video ‘Telephone’ uses this technique and so uses dialogue and sound effects as well as the sound track itself.

The conventions of a pop music video differ from any other, which is why it is a genre of it's own. As well as following many of the general conventions of a music video, a pop music video uses it’s own conventions.
The first one is that it uses bright colours. This is shown distinctly in videos produced by pop artists Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and Katy Perry. The colours used in their videos help to create an atmosphere, a mood for the song. Pop songs are usually happy, again thinking back to the previously stated artists, Ke$ha's song 'Tik Tok' uses yellow throughout, which connotes happiness, summer, and is cheerful. Because of these connotations it means that the video becomes happy and cheerful. All bright colours that are used have a similar effect and so are regularly used within the pop genre.
The themes used within the videos are fun and light hearted, this is another convention; obviously making the video fun. Using Ke$ha as a second example, her 'Tik Tok' video uses a young generation listening to a boom box, balloons and chopper bikes; all of these connote fun. Because children are used too, it makes it light hearted and the video becomes quite innocent. For the audience, it means there is nothing controversial, and they can enjoy the pop video.
A fourth convention is the use of a dance routine, that the artist performs in. This will feature in my video. This is used regularly as a feature, for example, used by Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke, Lady Gaga, a majority of pop artists. The artist stands at the front, and the other dancers perform in a group behind them. They usually wear something slightly different to the artist too so that the artist is more distinctive, and the attention of the audience is focused on the artist.
A pop music video often uses a narrative. Whether it is broken up or follows all the way through. This means that the words and the meaning of the song will basically be acted out in some way in the video. The narrative often used in a pop music video is fun, and doesn't create a sad or depressing story for the audience to follow.
All of these conventions link back to what pop music is actually about, fun.