Conventions of form and genre

There are 3 types of music videos, these are:

• Performance
• Narrative
• Abstract

PERFORMANCE

Performance based videos show only the band/artist performing the song. It is the cheapest and easiest type of video to make. Fast editing and a variety of shots need to be used in order to keep the video interesting and appealing as it could look boring with only performance. One example of this is ‘The pretender’ by Foo Fighters. This video is mainly performance with only a little intertwining story to help express the lyrics, however the performance element is interesting to watch due to the lighting and mise en scene.

NARRATIVE
Narrative based music videos contains mostly footage that shows a storyline that runs throughout the music video. Sometimes with actors and sometimes with the artist themselves, the story will either link to the lyrics of the song, or just the overall theme. If a song has been featured in a film, the music video will often show clips of film footage cut into the music video. This style of music video is good for suggesting themes to the audience as most music videos with a narrative follow the theorist Kate Domaille's ideas that narratives of music videos are influenced by the original storyline (e.g. love- Romeo and Juliet). A good example of a narrative being used in a music video is 'Dance Dance' by Fall Out Boy as it is about a boy trying to impress a girl and in the end he does. This video also has an element of performance in it as the band is playing to the audience.

ABSTRACT
Abstract videos are based around a single concept or idea. This type of video is fairly unusual as they tend to use a lot of effects and try to express emotion on the way it is filmed. These types of videos aren't very popular as some people find them hard to relate to. However, many videos will combine the abstract element with another to give off a certain feeling. A good example of an abstract music video is 'This is how we do' by Katy Perry as there are a lot of visual elements that don't relate to the lyrics and a lot of effects are used to give off a certain feeling.