Genre?

Conventions for a music video can vary depending on the genre. Within each Genre there are different sub-genres with their own conventions too. I have looked at some music videos in order to analyse the different conventions which appear in each.

An example of a rock music video is Green Day- Nuclear Family. Green Day is an American rock band formed in 1987 and is still popular today!
Rock Music Video Conventions:
Often include dark lightening
Frequent shots covering the band playing instruments
If a narrative is involved, this may be intertwined with performance. The majority reflect a dark narrative to match the lyrics
Editing is fast paced, reflecting fast loud music

The Saturdays are an example of an English pop girl group. They began in 2007 and are still popular today. The Saturdays are my favourite girl group and I love the way they appear vibrant in their music videos which is a key convention of the genre. Their music video for 'Higher' is an excellent example of the conventions of a pop music video.
Pop Music Video Conventions
The majority are performance based, featuring the band lip- syncing
The video is often accompanied with dance moves
Pop artists usually wear mainstream clothing
Fast pace editing and upbeat in order to appeal to a young audience
Bright colours and frequent close ups to show the band as happy and cheerful
Many costume changes



Cee Lo Green is an American singer and song writer and the majority of his music is R&B based. His music video for 'Bright Lights Bigger City' is a prime example for demonstrating the key music video conventions for the R&B genre.
R&B Music Video Conventions
Often the  setting is a nightclub and/or a mansion
Use of dancers, with artist. Attractive women- references to the notion of looking
Similar to pop artists lip syncing is used
Lyrics have some relationship to the lyrics
Close ups of artist often shows off expensive items they are wearing such as their jewellery.




Bastille was formed in 2010 in South London, England. Their video for 'Flaws' is a great example in demonstrating the key conventions of indie music videos in the 21^st century.
Indie Music Video Conventions:
A mixture of narrative and performance
The band will often wear casual clothing
Colour of the video may vary depending on the lyrics and the tempo of the song.
More teeanage target auidence






 What is the genre for my music video?
'Dog is Dead’ is an indie pop band signed to Atlantic records. Within the band there is Robert Milton (vocals, guitar, bass guitar) Rob White (vocals, guitar)Joss Van Wilder (vocals, keyboards, guitar) Lawrence Cole (vocals, bass guitar) and Daniel Harvey (drums). The genre of our music video will therefore be echoing the genre of the band, indie pop. Indie music is mainly represent lyrics of social concerns and topics.

Working for an indie company has its advantages. Artists get the rights to their own music and have the option to do as they please with their music. An indie band would be signed to an indie company for the reason that they love your music and also believe in it. In regards to indie artists and companies a close personal relationship is often formed as they work one on with a representative. For indie bands, distribution is made easier with the growth of digital technologies. Indie artist have the opportunity to post their latest songs onto YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, in order for others to view their music and videos. However there also disadvantages of being signed to an indie company. Often there is a lack of funds which therefore results in a smaller budget for recording production of physical disks, packaging and distribution costs.

Indie artists are free to create their own music without interference thus maintaining artistic control, rather than being led by business executives. As a result of digital purchasing, musicians have currently a good opportunity to compete with major labels.

In most indie pop music videos the song influences what is shown in the video. Additionally the dress code will reflect a particular mood which is evoked from the song. Other conventions of the indie pop genre include non- commercial music, slightly alternative, lyrics are about world issues and real life problems, dress sense with more vintage clothing, the band is shown throughout, a dark location and fast pace editing.

In my music video, we will be challenging some of the conventions of the genre by producing an all narrative music video. This is unusual to the indie pop genre as most indie pop music videos incorporate narrative with the band singing the song too.

We desire to include the conventions of the genre with fast pace editing and frequent quick cuts to keep to the pace of the song and also help us increase dramatic effect through quick shots. In addition we will be aiming our music video at a teenage target audience which is common to the genre. Our music video will also demonstrate real life problems as we are incorporating a theme about relationships however with a profound insight of the reality of expectations sometimes ending in disappointment.