Research - Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of a music video

Codes

• An example of a code would be the equipment used in the making of the music video. The equipment will be useful when making the product look professional. For instance using a steadicam or a track for the camera will steady the shot and make it look more expert.
• Symbolic codes such as what the person is feeling and how we see that. Body language and facial expression are key when making a music video because the person needs to tell the story through their face as their is usually no narrative in a music video (except the soundtrack). The main character doesn't have the chance to explain how they are feeling and so the look on their face and the way that they present themselves is important when getting the message through to the audience.

We are going to use both of these codes to ensure that our product looks professional and is easily recognisable as a music video.

Conventions

Conventions are the way things are done within the video. They describe the genre of the music; however they vary depending on the genre of the music.

• The artist is shown performing. This is not always the case, however the most common way of making a music video is to show some bits of the artist singing the song. We are definitely going to use this convention in our music video.
• The lyrics of the song influence what is happening is the video. This is important in order for the whole thing to make sense. Some music videos have no real reason behind what is going on, however we all agreed as a group that we wanted ours to make sense. So we are going to use this convention to make is easy for the audience to understand the storyline and empathise with our main character.
• The pace of the editing fits the pace of the music. We all feel that this is really important because it will make the music video flow and make it far easier to watch.
• The codes of dress reflect the mood of the song. We are going to somewhat use this convention, however it might not be necessary depending on our song choice. We will want the storyline within the music video to look as realistic as possible.

We got all of our information on codes and conventions from:

• http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_codes_and_conventions_music_videos)