The 5 Styles of Music Video

In my media lesson, I learnt that music video's can be categorised in terms of style, according to the generic conventions within the video. The five styles consist of:

• Performance
• Abstract
• Narrative
• Thematic
• Cameo

Performance

Performance videos are when the band or artist are shown playing or performing to the viewer through a dance or  using instruments. Usually there is never a narrative as the main focus is on the artist throughout which is the reason as to why there is a variety of camera angles used.

Common genres that use performance style videos are rock and pop artists. An example of a performance style video is the Foo Fighters - Best of You. The band perform to the audience using instruments to show off their skills. They also use close ups which focuses on the main vocalist and camera movement that goes from one member of the group/band to another.

Abstract

An abstract video is where the video is completely unrelated to the song. The mise-en-scen tends to be very creative and camera angles/shots vary. Genres that use this style of video are rock and indie. An example of a abstract style video is Tool - Sober who are an alernative rock band. Tool however, dont like to be seen which is why the video contains a lot of props and people dressed up in costumes.

Narrative

A narrative style video, is a video that tells a story within the video. This particular style of video is common amongst a few genres such as hip hop, r'n'b and heavy metal. The videos have a lot of meaning and the lyrics is often acted out. An example of a narrative style video is the All American Rejects - Gives You Hell. The video portrays Levi Strauss's theory of binary opposites as two neighbours are at each other necks throughout. However, the two eventually accept change.

Thematic

Thematic style videos are videos that take the theme of a song and make a video out of it. Examples of this could be a break up or going out. An example of a thematic style video is Coldplay - Fix You.

Cameo

A cameo style video is when the band/artist features in the narrative however, doesn't perform. In this video, Ed Sheeran features at the end however is acted out through Rupert grint (from Harry Potter) who is an obsessed fan of Ed Sheeran.









 

Lastly, there are music videos that are a hybrid which is a video that contains more than one style. An example of this is: