Codes & Conventions
Camera Angles
Establishing shots start music videos but also all videos in general, they are the shot that is used to set the scene and show where it is being shot. Some videos will show a city from a very high shot, sometimes filmed with a drone to show they are filmed in a specific city, others could show just the exact location the video will be shot in. We decided to recreate the opening/ establishing shot from High School Musicals song "Stick to the Status Quo" we tried to mimic the balcony view from this establishing shot.
Very Long Shot:
A very long shot is often used in music videos to show the focal point of the shot but also some of the background, it can be used to set the mood by showing the location of the music video. For our video we chose the part in Hotline Bling where Drake sits on the stairs in the white room, we tried our best to recreate this with still showing a fair amount of the subject to make sure it wasn't too far away.
Full Shot:
Low angle shot:
Dutch angle Shot:
Dutch angle shots first came about in the 1920s and were primarily used by German Expressionists, they are used to show there could be an issue or something that will negatively affect someone in the story. Because they are very obviously different to a normal shot they have to be used carefully and not to disrupt the flow of the scene.
Camera Movements
1. Dolly In/ Out - This shot is used in Films and music videos when you want to achieve a shot of somebody walking towards or away from the camera. But also to zoom in on a specific facial feature of a character in the shot.
2. Pedestal - Moving the camera up and down without moving it vertically, this is not when you tilt the camera up it is when you move the entire camera up. This could be used to show a full body close shot to show details of the character's outfit or to gain suspense.
3. Truck - Truck shots are like Dolly shots but instead of in/ out it is going between left and right. This is similar to pan but the camera doesn't turn it just moves while staying facing the same direction. This could be used to show a pedestrian walking down a street or through a house.
4. Pan - Panning is when the camera stays stationary but the lens is moved from the left to the right, this can also be used to show someone in a room or on the street but more so to show someone getting further away from the camera.
5. Tilt - Tilting is the same as panning but instead of left and right, it is up and down, this can be used to show characters in a scene to show someone as superior to another by tilting up to someones face makes them seem in charge of the shot.
6. Roll - Roll shots arent used often but they can be used if you are seeing from the perspective of an animal, also when a character falls over and they want you to see through their eyes.
Pacing in editing
Usage of colour
Pacing is used in music videos to mimic time slowing down or speeding up, it can be used in many different artistic ways. Certain directors use pacing/ speed ramping in music videos to convey certain emotions, an example would be if there was a sad scene and the video slowed down it could get across the idea of sadness and an overwhelming feeling.
Colour theory is how colour is used in video to manipulate the mood of the video, certain colours make your brain think the video is going to be based around a specific emotion. Red is seen as a colour that portrays passion and courage, it is used also to show caution or draw attention to something possibly important for the progression of the scene. Yellow is used to instantly affect the mood and bring more happiness/ positivity to the scene.
CGI/Chroma-key
CGI is used in this music video to make the people wearing morph suits into monkeys, they had to use the morph suits and a 3D design of a monkey to edit them in. It is a very long process that involves many people doing their part to bring it all together. They make the monkey faces by trying their best to match them to the faces of the members wearing the morph suits. CGI can make a music video much more interesting than a normal video because you can almost create anything you want.
Genre themes/ tropes
Some of the biggest genres in music are; Hip hop, pop, rock, rap, grime, folk & country. These genres in music can be portrayed in the music videos that relate to them, a grime/ rap video will follow a specific style, normally they show wide shots and pan shots with expensive cars. Most music videos that are in the same music genre have similarities unless the artists have gone for a style that hasn't been done before.
Symbolic Conventions
Symbolic Conventions is the meaning behind what you can see right in front of you, for example, if you are looking at a music video and trying to understand why certain things are happening you may need to look at things such as facial expressions and gestures the actors/ characters in the video are making.
Diegetic & Non Diegetic
Diegetic sound is sound we can see a source of or the source is implied to be within the film world; this could be a song being played out of the car radio of a character whos driving in a film or someone listening through headphones. Non-dietetic sound is when we can't see the source or its obvious the source is not within the film world such as a voice-over/ narrator or mood music added to enhance the theme they are trying to go for and create with what's happening in the scene. Both of these are used in every type of film as every sound you hear is one of these; using them in conjunction can help to make the end product more enjoyable to watch.
Parallel Sound/ Contrapuntal Sound
Parallel sounds are sounds that match the mood of the scene such as a happy music video could have sounds or a beat that makes you feel happy, major notes during a beat could make it sound positive and happy. But if the music video is sad the music would be in a major key and you could hear things like thunder or rain that represent the sad emotions. Contrapuntal sound is when the sound doesn't match the mood of the video, this can be used in movies to show a contrast in the emotions of the characters to what is happening around them, for example, if there was a killing scene but happy sounds were playing while showing the character it could show that they aren't reacting how someone normally would.
Mise en scene
Mise en scene refers to everything that is visible in a scene from the background and props to the actors, its everything that is visible in the camera. It is a french saying and when translated means "placing on stage", actors are a big part of mise en scene because while they're on the screen they are often the main focus of the shot therefor contributing the most to the look and feel of the scene.