Artist Feature Artists are feature in all most every music video no matter what genre, for example Katy Perry and Rhianna as well as XX. This is because the sole reason for a music video is to sell the artist and to sell the song. In many videos the artist will appear the same as the previous as the want to sell themselves as a brand that is recognisable.

Close UpsClose-ups are always featured in music videos, they are used to show the artist, if that be performing or within the narrative. In all genres close-ups are used as shown in the examples below, with Jessie-J, Kanye West and Beyonce.

PerformanceIn the images below they’re some examples of performance based video, they all feature lip sync, however they use the performance convention differently. For example in Iggy Azalea video for Fancy she is performing using lip sync but within the narrative, similar to Taylor Swifts - Shack it Off. However other genres use this convention differently such as Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirt. They perform as a band with instruments and has a more live feel than the others, lip sync is still featured along with instrument sync as well. This is a convention of the Rock/Indie genre as seen in XX-Crystalised.

NarrativeNarrative isn't set in music videos in terms of what to have as a narrative, however it is becoming more popular to feature a narrative within a music video. Narrative can be very simple for example The Black Keys - Lonely Boy that feature just one man dancing. On the other hand it can be a story such as Bob Dylan - Duquesne Whistle which is a full story about a man wanting a girl. Some narratives can also feature the artist such as Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang which features all the artist within the narrative.

Mise-en-sceneMise-en-scene is important in a music video as it suggests the artist messages and values and it also defines the videos aesthetics, the mise-en-scene can make a video very interesting when it is changed multiple times in a short space of time. For example I Won’t Let You Down by OK Go, this video is one single shot however they change the Mise-en-scene multiple times with props and small location movements.

Sound is often just the non-diegetic track that plays, with all other sound muted, they are millions of examples as that is the conventional way of making a music video, however some music videos follow different conventions such as Tighten Up by The Black Keys and I’m Not The Only One by Sam Smith. These two videos use sound breaks these are often used for dialogue so the narrative can progress.

Sound