Styles of Music videos

Styles of Music Video's

Performance:

Performance type of music video's allow for the audience to see their favorite artist live and see how they are represented, they get to see their artist in the flesh and see how they act, and represent themselves to the fans, they also see the other fans in the concert that's being done by the artist and so would create envy to those watching it at home and so would boost merchandise and ticket sales as the next concert that the artist does, will have more people buying tickets to come to the concert as they saw the atmosphere of the last concert and was heavily influenced by it, and would also lead to social interaction as if a person has went to a concert they would tell their friends which would then spread the word and so boosting popularity and fans for the artist. 

Live performance video's allows the audience to see the character and build of their artist as they only see them in music videos, however when they are live they can see what they do and say after one of their songs is finished. 

Narrative:

In a narrative music video, it tells a story to the audience with a chain of events that are occurring, with a beginning, middle and end. Somewhat like a short film, usually most of them have morals or messages that the artist is trying to get across to the audience. This allows the audience to visualise the lyrics and have something to look at while listening to the music, the story engages the audience as they watch it to see what happens at the end of the music video and what the outcome will be, this makes the audience more interested and also they could personally identify with the problem or dilemma that is happening in the story in the music video, also the story allows the artist to get their expressions and emotions across to the audience without having to actually having to show themselves to the audience, and so can use the story to indirectly influence their audience in a certain way.

The lyrics of this particular song by Avicii-Grinding is about Grinding, which means persevering and working hard, so there are 2 characters in the music video, a worker who works in a mine, who is very labour intensive hard work, and is also in debt and is having financial struggles, but grinds his way through it through very hard work and finally pays off all his debt and is finally 'happy'. where as on the other hand the other character opts for the easy way of making money, crime. Goes around robbing banks and stores to make money with Guns, then after attempting a bank robbery, is betrayed by his 'colleagues' and so finds out the hard way that, crime is not the way forward, and easy money will never make you happy.

Conceptual:

These are music videos that are not performative of narrative based, they usually have visuals to suit the theme and appropriate to the tempo and feel of the song. This allows the artist to adapt the visuals to the lyrics that they had, so they can be free in the lyrics that they write, and so that they do not be limited by thinking about how they would create a music video that would go with it. If the song was dramatic/sad then it would have suited visuals to it, to portray the feelings and emotions of the artist to the audience so that they understand the current mood situation of their favourite artist, or if the song had a happy/cheerful theme then it would have suited visuals to portray that. The artist will have an idea or message that they try to get across or leave it for the audience to interpret, this leaves them with freedom to do what they want.

The lyrics would either go along with or contradict the music's beat and fee;, if it is a jolly music type then the lyrics will most probably be happy and cheerful as well, but in order to create a contrast may also be about sadness. the editing again depends on the style of the music, usually a fast paced editing with visuals will be for a exciting/ happy song. cutting to the beat. However if the lyrics are sad/slow then the editing will also be done in a way to suit it, so slow pace editing and maybe not cutting to the beat to confuse the audience and to draw attention to the lyrics, more than the audience to just enjoy the instrumental.

Interpretative:

This is where the lyrics of the song also match what is happening int he music video itself, this allows of the audience to understand and go along with the lyrics easier. This also means that some of the lyrics, this allows for the audience to gain satisfaction by easily understanding what the artists are singing and also to visualise the lyrics and see what the artists are probably thinking or seeing at that time when they are singing. An interpretive music video can be interpreted in many different ways by the audience, they could see a different perspective and get a different message moral from it. Although the artist may trying to influence the audience through the use of the visuals or trying to get a view across. The music video may have hidden messages, that the audience can de-code and feel better about themselves as they have found the 'secret'. 

The lyrics would usually be portrayed in the video or be visualised through the use of the visual effects. the visuals would usually conform to the lyrics and increase the effectiveness of the lyrics as they are being thrown into the audiences face, vividly creating an image that would not be forgotten easily. The music will be cut to the beat as usually these type of videos have a exciting or quick pace to them. The editing will also be of a quick pace, usually going along with the lyrics and switching between each artists lyrics or a different verse in a solo-artists song. the camera angles and shots will mostly focus on the artists and show the audience what they are doing. 

Animation:

In Animation type videos it allows the producers and creators to make a music video without having to actually show them selves or hire actors etc if they were to a narrative type of music video. Also animation music videos are not common, so they also catch the eye of the viewer and are more creative and flamboyant. Animation music videos mean that the producer can be free in their lyrics because you can do anything with animation, so the lyrics can be as far-fetched as possible. If they were to use humans they could not make them jump off buildings or survive impossible things or show them to do impossible things to human nature, but with animation it is all possible and it lets the producers to have no barrier to their creativity and imagination.

 Also even if the lyrics were quite subtle and normal to be able to visualize every part of it would cost the producing label massive amounts of money to precisely show everything that is occurring within the lyrics. So the main reason why a music band/ group would be to cut cost and still be able to make a music video that sticks in the audience's mind. The editing would in par with the music, most probably cutting to the beat and the tempo would also suit the theme of the song and the lyrics.

Surreal:

Surreal music videos are videos that contain a style that are so strange and unreal that it's impossible that the situation would ever happen. They are 'fun' and exciting which does appeal to younger audiences. They usually have an artistic feel to them and may use special effects and some animation to create a visual effect that would have a lasting impression on the audience.These music videos are very abstract, may not have a relation to the music or lyrics itself, these videos are very artistic and creative.

 This again allows for the artist to be free with their lyrics and can express their feelings and emotions confidently, also since most people will find these type of music videos to be 'weird' it will draw attention and prompt social interaction and raise awareness for the artist and their music, doing something out of the norm will mean more attention and publicity and this is one of the main purposes for music videos in the first place. The editing may not be cut to the beat to show how 'unique' the artist is and also to create distortion or confusion to the audience, or maybe to slow down the pace and feel of the song depending on the lyrics and the message the artist wants to get across to the audience.