Music Video Conventions

Let me Entertain You - Robbie Williams

The music video for Let me Entertain You by Robbie Williams uses many interesting techniques to both challenge and conform to convention.

A variety of shot angles are used in the video, including many close up and mid shots of both the artist and his band. Robbie crouches down at points during the video, and a low angle shot is used to make the audience feel more involved in the video.

A black & white editing effect is used throughout, which is an interesting technique, especially as the video was produced in 1998, when colour filming was increasingly popular. I really like this technique, as it gives a raw, fresh feel to the video, also making it feel more secretive, which results in the audience wanting to learn more about the video.

Robbie's unique style of dress in this video gives it an interesting feel, perhaps suggesting that he is imitating a wild animal. This shows how much of an impact clothing has on the video, and is something that I will consider when we are producing our own music video.

In Bloom - Nirvana

The music video for In Bloom by Nirvana also uses some unusual techniques to capture the attention of its audience. The video is filmed from the perspective of the audience who are watching the performance on stage. This video challenges convention, as the shots tend to be fairly slow-paced, and the types of shots do not vary greatly.

The video is given a 1960's feel, as a black and white filter, along with one that gives a blurred, grainy feel, has been applied in the edit. The video reminds me of some of the first music videos to be produced, as they had a very basic feel. This feeling is amplified, as there is no narrative included in the video, which is very unusual. However, the video uses crowd shots, which is very unusual, but perhaps suggests that the narrative comes from the fans following the band's progress, and how people enjoy watching the band so much.

This video challenges stereotypical convention for a music video, and introduces some ideas that I may be able to encorporate into our music video.


Red - Taylor Swift

The music video for Red by Taylor Swift is in many ways similar to the Nirvana video mentioned earlier. This is once again a performance-based video, but this time the narrative is set in more modern times, so a wider variety of shots is accompanied by faster editing. Point of View shots are often used in this video, to give the viewer an impression both from the position of the audience who are watching the performance and from the artist who is on stage.

This time, coloured lighting is used frequently, with a wash of red often being used, perhaps to make a link to the title of the song. Furthermore, smoke and laser effects are occasionally used, which gives an added element of drama and production. This video uses editing more creatively, with slow-motion shots often being included.

Although this style of video is probably not achievable given our production budget, this video has shown how effective use of lighting and special effects can make a big difference in a production, and these elements could potentially be used to our advantage in our music video.