{Music Video Types

Thomas Atkinson

A performance music video is comprised of a performance or lip sync to the song, sometimes intercut with images, stock footage or even other types of video. Usually, a narrative video will also contain elements of performance and performance will rarely be on its own and will often have elements of other types of video. Occasionally, it can be mixed into concept but his is very rare.

An example of a performance video is the video for Fake Tales of San Francisco by Arctic Monkeys, which was filmed during their time as a band before they became famous, taken during their performances at various clubs around Sheffield

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePg1tbia9Bg

Performance

A narrative video is a video which specifically tells a certain story, usually associated in some way with the lyrics of the video. Occasionally it will feature a prominent film or television actor or actress, such as Idris Elba in Lover of the Light by Mumford and Sons or Jake Gyllenhaal in Giving Up the Gun by Vampire Weekend.

A notable example is the video for Jeremy by Pearl Jam; both the song and the video illustrated the suicide of a victim of bullying in an American school. As mentioned before, it also contains elements of performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS91knuzoOA

Narrative

A concept video often features a gimmick or technique which has nothing to do with the original song but doesn’t tell a particular story either. Occasionally, they will be done in one shot using a lo-fi aesthetic or a home-movie ideal, such as Little Black Submarines by The Black Keys, which was simply a single shot of a man dancing and lip syncing to the song on a cheap camera. Sometimes, a concept will be added to a narrative video, such as The Scientist by Coldplay, which told a story of a car crash but featured the concept of a backwards story.

An example is the video for Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim, which was a video of Christopher Walken dancing around a hotel. It was publicised at the time for Walken’s appearance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWbPeG6QwU

Concept