Andrew Goodwin identifyied the 5 codes and conventions of music videos:

Thought Beats

Narrative and Performance

Star Image

Relation of visuals to song

Technical Codes

This code is all about ‘seeing the sound’

Through a variety of verse and chorus footage, the structure including the speed/tempo and beat of the track are shown visually. This can make the music videos appear very powerful to an audience.

However not only this, but music videos can also represent the artist’s image or the “voice” of the artist. For instance, a particular style, or brand identity.

Music videos often feature a live performance or narrative and sometimes both, but they mainly attempt to tell the story 0f the song, yet at the same time, they can be used as an advertisement.

One main reason that this is a vital code and convention, is that the audience must be able to watch it on repeat and not get bored, so there needs to be a sense of performing within it!

Videos can be made more genuine by having the artist both perform and narratethe song. Occasionally the artist can alsobe the character – for example Danny Smith from Bastille – Pompeii.

Music Videos, more than anything else are promoting and displaying their artists for their record companies, and by doing this, they increase the artists profile and sales , gaining more fans and resulting in more money for the company.

So by making the artist the star of the video, keeps the focus and attention on them - close ups also contain

the audience attention

DISJUNCTURE: This is a video

where the meaning of the song is

ignored and therefore what you see

does not correspond with what you hear – they do

not relate or make any sense. I have taken Lady Gaga’s Bad

Romance as an example for disjuncture as the majority of the video makes little sense and only small fractions of the video link to any othe the lyrics or meaning of the song!

AMPLIFY: This technique is when the songs meaning becomes exaggerated through the use of visuals – In Jessie J’s

music video for ‘Whos Laughing Now’ this is

very clearly amplified to enhance the meaning.

ILLUSTRATE: The meaning of the song is

gradually made clear throughout the entirety of

the video.

The technical aspects focus on the Mise en Scene, Camera Angles, Sound, Media language, Editing and Visual Effects. All these things help to create meaning within the music video and can make it more powerful.

Atomosphere

Setting

Colour

Mood

If all of the above are considered the music video, if done right to your specific genre can make the video feel more authentic and believeable.