Music Video Types

By Rhiannon Jenkins

Types of music video

There are three main types of music video and these are: Performance, Narrative and Conceptual. It is common to sometimes have a mixture of these types within one video, for example having part of the video performance based and the other part based on a narrative.

Performance Music Videos

Performance based videos show an artist or band performing either to the camera or an audience. Rock bands often use this style of video as their concerts and performances are high energy and may be more captivating for the audience than a narrative video alone. An example could be “You Wanna Know” by Don Broco which shows the band performing to the camera.

Narrative Music Videos

A narrative music video tells a story that is almost always directly associated with the songs lyrics. Narrative music videos are also often used for songs that feature in films, as scenes from the film are often able to be cut into the video.An example of a narrative music video is “Take On Me” by A-ha which includes the vocalist of the band as the protagonist in the narrative.

Combinations

An example of a song featured in a film is “Decode” by Paramore. The video is comprised of scenes taken from the film itself to create a short narrative but also shows the band performing in a forest much like the one in the film, allowing the band to be one of the videos focal points due to their high energy but also making them part of the narrative.

Conceptual Music Videos

Concept videos focus around one idea that isn’t always associated with the lyrics and often involves specific editing techniques. Concept based music videos are often abstract and sometimes have a specific intention behind them. An example of a conceptual music video is Michael Jacksons “Black or White” as it features all of the above.