Music Video Styles

There are three different styles of music videos that are generally used, these include:

Peformance Based - This is when the video focuses on the artists performance and has no real narrative elements within. It often uses close ups of the bands instruments and shows them playing them up close, often to show the bands talent. It is used by solo artists but is mainly done by rock/indie bands. I think this is generally used so the audience doesn't get distracted by a narrative and focuses purely on the song. An example of this is All My Life by Foo Fighters which more or less just shows the band performing at an arena and gives us the occasional close up of the band playing the instruments.



Narrative Based - When a story is told through the music video, often relating to the lyrics. It is essentially a short film but based on the lyrics of the song. It is done to help convey the meaning of the song and maybe just give the audience a little bit more to focus on when listening to the song. An example of this is the video to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen which tells the story of her crush on her next door neighbour, who in the end turns out to be gay.



Concept Based - Where the video is only loosely related to the lyrics and the video is just something that's been put together, it rarely makes sense. It is often used more for fun purposes but can also be powerful and make the audience make their own interpretation of the video's meaning when there may not actually be one. An example of this is the video to Close Enemies by Example which has no real meaning behind it but we see lots of things happening that don't really relate to the lyrics, but the audience could make their own interpretation of the meaning behind it.