Music Video Research

     Conducting my research for music videos, I watched some of my favorites. Though, I took note to look through videos of a similar genre to my song. This meant slower, more melancholic songs rather than a fun, loud, k-pop song. Only here, because I needed to research conventions of my chosen genre.

     Before I could make a mental list of different conventions, I specifically analyzed some of my favorite music visuals. Thee first one is Mitski's "The Only Heartbreaker" another slow, sad pop song. In this video I noticed a variety of fairy-tale like settings. Additionally, the visuals told a story, with Mitski being the only character in the video. This detail will be similar to my video, as I will be the sole actor. Another note was how when the music picked up, got larger and louder, so did the scenes. At the drop of the song, the setting goes up in flames, matching the dramatic musical shift. Another music video I looked at was Clairo's "Pretty Girl". In the same sad pop genre, it takes a completely different approach to videography. This video purposely has a home-made look. Filmed entirely on a webcam, Clairo dances around her room to her lyrics. Many other indie-pop videos take this same approach, which is an fascinating commonality that makes for a unique video. However, something like this may not go over well with my media teachers. Meaning, it would be a convention worth skipping. The last video I viewed and took notes of was Taylor Swift's "cardigan". It was set in a natural setting, with, again, Taylor as the only character. She wanders through the setting with subtle imagery, simply singing the lyrics.

    After looking through music videos from this more specific genre, there were multiple similar approaches artists had taken. These included the artists being the only character, with very minimal appearances of other people. Additionally, settings were usually either natural or very modest, no large sets or expensive places. Lastly, the told a continuous story. Often, the stories went a long to the lyrics, sometimes interpreting them in different ways. through more research, i hope I can create a music video true to the genre and all the artists that inspire me!