Different Formats of Music Video

In the basics there are three different types of music video. These are narrative, performance and performance/narrative. I have looked at examples of each of these and will list them down as the following.

Narrative Example: Bangarang by Skrillex

from watching this video I have learnt that narrative video's tell a story of some kind. In general narrative video's are to tell a story weather it be related to the song or the artist. This video clearly shows a representation of the artist within the story instead of a story about the song it's self. This music video suggests that the artist is someone who is seen as a bad person, only to be revealed at the end that he is really a good person who does good deeds. This particular video also follows the beat of the song with it's shots. The best example of this would be when the man in the ice cream van bites down on the cone he is eating as a beat hits.



Performance Example: Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

Performance video's often focus on the appearance of the artist and what they look like. Shots often follow the face of the artist in order to promote that artist so that they gain a larger following and will become more popular. Where performance videos focus mainly on the performers to make the audience recognise the artist, the video also brings a focus to the lyrics of the song through lip-sync. This gives an impression to the audience that the artist is actually singing the song that is in the video. This can also be an advantage for the artist as the more times that a viewer watches the music video that they have produced the more that fans can link the voice of the artist to their face and automatically recognise who it is.

Narrative and Performance Example: Countdown by Beyoncé

This music video's purpose is to not only tell a story but to get the lyrics across to the viewer and to get them to focus on the artist. Beyoncé's video for her song countdown is a good example of a song that is both a video that displays narrative and performance as a format. The narrative aspect of the video comes from the shots that suggest towards the accusations made towards her about being someone who copies others. Throughout the video it shows Beyoncé copying other people and dances. Examples of this can be dressing as or like Audrey Hepburn, or doing the dance Rosas Danst Rosas. The performance aspect can be shown from the use of Beyoncé being in the shot at all times so that the viewer can relate the song to the face of the artist. This makes it easier for people to recognise the performer. This is also so that they can see the artist singing the song.