Planning - Key Codes and Conventions

After closely analysing three case studies and watching many other music videos for my mood board as part of my pitch, I have noticed many key codes and conventions in them. There are many that span multiple genres of music so I have attempted to keep them relevant to the music video I want to create for my NEA.

Some of the key conventions used that I would like to reflect include:

• Slow motion- Throughout many music videos, especially those for slow, sentimental songs, slow motion footage is used to create a sense of drama and emotional weight. This could be used with any kind of framing such as a closeup shot or a wide shot, the significant thing is the emphasis it puts on the emotions at a certain point of the song. As my chosen song is quite emotional, I will use frequent slow motion shots to add a level of emotion that will captivate the viewer, making them feel more connected to the visuals.
• Jump cuts- jump cuts are used frequently in more fast-paced, energetic songs to break up long, continuous shots so they are more visually exciting and match the visuals more. They are frequently done with the beats of the music so they flow with the music and don't feel staggered. I will use this in my video so longer shots don't feel boring to the viewer and match the beat heard in the accompanying music 
• Narrative takes- in most music videos of this genre there will be two things happening, an element of story through an ongoing narrative and performance from the artist(s). They often take turns in the video to break things up and create a more engaging end product. I am hoping to use this effectively in my video to break the it up whilst giving the lyrics a deeper meaning as the situation presented will have a visual reflection of the subject matter of heartbreak and argument the lyrics detail.
• Performance takes- the other part of a music video along with narrative takes. They usually consist of the artist or band members either playing instruments along with the music as if they are playing the song live or they will lip sync to the lyrics. Shots of them playing can be done with wide shots to show all members playing but may also use closeups of each instrument. In my video I am not expecting to record any footage of members playing instruments, however I will frequently display them singing along to the song, allowing each member to have their own section to sing just like in the actual song.
• Close up shots of each member- these closeups display the personalities of each member to make them appear more 'real' to the consumer. With these built up personalities they can build an identity that leads to a superficial artist persona that audiences will see as the real person and gain interest in them for. I will do this in my video as each member sings their own section so they all get a 'moment in the spotlight', allowing for me to convey their individual marketable personas.
• Timings matching with music- this aligns with Goodwin's theory of lyrics matching visuals as the cuts made in video often match the timings of the music. This helps with the pacing of the video, allowing it to flow at an appropriate pace matching the tempo of the song. I will definitely make sure my cuts match up with the song as I do not want my video to feel staggered at all.
• Visuals matching lyrics- this outlines Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos how the visuals of a music video match the lyrics and general audio. It can be used to deepen meaning of lyrics by presenting a definitive deeper meaning that may have been unclear to audiences prior. Sometimes this may be through an action being describes as happening in the song whilst it happens on screen. I will use this in my music video to deepen meaning and present a situation that people will be able to visualise in the future when hearing the song, cementing the video in their minds.
• Aspect of time passing as the video progresses- I found that many music videos have an element of time passing by as the video progresses, often beginning with the start of middle of the day and ending at night time. I am currently unsure if I will use this in performance takes but I might maybe take it into account during the narrative sections of the video.
• Walking- I found that many music videos involving boybands include many shots of the band walking together. Metaphorically this often represents the mental journey that the members are going on, moving on from past events into the new, hopeful future. I aim to use this in my video as it not only has that metaphorical backing justifying its use but also is an effective way of establishing a scene and filling time while being visually interesting.