The music videos I viewed were:
Imagine Dragons- Radioactive
Panic! At The Disco- Miss Jackson
The Killers- When You Were Young
The Smiths- This Charming Man
Bjork- Army Of Me
Blue Oyster Cult- Don't Fear The Reaper
The Cure- Lovesong
The Strokes- Under Cover Of Darkness
Mystery Jets- Someone Purer
Paramore- Monster
The New Pornographers- Crash Years
Foo Fighters- Breakout
My Chemical Romance- Welcome to the Black Parade
The National- Bloodbuzz Ohio
R.E.M- Orange Crush
The White Stripes- Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground
Led Zeppelin- No Quarter
Death Cab For Cutie- The New Year
Evermore- Light Surrounding You
Naturally, they don't have everything in common in terms of music videos, but there are a few overarching conventions.
The colour blue is frequently used, both in terms of lighting/tint and setting, creating a dark atmosphere. This is unusual as blue usually has connotations of calmness and peace, that has now been subverted. Abandoned places/locations are also a recurring theme- it reflects the musicians loneliness and isolation, allowing them to do things (or for things to happen) that are out of the norm. The combination of these creates a haunting, desperate effect. [Radioactive, Miss Jackson, Monster, Someone Purer, Army Of Me] However, one of the music videos [Light Surrounding You] although part of the genre, used a lighter colour palette, yellows and browns, which were also effective in creating a lonesome atmosphere, as it was reminiscent of a desert.
Black and white is also often used, [Orange Crush, Bloodbuzz Ohio] and can create different atmospheres. In Orange Crush the high contrast black and white creates a sense of mystery, intrigue and ominousness, whereas Bloodbuzz Ohio's monochrome scheme produces an impression of class and elegance. However, these various atmospheres are also created by what the video depicts, the former using short, close up dramatic Brechtian images and the latter wide long shots of normal life.
Some music video's use special effects to convey meaning to the viewer, [Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground, No Quarter], allowing the musicians to show something that they know and the viewer doesn't or vice versa.
Videos also frequently simply depict the musician performing the song, paired with something unusual, be it a massive, lit up tapping foot, or Morrissey swirling round a bunch of flowers. [Don't Fear The Reaper, Welcome To The Black Parade, Under Cover Of Darkness, This Charming Man]
Finally, we come to the "random" section of music videos, namely those that break the typical conventions. [When You Were Young, The New Year, Breakout, Crash Years]. The Killer's video is unique in that the band only make a very short appearance, making it feel more like a short film than a music video. It further alienates itself from the "standard" in that it takes place in a (what I assume) is a Hispanic country, with Hispanic actors. The Foo Fighters Breakout challenges conventions by creating its own. Their videos are usually not very relevant to the music, it appears, and typically feature comedic elements. For Crash Years, I honestly have no idea, but the umbrella's are fantastic.
In terms of camera angles, close ups of faces are common in order to communicate emotion of the viewers of the video.Long shots are typically used to show large spaces or areas, usually empty or devoid of people to emphasize isolation or give special attention to surroundings.
*If you have the time, check out some of the videos mentioned above- they're all pretty interesting.*
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