Research Blog: Music Video Conventions

 I will be doing a music video for the song Prom Queen. It is a part of the alternative rock genre. In alternative rock music videos, the audience usually sees the representation of the topics being conveyed in the song. It also very common for the artist(s) playing some type of instrument or singing. In the music video for Prom Queen, these elements are apparent through the video. Most alt rock songs also follow a story that progresses throughout the duration of the song. In this example, of Prom Queen the writer signs about an eating disorder where it starts out as simple demeaning comments like "Shut up! count your calories", ""I never look good in mom jeans", "Wish I was like you, blue eyed blondie, perfect body". This eventually turns into "I've been starving myself, Carving skin until my bones are showing". In this song the story surrounds the worsening of the artist's eating disorder. This theme is especially dark but that is the case with most songs in the alternative rock genre. They are mostly centered around tragedy or mental illness or anything that isn't typically a "good thing". As a result the themes are very flexible with this genre so there isn't a specific convention that the music videos follow all the time. Though when it comes to costumes the subject(s) can often be seen wearing dark makeup looks or tattered clothing. Setting may vary and as for lighting, low-key lighting is the most common. While researching, I've also noticed the most shots in these kinds of videos don't last for more than 5-7 seconds. Also, as previously mentioned, the themes range in such a broad variety that many of the concepts displayed in the video tend to be very abstract. If not, they tend to be fairly simple. The music video for for Prom Queen is simple but very effective in conveying the artist's message. Ive come to the conclusion that whatever the the may be, the music videos of this genre tend to follow the few conventions listed above.