For a music video to successfully promote and showcase the singer, band or group, or just the song itself, directors and filmmakers alike know that Music Videos have certain codes and conventions which they will follow. These codes and conventions relate to all music videos, except those which have been made controversially or have been made differently and targeted at a niche audience.
The codes and conevtions include:
- The relationship between visuals and music (does the video contain messages and values from the song)
- The relationship between visuals and lyrics (if the lyrics state that the group are rocking on a Rock N Roll Train, as in AC/DC’s 2008 song, does the video show them rocking on a rock and roll train)
- The musical genre, codes and conventions (AC/DC are a rock band, so their video should be performance-based and contain close-ups of lead guitarist Angus Young and his Gibson guitar during a guitar riff)
- Intertextuality (does the music video contain references to other media texts)
- How audiences are targeted (rock bands are only going to appeal to a certain audience, and, in most cases, AC/DC are not going to appeal to people who grew up with Bing Crosby, Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra)
- The promotion of the band/artist (close-ups of band members of AC/DC - how is the lead singer promoted - costume, lifestyle etc.)
- Narrative and Concepts used (is there a story in the video; is the video Performance-based or Concept-based)
- Voyeurism and Exhibitionism (are there women hanging around with the band members in bikinis or half-naked, or are they portrayed as prostitutes or possessions as in Rap videos)
- Use of style - ECMS: Editing, Cinematography, Mise-En-Scene (costumes, lighting, performance & locations) and sometimes Sound (diagetic or non-diagetic)
Possible ideology in video - Iconography of the band/artist (a representation of Angus Young in a schoolboy outfit that has contributed to the growing band or star image)
- Star Image, Vehicle and Power—the Star Construction - Star Image refers to how the star is perceived by the audience (AC/DC is a rock band that has been around since the mid-1970s, adding to their legendary status), Star Vehicle refers to how a product is constructed around the image of the star in order to promote the star, e.g. an AC/DC music video promotes the band’s reputation as a rock band, and Star Power refers to their influence on the music industry in terms of Economic power (CD sales of AC/DC’s 2008 album Black Ice), Artistic power (how AC/DC promote themselves as a legendary rock band here to stay), and Ideological power in terms of their influence on the audience (fashion, how they act or audience opinions).
