Key Conventions of a Music Video

To get more information about music video's, I researched typical key conventions of a music video. I found out that in 1992, after years of reseach into music videos, Andrew Goodwin published a book containing 'codes and conventions' of a music video. Goodwin's theory identified these key features:

• Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics, e.g. Stage performance in metal/ rock music videos and dance routines in girl/ boy bands. 
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visual - this is where the visuals either amplify or contradict the lyrics. 
• There is a relationship between music and visual 
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist.
• The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style). 
• There is frequent reference to the notion of 'looking' (screes within screes, filming, cameras) and particularly voyeuristic (pleasure through looking) treatment of the female body.
• There are often intertextual references-mostly to film, television and popular culture.

I also found some key features of music videos myself when doing my research:

• Lip syncing - this is consistent throughout the majority of music videos and is vital as it links the image to the sound. 
• Camera shots and movement - music video's often include many long shots, mid shots and  close ups, this is to create emphasis artist and there emotions, panning, tilts and tracking shots are also used to follow the movements of the artist/band.
• Pace of editing fits the pace of music, e.g Jar of Hearts by Christina Perry has a very slow tempo which is reflected by the slow pace editing of the music video which contains longer shots to match the pace of the song
• Mise en scene reflects the mood of the song, e.g. If it was a cheerful happy song, you would not see dark and depressing surroundings, lighting or costumes.