Types of Music Videos

There are three different types of music videos that apply to all music genres. Some particular music genres tend to lean towards certain music video types, for example, rock music tends to use performance based music videos whilst pop videos tend to use narrative based music videos. Mostly songs and genres stick to just one type of music video however there can be combination videos that use multiple types of music videos.

The first type of music video is narrative music videos. These types of videos tell a story based on the lyrics of the song. It relies heavily on visual imagery and acting to be able to portray the story the lyrics are trying to say. Though these types of videos are interesting and often very beautifully tells the story in an easy way it can be very costly to produce compared to other types of music videos.

An example of a narrative music video is 'Dance Dance" by Fallout Boy. The video features the member of the band at a prom and follows their stories within the prom. Though the video also features

Sourced from rock-music.info

performance elements the narrative elements are shown as snippets throughout the song where the music is dimmed and there is spoken dialogue over the top.

An other type of music video is performance based music videos. This type of music video is more often used for rock or punk rock videos. Usually, it features actual members of the band rather than actors and shows them playing their instruments in front of an audience. They are a preferred type of music videos as they are much cheaper than concept videos.

The band Twenty One Pilots often use performance-based videos in their music videos. In the video for 'Lane Boy' it features footage from an actual Twenty One Pilots concert where it shows the band members performing for their audience. It includes dancing, singing and strobe lighting.

Sourced from pop-buzz.com

The exact same concept is used in their video for 'Car Radio' where the lead singer walks straight through the audience of a Twenty One Pilots gig and crowd surfs back to the stage.

Lastly, there are concept/ spectacle music videos. These videos are usually more unusual and revolve around one specific idea. Visuals and editing are more on display here and can often cost just as much as a narrative video due to props and costumes.

Sourced sonicamp.com

A good example of a concept video is Coldplay's 'Paradise'. It shows a person in an elephant costume trying to escape a zoo and run away to Africa. Due to its unusual idea and lack of relation to the songs lyrics it is conceptual. It's complete focus is on the idea of escaping and explore different ways of
displaying it within the music video.