Research and Planning: Types of Music Video

There are two main groupings that music videos can be classified into. These are:

• Performance clip - a music video that mostly shows an artist singing or dancing

• Conceptual clip - a music video that shows something other than a performance by the set artist, often with artistic ambitions

 These can then be further categorised into:

• Commercial Exhibitionist - an artist who sells their image, voice, lifestyle and records, with them in the spotlight, aiming for success   

• Televised Bard - a singer acting as a storyteller, using on-screen images to support this story. They may discuss complex issues like life and death. Frequently, the focus of the story is on the artist's own success or wishes to be fulfilled 

• Electronic Shaman - the singer appears invisible in the video, with only their voice and the rhythm of the song to anchor the visuals. There are often hidden meanings and a different reality established

I shall now look at examples of current, released music videos to get an idea of what is popular and successful, both in the type of music video it classifies under and what conventions appear.