Music Video Conventions

I have finally finished and am moving on from the commercial that I had to do before. My commercial was one to promote the school, and everything good about it. Everything went relatively smooth for me last time except for the editing. The story boarding and filming was easy and there were no problems. For the editing, however, I had multiple technical difficulties, and was delayed severely by them. This time we are going to be making a music video. I am working in a group and I learned much about the editing program from the last time I worked on it, so I feel there will be no problems this time around. I am looking forward to working on this project, and I feel it will be a great improvement from the commercial.
For our music video we are doing “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” by Soulja Boy Tell’em ft. Sammie. The song we are doing is clean, and contains nothing inappropriate for a school project. We came to this song after thinking of some options, like “Let Me Love You”, and “Because of You”.We decided it would be the best one to do putting our schedules into consideration. Whilst videos of this genre are very well done, they are not excessively complicated, and will allow us to create a great video. Everybody agreed that this was the best option, and it was an unanimous decision.
“Kiss Me Thru The Phone” by Soulja Boy Tell’em falla under the genre of Hip-Hop and rap, therefore it has the same conventions as videos of the same genre.

The original music video has the typical mis en scene that a Hip-Hop/Rap music video would have. The different camera angles, sound, and editing techniques. In a traditional music video for Hip-Hop/Rap, the camera angles are usually low-angled close up shots in order for the main artist of the music video can seem like the most important focal point of the video. Shots that are taken in a Hip-Hop/Rap music video include many two shots, typically with the main artist and a love interest to indicate that they are desirable. It also includes shots like club/party scenes where it gives the artist credibility because it shows how large groups of people are enjoying their song. Depending on the song itself, there can be a range of sounds that are not including the song. There can be sounds of engines revving to depict the luxury the artist or people yelling their name so it shows their importance. The editing, like the sound, also depends on the song and how the director and the artist want the song to be interpreted. 

Within the Hip Hop/Rap genre, artists tend to wear a variety of apparel. This may range from designer clothing such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Ferragamo complimented by expensive chains, watches, and other forms of jewelry. This aims to emphasize the wealth that the artist has accumulated and is often a reflection and even a product of the rags to riches story they likely experienced.

In a music video there isn’t a lot of acting involved unless there is a background story to the music video. In the original music video you see spots in the video where the person is looking to be having a conversation on a cell phone. They did this to signify them calling the other person through the phone.

The makeup is also an important part of Hip-Hop videos. Back in 2008, the girls wore vivid makeup that popped on screen. For example bright eyeshadow colors, or and big eyeliner. Some videos would showcase the girl in a scene where she would just need normal makeup. The guys however, didn't really a lot of makeup due to the fact that makeup was more fememine. 

Props that are heavily featured in many of the videos of the hip-hop genre would include phones, jewelry, clothing, and stacks of money. They serve to captivate the audience’s attention, and portray the characters in the video as wealthy and well off in terms of power and status. 

Setting is very important for these types of videos, as they help to demonstrate where the video is taking place. Most often in the Hip-Hop genre, the setting is usually on the street, or a neighborhood, parties, and social gatherings.