Codes and Conventions in a typical Music Video The codes and conventions of music videos heavily depend on the genre of the song; not all codes and conventions of certain music videos are the same as others. The most common/modern/recent type of music video is a performance-narrative. This involves the artist lip syncing the lyrics of the song in some parts, with other parts including a short story/narrative which links to the song. Genre might be reflected in the use of mise-en-scene, themes, performances, camera and/or editing styles. Camera shots often portray the meanings/emotions of the song. For example, in Coldplay's 'Violet Hill' , the shaky, handheld camera (instead of a rigid stationary camera) links to the fact that it is about a serious, dark, sad topic (war) which caused millions of people upset and harm across the world; it suggests emotional unstableness. Similarly to camera shots, editing can also be used to portray the meanings/emotions in a music v...
