RESEARCH: Types of music videos

TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEOS 

Before deciding on how and what to shoot in our music video, we needed to research on the types of music videos. We found out that there are 5 most common types of music videos 

1.  Performance music videos 

These types of music videos feature the artist or band performing the song, often in front of a live audience or in a staged performance setting. A performance-based music video can include dancing, lip-syncing, and band members playing their various instruments. It can even be a recording of them playing live in some cases. It is the oldest type of music video. 

Top 3 performance music videos are:

1. Foo Fighters - My Hero
2. Weezer - Buddy Holly
3. Slipknot - Duality

2. Narrative music videos 

Any music video that attempts to tell a story through its narrative elements is referred to as a narrative-based music video.
In essence, it is a song-based short film. An introduction, middle, and conclusion are common elements of narrative music videos.
Lip-synching and musical performances are typically absent from the video as well. The band usually uses the lyrics of the song to construct a narrative.

Top 3 narrative music videos

1. Michael Kiwanuka - Cold Little Hearts
2. Kendrick Lamar - These Walls
3. Childish Gambino - This Is America

3. Concept music videos 

Concept music videos are videos that have no narrative and are usually unrelated to the lyrics themselves. A concept music video is usually based on the artist's vision. This can be seen as an opportunity to expand their creative vision with the song.
A concept music video usually includes a performance or narration so that the audience doesn't get lost. But while a video may have a smaller narrative, a video usually has no structure. What makes these types of videos so attractive is their uniqueness, which can engage the audience's brain. Audiences are enthralled trying to understand the video or simply because it is so eccentric that they cannot forget it. There are usually two types of concept music videos.

1. Thematic videos are based on a theme. The music video uses a theme based on the genre or the song's meaning. This could be the setting of the music video or a specific color.

1. Symbolic videos are made up of different frames that build meaning with each other. It typically features a lot of fast shots and well-utilized lighting.

Top 3 concept music videos

1. Childish Gambino - Sweatpants

1. Sia - Elastic Heart

1. Coldplay - Paradise

4. Lyrics music videos 

Lyric music videos are just what it sounds like. Music videos with lyrics on the screen as the song goes along. They were extremely popular in the early days of YouTube. Windows Movie Maker filmed with a blue background and the lyrics displayed on the screen were the first form of lyric videos. Yet, the industry gradually embraced it and began creating official lyric videos with complementary typefaces and colors. They have evolved from a contemporary karaoke-style video to something more imaginative and unique. The font used in lyric music videos often corresponds to the song's genre or theme, and the background and font colors coincide. 

The most popular examples of them are:

a) David Guetta ft. Skylar Grey - shot me down 

b) Adelle - Skyfall 

c) Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea - Problem

5. Animated Music videos

Animated music videos use animation to visually interpret the song's lyrics or message. They can include various animation styles such as hand-drawn, stop-motion, or computer-generated imagery (CGI). 

Top 3 animated music videos: 

a) Daft Punk - One More Time

b) Gorillaz 19-2000

c) Kanye West - Heartless