Categories of Music Videos

Music videos usually fall into one of three main categories which are: performance based videos, narrative based videos, and concept based.

Performance based videos contain the band or artist performing the song to the camera or audience. Rock music videos almost always have the band playing at some point to the camera, this is because the band is the focus as opposed to a pop song where the focus is usually the solo singer. Within the genre of rock heavy emphasis is usually placed upon the drums and the guitar, therefore being played during the video appeals to the fan base. The Killer's 'Mr Brightside' is an example of a performance based music video.

A narrative based video is one in which a story-line is presented for the audience to follow. The narrative will usually complement the lyrics. Often this type of music video is used for songs created for films, with compilation of footage from the picture. An example of a narrative based video is Chris Cornell's 'You Know my Name'.



Concept based music videos contain no story or performance, but based upon one idea, which is simple and normally unusual. This type of video is artistic, because of it's focus on the visuals and effects, rather than the narrative or performance. An example would be 'Her Morning Elegance'. This is an example as there is not clear narrative, but instead various symbolism. The basis of the video is that this woman is shown doing various activities just with the use of typical bedroom items, mainly clothing and pillows. This is not a clear video, but something quite abstract and different to conventional music videos.

These types of music videos are becoming more and more popular. The reason for this is because Performance based/ and Narrative videos have been done plenty of times before. The only way to be truly original now is through an abstract idea, hence a concept video. Concept videos are more entertaining to an audience as they are something different to most main-stream music videos.