Researching different styles of music video

Narrative: This is when there is a clear storyline which relates to what the song is about and the lyrics of the song. This is usually used in songs that want to display emotion; typically slow sad songs or love songs.

Nickelback - Lullaby (2012)

This tells the story of a man who loses his wife in childbirth and is left alone with his son. He finds it hard to cope and thinks about putting him up for adoption. In the end there is a happy ending as the man realises he is happy and can cope on his own. This is a great example of a narrative music video as it envokes emotion within anyone that watches it.

Performance: This is when the video shows the band or singer performing, usually staged as a concert but can be set anywhere. Many rock and metal bands use this method as it shows of their talents such as guitar and drum skills.

Black Veil Brides - Fallen Angels (2011)

This video shows the band perfoming in a desolate area with a crowd of people watching them play. This is a clear example of a performance music video as all it shows is the band performing their song. This allows the band to become more noticed as they appear in their music video as opposed to having a narrative with different actors in the video.

 

Abstract: This is when the video has absolutely nothing to do with the song or the lyrics. This style is typically found in club music as many of these songs don’t have lyrics; just fast paced beats.

Creed - With arms wide open (2000)

This music video is abstract in the way that the video doesn't relate to the lyrics or the message of the song. The singer wrote this song after he heard the news that he was going to be a father and so wrote this song for his son. The video doesn't shown any recognition of this, but insted shows the singer being hit at by metorites. A narrative would have worked better with this song in my opinion as it would have made the song more personal and emotional.