Types of music video

There are several types of music video, each having a different way of promoting the band or song. Examples of these are:

• Performance video – band ‘perform’ the song (e.g. Falling In Reverse - 'Raised By Wolves')

• Story videos – can be related or unrelated to song (e.g. Hadouken! - 'M.A.D')

• Hybrid performance + story – perhaps the most common, story intercut with band performing (e.g. Pierce The Veil - 'Caraphernalia')

• Animated - video is animated rather than using actors (e.g. The Flobots - 'Handlebars')

• One-take video - all the video is filmed in one take (e.g. OK go - 'Here It Goes Again')

• Artist absent - the artist does not appear in the video, often story videos as well (e.g. Funeral For A Friend - 'Roses For The Dead')

• ‘Random’ video – video is unrelated to songs theme (e.g. Motion City Soundtrack - 'Her Words Destroyed My Planet')

• Intertextuality - video references other forms of media, like film (e.g. Atreyu - 'Her Portrait In Black')

• Amplified emotions - video overdoes the emotions expressed in the song (e.g. Ed Sheeran - 'small bump')

• Humour - video is comedic (e.g. Blink-182 - 'All The Small Things')

• Extended video – video goes way beyond the length of the song (e.g. Michael Jackson - 'Thriller')

• Low budget – the video has low production values, either deliberately or by necessity (e.g. Get Scared - 'Sarcasm')

• High budget – the video is very expensive and has high production values (e.g. Thirty Seconds To Mars - 'The Kill')

• Subverts or contradicts central theme of the song – e.g. if the song is happy the video is sad or angry (very rare)