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Codes and Conventions of A Metal Music Video

The document summarizes conventions commonly found in metal music videos. It discusses how costumes usually involve dark colors like black and denim to appeal to fans who see themselves as outsiders. Locations are often dark warehouses or nighttime settings that represent an alternative space away from mainstream society. Lighting is typically low-key and dark to match the genre's themes. Most videos are performance-based, showing the band playing their instruments to promote their talent. Some take a more conceptual, abstract approach through dystopian imagery that resonates with fans seeing themselves as outsiders.

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407 views4 pages

Codes and Conventions of A Metal Music Video

The document summarizes conventions commonly found in metal music videos. It discusses how costumes usually involve dark colors like black and denim to appeal to fans who see themselves as outsiders. Locations are often dark warehouses or nighttime settings that represent an alternative space away from mainstream society. Lighting is typically low-key and dark to match the genre's themes. Most videos are performance-based, showing the band playing their instruments to promote their talent. Some take a more conceptual, abstract approach through dystopian imagery that resonates with fans seeing themselves as outsiders.

Uploaded by

mitchell
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Conventions of a metal music video

Mise-en-scene
Costume
In metal videos the actors will conventionally wear dark denim cloths and black leather jackets, this would appeal to their audiences
psychographic profile of strugglers and this semiotic code of dark clothing represents the band as fellow outsiders from society. The
artists wear this clothing usually as this is what their fans will wear to be able to create a relationship with their target audience
Some artists choose even more abstract costume such as artists like Slipknot or Mushroom Head who wear masks and jumpsuits,
these masks are extremely effective at creating a brand image for the band as the target audience quickly recognise these costume
choices.
Location

Usually the videos take places in dark locations often at night, where the outsiders can feel at home and be themselves hidden in
the shadows away from societies negative image of them. Promo shots of the band playing will often take place in either smaller
rooms and studios or large stages, with huge, very energetic crowds of people all dressed in similar style of alternative clothing as the
band to create a mode of self identification for the target audience watching the video.
An example of one of these dark, gothic locations is in Marilyn Masons The Beautiful people
It is set in an industrial, old, hidden warehouse type building where the regular conventions of
society do not apply. It is not existent to the regular mainstream consumer and only the outsider
Consumer of the gothic, metal genre will be welcome there, this related to Blumler and KATZs uses and
Gratifications theory as the audience can personally identify with the location and the artists shown.
Lighting

More often than not the lighting in a metal video is very low key and dark to connote the dark themes and image of the artists. Also
this mirrors what society sees the style of music to be like as it is different and weird.

Video Styles
Performance based.
Most commonly music videos of the metal genre are performance based, featuring lots of promo shots of the
band showing off their talents, playing their instruments. This helps to promote their band image of being
rockers and good at playing music. This also attracts the target demographic of aspirers as they see the artists
playing their instruments and aspire to become like them.
Parkway Drive Vice Grip is a video that is performance driven, most of the shots in the video are promo shots
of the band playing their instruments in a field with a plane, the other shots are of the band sky diving from a
plane. This video helps to create an image for the band as being talented, cool, fun and brave which appeals to
the target audience as a demographic of explores and aspirers.

Video Styles
Concept based / Abstract based.
Some metal genre music videos however are concept driven to create a very
abstract, dream like state. Usually in the metal genre these videos create a distopian
world, where something is right. Likely the outsider audience will find this world

appealing.
For example Bring Me The Horizon Throne uses various images that connote a dream
like state, such as those shown in the images to the right. These images are not relevant
to the lyrics in the song, this juxtaposes Andrew Goodwin's theory stating that all lyrics
and images in a music video must be linked, which effectively creates distopic imagery.
The use of lighting in this extract contributes to this distopian imagery as it provides an
ominous, dark, shadowy back drop which appears to be a wall of darkness. This further
allows the outsider demographic to identify with the dark, ominous lifestyle.

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