Music Video Styles

There are three main styles of music videos and these are: Narrative based, Concept based and Performance based

Narrative Based:
A narrative based music video is used to portray a story by usually following the lyrics but this isnt always the case as there are lots of narrative based videos with storys that are almost completely different to the song that go to. A prime example of this is Promises by Nero, the video follows a woman in a futuristic society that is heavily controlled by a higher power making them take drugs and obey, but she has fallen in love with another man and she starts to rebel against the power that controls her by pretending to take her pills and then standing out from everyone else by acting different and eventually kissing the man. This also has some performance based bits included showing the singer stood alone in seperate shots singing the lyrics. the narrative of the video and themes of rebellion and disobeying are often now shown in modern music videos as seen below in the concept based video, these themes are usually aimed at a younger age because youth often has the Stigma of rebellion.
Concept Based:
a Concept based music video is loosely based upon the song itself and is usually completely random and can seem without any meaning. This is so that the audience can each develop and take away their own meaning from the video which can lead to different discussions, it's kind of like a puzzle that you can figure out in your own way. An example of this is Natalia kills wonder (directors cut) video, i used the directors cut for this video because a lot of the imagery could be considered nsfw, mainly drugs. the video is based around rebelling against a higher power and failing. natalia is dragged into the mad hatters tea party by riot police with handcuffs and then she is served cupcakes with pills, a decorative way to show dissociation, a long running theme from the video, sit down take your pills and obey orders. Natalia obviously chooses to disobey and then stands upon the table kicking away the drug cakes and causing a scene, the police then grab her and execute her for disobeying. if you read into the video you will see the deep meaning and symbolism in the mise en scene. it is a great video to make you think and analyze.
Performance based:
many music videos often hybrid this into the other videos such as a concept video with a few performance clips. These are the simplest and often less eyecatching video but that isnt to say that they cant portray a message. Performance based music videos often rely heavily on camera and editing techniques as there isnt much else to work with, for example closeups of singers and of hands playing instruments. a prime example of this is Green days American idiot, The video is simplistic but very effective, the effects on the colours and the speed of the people performing ad a nice touch and i personally believe that a full over the top artistic video for the song would be a bit overkill. it is a very simple concept for a video, just a band performing infront of a green american flag in an empty warehouse but it never feels oversimplified or halfhearted.