What makes a good music video?

To make a good music video the main thing you have to avoid is viewer fatigue. There are many ways to avoid this and they are all ways to make a music video successful. Changing between lots of different shot types, camera angles, and using a range of movements where appropriate can be very effective as it does not allow the viewer to become bored on one type of shot as they keep changing. This is also the case with the mise-en-scene including costumes, lighting and locations.

An example of what I believe to be a successful music video is Fall Out Boy - Dance, Dance. This is successful as they decided to show the song and video through a narrative. This avoids viewer fatigue as it gives the viewer something to enjoy instead of just watching people dancing/singing. The narrative links in with the lyrics which helps get the message of the song across to their audience however as the storyline is not totally obvious it allows the viewer to add to it with their imagination and own experiences which lets them relate to the music video. The story is told by the band members as well as showing them performing which is effective as they have screen time as well as making the video interesting to watch. The lip syncing is also very important as it makes the video feel realistic and believable. If the lip syncing had been edited incorrectly or the performer did not do it properly it would be obvious to the viewer that it is not done professionally and it would not be effective.

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance is an example of how costume changes throughout a music video reduces viewer fatigue, makes the video feel creative, and adds a sense of originality. Shown in the screen grabs to the right is  8 of the costumes changes in Bad Romance (although that is not all of them). The costume changes hooks the viewer as they will wont to continue to watch the music video to see all of the artist different costumes. Not only does this successful video contain many costume changes (each considerably different) but it also has different locations. Although the locations are not that interesting the use of lighting creates an exciting feel. Throughout the video it goes from light to dark which makes it feel professional and appealing.

Different colours of lighting can change the overall feel and tone to the music video.

Different genres of music have different conventions when it comes to most things but mainly in lighting. For example bright colours are often used in the pop genre while darker colours are often used in the rock. Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire is a prime example of how rock band's music videos are dark. This music video uses minimal lighting and only shows the viewer selected things. The low key lighting is appropriate to the genre which makes its look professional and well made. The lighting in this video makes the dull location of a warehouse suddenly seem engaging and charismatic. Other things I notice in successful music videos is that that it does not stay on one shot for too long and when it cuts to another one it is very likely to be of a different angle of distance from the artist.

Overall I do not think that it is just one aspect that creates a good music video but an overall contribution of the cinematography, mise-en-scene, lighting, and editing. If all these areas (and the lip syncing) are well thought out and are successful it will result in a professional looking music video that avoids view fatigue.