Comparing narrative videos to performance videos

There are two types of music videos that artists can create, which are narrative videos and performance based videos. The difference between them is that a narrative one tells a story throughout the whole video, whether it involves actors or the actual band/artist, whereas a performance based one only shows the band/artist performing the song with no story added into it.

NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEO

Sam Smith- Not the only one

The narrative in this video goes really well with the lyrics, as if the lyrics are telling the story, which is what most narrative music videos are created to do. However in some narrative music videos (such as One Direction's Best Song Ever video) they have a narrative throughout but it doesn't link with the song lyrics in anyway. The narrative of this video tells a story of a wife being cheated on by her husband, and she knows this is happening which is why she experiences all kinds of emotions from anger to sadness. Before the song begins the narrative starts with the wife saying goodbye to her husband as he leaves the house, and she knows that he is going to meet with his mistress, and we know this by the close up of her smile falling as soon as the car is out of sight, implying that she knows everything that her husband has been up to behind her back. Artists are likely to try and come up with a clear narrative for a music video so the audience are able to understand what is going on in the video but also to maybe get an understanding of the lyrics in the song.

PERFORMANCE BASED MUSIC VIDEO

One Direction- Little Things

When looking at performance based videos there is not a story that is portrayed throughout the video. Within this video we see the band members performing the song inside a recording studio with microphones and instruments, and we see this due to the various quick cuts used to show each band member performing. The camera cuts to a particular member when they're performing a solo in the song, which is a typical convention within a performance video as it shows who is singing at what point. The camera closes in at various points in the video, whether its a close up of one of the boys or whether its closing in on the musical instruments or equipment that are being used. The filter is black and white which goes with the pace of the song since it's a ballad, and this is something that artists should consider when doing a music video because they will need to use the right colours and lighting to best portray the song they're singing.