1. Music videos often tend to include a demonstration of typical genre characteristics, for example, an R&B music video would often include bikini clad women by a pool, whilst a video of a stage performance is more popular for that of a metal band. Music videos can also link to film genres, for example an up-beat love song may be influenced by a romantic comedy film, this is called intertextuality. Artists often use their music videos to show what music genre they fall into. Girls Aloud "The Promise" shows the women looking glamorous and performing a dance routine.
2. There are frequent references to the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Looking is the notion of a man or a woman being portrayed seductively and also if there is eye contact with the camera. The notion of looking can also be referenced through props. Voyeurism is mainly used to sell the artists through sex appeal. A recent example being Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking ball' where she is seen seductively licking a hammer, whilst looking into the camera.
3. There is a relationship between visuals and lyrics. The lyrics of the song are represented through the music video. There is always a definite correlation between the lyrics and the visuals, even if it is contradicting a link can always be made. These can support the lyrics with a visual narrative, highlighting the message from the song. A good example of this is Taylor Swift's song "You belong with me". At the start of the song the lyrics are "You're on the phone with your girlfriend she's upset" to which we see a teenage boy talking on the phone, seemingly trying to calm someone down.
4. There is a relationship between the music and visuals, whether it is illustrative, amplifying or contradicting, a link can always be made from the music and the visuals. It tends to be that the shots and speed of the visuals in a song relate to the genre of music. If the song is fast-paced and up-beat the shots will be swift and clean, with the tempo matching the songs rhythm. Slower songs differ from this, using fading cuts and longer visual elements and slow motion shots to emphasise the slow beat. An example of this is Labrinth's "Beneath your beautiful".
5. The demands of the artists record label will include the need for many close-ups of the artist, meaning the artist may develop certain motifs which may begin to appear in future work. This is done to sell the material of the artist. It can be done to create the artist as a sex symbol or can be used to create someone that others looks up to and aspire to be like. An example of this is Selena Gomez. In many of her videos close-ups are used to show her beauty, making her a popular female star with both girls and boys.
