Narrative Structure of Music Videos

The connection between the music genre and the visual genre of music video are weak; when you listen to a new track, you may know the genre of the music, but seldom do you know how the moving image will be realised.

There are three pure forms of visual tradition in music video: performance video, narrative video, and art video.

Performance Video
If a music video contains mostly filmed performance then it is a performance video. A performance video is a video that shows the vocalist in one or more setting. Common places to perform are the recording studio and the rehearsal room. But the performance can take place anywhere, from the bath to outer space. Walking down the street is another performance cliche, which is common in rap music videos.
The performance can be of three types:
Concert performance
Dance performance
Instrumental performance.
Almost every music vide includes song performance. Some videos combine song and dance performances. Michael Jackson's videos often combine dance performances. Instrumental performance is not as popular, but it does occur. Concert performance on stage, with and audience, is however common and has its' own catergory. The concert video, is often used by rock groups.

Narrative Video
If a music video is understood as a short silent movie to a musical background, it is a narrative video. A narrative video contains a visual story that is easy to follow. A pure narrative video contains no lip synching.

Art Video
If a music video contains no understandable visual narrative and contains no lip-sync then it is a pure art video. The main difference between a music art video and a contempary artistic video is the music.