Lighting In Music Videos
In this post I explore and discuss lighting in existing music videos.
Lighting is one of the most important elements to consider with any video production and is used for various reasons. For example, dull/low lighting applies a somber feel to the music video, mirroring the song's narrative. This is a common convention in alternative/indie music videos. Whereas when we see bright or colourful lighting, a completley different mood is expelled; this is typically paired with pop music videos. This could be created through purely using natural light, or alternatively dimmed artificial light (this is more commonly used as it gives production more control over how the shots look. To example this, below are screenshots from the video for Ed Sheerans "Give me love," where low lighting, also paired with the mise-en-scene and the characters body language and expressions, suggests a melancholy mood to the video. While other factors obviously also influence this, it all starts with lighting; lighting is the first element of the music video that stands out to us and sets the mood and atmosphere.
I have also included screenshots from a range of Kesha music videos, to illustrate the difference when an upbeat pop song considers lighting. Both of these shots feature colourful backgrounds to simple mid-shots of the artist. If we think about why this lighting in music videos works and attracts audiences, we can consider the diversion element of uses and gratifications theory, and the "feel-good" style of pop music videos and how lighting is used to further that and mirror the style of music and lyrics within the track. Even with high quality filming equipment, artificial lighting is required to create this style of lighting.
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Lighting is one of the most important elements to consider with any video production and is used for various reasons. For example, dull/low lighting applies a somber feel to the music video, mirroring the song's narrative. This is a common convention in alternative/indie music videos. Whereas when we see bright or colourful lighting, a completley different mood is expelled; this is typically paired with pop music videos. This could be created through purely using natural light, or alternatively dimmed artificial light (this is more commonly used as it gives production more control over how the shots look. To example this, below are screenshots from the video for Ed Sheerans "Give me love," where low lighting, also paired with the mise-en-scene and the characters body language and expressions, suggests a melancholy mood to the video. While other factors obviously also influence this, it all starts with lighting; lighting is the first element of the music video that stands out to us and sets the mood and atmosphere.
I have also included screenshots from a range of Kesha music videos, to illustrate the difference when an upbeat pop song considers lighting. Both of these shots feature colourful backgrounds to simple mid-shots of the artist. If we think about why this lighting in music videos works and attracts audiences, we can consider the diversion element of uses and gratifications theory, and the "feel-good" style of pop music videos and how lighting is used to further that and mirror the style of music and lyrics within the track. Even with high quality filming equipment, artificial lighting is required to create this style of lighting.
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