"Music videos can be categorized into three different categories- concept -based, performance-based or narrative-based" - Firth's theory of Music Videos (1998)
Many have argued that this theory may have been applicable during the period that Firth came to this conclusion and music videos had come a small way since their introduction. However in our century, music videos have seen the most development. Now- with a growing audience- it's not enough for entertainment to have solely concept based, narrative based or performance based music videos. In fact the blend of these three styles allows for a more accurate, entertaining and creative response to a music track. With significant technological improvements also, the possibilities available to directors for shooting a music videos are steadily increasing. I think it would be hard for anyone to agree with Firth's theory, and even if they did, the music videos created today that can comfortably slot into one of these categories aren't that common.
1. Concept- based
A concept music video tends to portray an idea that's (in most cases) not related to the music in any way. Judging by what I've seen of concept music videos, it's a response to the sound and feel of music track more than the lyrics. I think most concept videos communicate the movement of the sound throughout the song and evoke the appropriate "mood" more than display an interpretation for the viewer. Perhaps you could say it provides you with an interpretation of emotion rather than meaning. This music video by Daft Punk for their song "Around The World" can be classified according to Firth's theory displayed above. Even this video can be argued to actually be performance based, due to the dance being performed, and even this video was fairly hard to dig out. I'd argue that pure concept based videos tend to be quite rare, maybe this is due to the difficulty in creating something conceptual that's at the same time creative, entertaining and an appropriate portrayal of the music. "Around The World" according to me, ticks all of those boxes, as I see it to be conceptual rather than performance based.
(to be finished)
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