Types of Music Videos

There are usually several different types of music video. Each has its own purposes and are utilized in different ways to affect an audience.
Several examples are as follows:

Homage: An acknowledgement to something from the past.
              e.g. 2Pac- Ghetto, a tribute to Tupac Shakur

Animation: The use of drawing to illustrate lyrics and meanings.
              e.g. Radiohead-Paranoid Android

Narrative: A story told throughout the video to develop an idea or path of thought.
               e.g. Coldplay- The Scientist, a narrative in reverse

Live: A video of the song being played live, usually in a concert
               e.g. Muse- Follow Me

Referencing: Uses media subject for inspiration.
              e.g. Foo Fighters- Walk, which referenced the film,                          'Falling Down’.
Parody:  Aimed to mock and make fun of an original piece of 
               work
               e.g. “Weird Al”= ‘Another One Rides the Bus’, a parody
                of ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen.

Influence of commercials: Using advertisements to help portray a
                 narrative
               e.g. Kayne West- Gold Digger, which uses women posing
              similarly to those on 1950’s magazines.

Surreal: Something the audience would find hard to believe in the
                real world. This sequence can be dream-like.
               e.g. Radiohead- ‘There There’, where the singer walks
                around the woods and is eventually chased by ravens and
                the singer is turned into a tree.

Interpretive:  A visual interpretation of the lyrics
               e.g. The Offspring- You’re Gonna Go Far Kid, which is
                 influenced by the idea of ‘Lord of the Flies’.

Impressionist: The video takes an ‘impression’ of a style/genre or
                         theme
               e.g. Muse- Psycho, which relates to the idea of the
                        government controlling it’s people, which is linked
                         to shots of war and destruction in the background.