What are forms and conventions?
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A form is the overall shape of a media product e.g. a music video or a magazine
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The media form will typically determine the medium that is used (e.g. a music video is made in video or film), the length of the product and the content that is contained. For example, a Western film typically includes cowboys and guns.
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Conventions are the established features and style of a media form.
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Conventions can be split into technical conventions (how the video is typically filmed, lit and edited) and symbolic conventions (how costumes, colour, and set are typically used within the genre)
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The conventions of a pop video would include repeated close ups of artist, a romantic narrative, etc.
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Media forms tend to follow conventions because they make it easy for an audience to understand what type of text they are consuming and enable them to situate a song and artist within a musical genre.