Monday 1 October 2012

Pop Genre Conventions

As part of my research I have use the internet to find the conventions of pop genre music videos, how they are used and why. This research will help to give me ideas on features to include within my music video and ancillary texts. Conforming to these conventions will help me to improve the authenticity of my work as pop genre media products. It will also give me ideas of conventions that I may wish to either develop or challenge. 
  • I have found that pop genre music videos are heavily performance based with the artist/band lip syncing for the majority if not the whole song. This is something we plan to include within our video as it helps to place emphasis on the artist and will work well alongside our theme as it will also help to emphasis costume and other elements of our mise-en-scene that enhance and emphasise the overall theme. There for conforming to this convention should work well within our video. Examples of this include 'Wings' by Little Mix and 'Love Today' by Mika:

  • The artist is almost always present within the video, featured in some shape or form. This is a convention we will conform to as we plan to make our artist the main focus throughout the video.
  • Pop genre videos often also incorporate a 'performance' most commonly in the form of dance or a story that reflects the meaning of the lyrics, however I think that a 'performance' element within our music video wouldn't work very well, as the song we have chosen does not allow very well for dancing, nor do the lyrics contain a strong narrative meaning, therefore this is a convention we are likely to challenge within our video. Examples for narrative include 'Wide awake' by Katy Perry and 'If I Were A Boy' by Beyonce:



Examples of dance performance videos include 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga, 'Fight For This Love' by Cheryl Cole, and "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)' by Beyonce:


  • I have also found that the majority of pop videos have a very bright overall tone and hue to them, and the artists costume is often bright mainstream clothing. If the lyrics/mood of the video is of a sadder nature then the overall tone of the video is often brought down a little, however the overall look will often still be considerably brighter in comparison to that found within other genres. Regarding our video, as the lyrics of the song we have chosen have a sadder feel, we will most likely have duller overall appearance within the video. This would therefore develop upon the convention as does not entirely conform but it does not challenge it either, instead we will take the convention and build upon it with our convention challenging ideas to create a duller overall appearance with some focus on brighter colours such as red, which will appear as a highlighted colour within the video. The costume used within our video will challenge these conventions as, although we plan to use bright colours such as the red motif colour within our costume, our artist will not be dressed in current trend/mainstream clothing. Instead we will be using 1950's style costuming that relates to our theme, as current clothing would look out of place in our 1950's themed mise-en-scene. This will also help to enhance the overall theme we have throughout all our media products. Examples include 'Waterfalls' by Stooshe and 'Troublemaker' by Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida:

  • Generally, pop genre videos also have a fun or lighthearted feel/mood as this appeals to a younger audience, broadening the artists target audience. The song we have chosen has a sadder mood and therefore challenges this convention, however, the overall appearance we plan to create within our video and ancillary texts will help to soften the sadder meaning behind the lyrics of the song and focus on the upbeat melody and fun/bright appearance of the artist herself. This will conform and further develop this convention. Examples include 'Live While We're Young' by One Direction, 'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift:

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