Case studies: POP VIDEOS

This pop video is very interesting, the music uses synaesthesia in an illusion form of shapes, colours and costumes. The crazy mis en scene and its use of fast cuts makes the video extremely diverse and hypnotising. Pop music has the ability to go out of the comfort zone and gain a large audience as it sparks conversation and produces prosperous entertainment. The intro uses the singers dramatic voice to convey an impression of world revolution, a modern approach that is also represented through  its highly technical editing. Lady Gaga also uses choreography which makes the fans feel privileged to watch there icon as the star of a complex routine, it is favoured more as she wears minimal clothing, with the use of Voyeurism to draw in a wider audience.



This pop music video shows common features of it generic theme, Its introduction creates a storyline that matches the lyrics. The costumes are exaggerated, they use multiple characters, as well as fun and interesting locations. The colours are very bright, the mood is upbeat and with the use of costumes and props it makes the video less serious and enjoyable to watch without the need of a deep emotive response. Another feature of this pop video is the use of choreography and the way it exaggerates stereotypes, for example the 'mean girls' are all dressed in pink- which is a common stereotype, as mainstream music they aim to make a shared consensus so people can identify with the music.        



Like the video above they like to dress up, in this case with the use of wigs and multiple persona's. With a wide range of shots and locations, it is kept interesting and fun with a light hearted mood. Most pop videos don't use instruments as it is more suitable to rock/classical music. However in this example of pop videos the singer briefly uses a guitar, however her enthusiastic performance keep it very interesting. Once again there is a storyline but it is playful and this is a significant feature in pop music as it can re-enact serious story-lines to make it more interesting and can play around with it to make it very versatile. Lastly, one other important feature is the use of humour which entertains the audience and keeps them engaged.

From watching some of Pop Music's recent most popular music I have gathered common features of the pop genre:

- Crazy costumes 
- Wide range of Locations
- Brief but clear storyline
- Multiple persona's 
- Colourful costumes and props
- Modern and manipulated editing
- Choreography
- Humour 

Pop Genre with Goodwin

Britney Spears - Work B**ch
October 2013

Notions of Looking

This picture illustrates the use of Vouyerism and notion of looking as the dancers as well as Britney wear explicit lingerie clothing and in there performance they are provocatively dancing. Visually the video has lots of exposing images surrounding the costumes and dance moves, they rarely use close ups which is quite un-conventional.




Intertextuality

Faith - Breathe

This music video was made in October 2009 and like Britney's music video uses the desert as a location. Faith Hill look sensual as she dances seductively on the desert sand. Although Britney does this also, the mood and mise en scene is still very different.

















Demands of the record label

This video uses some close ups as a demand from the record label. This done to make her more seductive to her male audience, In her previous videos a lot of close ups have been used and they want to show consistency from the star image throughout her performances so the audience feel more in touch with her.




Genre Characteristics

Pop usually uses dramatic clothing, extensive dancers and crazy locations to create a pleasurable dynamic video that also generates a positive mood. They often have performers and choreography.





Links between lyrics and visuals

The meaning behind the song is that you need to work in order to get the luxuries in life, Britney talk of living in a mansion and having a Lamborghini, and then sings 'You better work b**ch. The link between lyrics and visuals for example the image to the left shows Britney whipping a women saying 'work b**ch'. Although this isn't represented very seriously it does use amplification through the repetition in lyrics.

Pop Genre

The Pop genre stands for 'Popular' which originated in the 1950's deriving from rock n roll. The Pop genre is often eclectic and uses features from other genres such as rock and country.There are elements of pop music that deviates it to  the rest, the often length of pop sing is short to medium length songs with often repetitive choruses and melodic tunes, with often catchy lyrics. So called 'pure music' lacks deep artistic depth but uses instrumentals such as drum, bass and electric guitar. They aim to make enjoyable music which means they collect mass audiences. They attract youth audiences and and are seen as an alternative softer version of rock and roll.

The term "pop song" is first recorded as being used in 1926, in the sense of a piece of music "having popular appeal". Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music.

The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pop's "earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience ... since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the special meaning of non-classical music, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, ABBA, etc". Grove Music Online also states that "... in the early 1960s [the term] ‘pop music’ competed terminologically with Beat music [in England], while in the USA its coverage overlapped (as it still does) with that of ‘rock and roll’".

From about 1967 the term was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock music, a division that gave generic significance to both terms. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of popular music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible. According to Simon Frith pop music is produced "as a matter of enterprise not art", is "designed to appeal to everyone" and "doesn't come from any particular place or mark off any particular taste". It is "not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward ... and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative". It is, "provided from on high (by record companies, radio programmers and concert promoters) rather than being made from below ... Pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music

Influences to our music video.

Kesha - Take it Off

This video uses powder paint - When analysing this video; the use of powder paint is really effective and mesmerising. The colours brighten up the whole scene and makes it feel magical. It shows that something so simple to make and produce can make a video seen so much more innovative and creates a happy mood, it is perfect for our target audience; Young girls. As you can tell Kesha also has paint all over her face and it shows that she is not afraid to get messy and in essence this fun and careless feel defines pop videos. Also the play fighting is also very effective as long as we do not make it look cliche   and cheesy.

O Conqueror - Fake Love

This music video involves toy cars. We also wish to incorporate this in our video because it will create variety alongside realist performance. This music videos obviously uses a lot of editing which although looks very effective, we would struggle with editing our own video to this extent, as it is quite time consuming. We could display a scene using our hands to drive them however we don't want it to look too unprofessional so maybe a simple transitions and the burning of the car in the finale can be done with still image or less human control.

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night 

Katy Perry uses mise en scene to dress up, exaggerate and incorporate humour of 'Teenage Dream'. She dresses as a geeky school girl which is a play on time, just like we wish to do in our own music video. The clothes she chooses to wear are over the top but it gets the message across. It makes the video that bit more interesting and pulls the audience into watching more as they see there idol in a different light.

Chosen song for music video

Icona pop - I Love It

As we decided that our music video will be a genre of pop, Icona Pop was a great example of a recent and popular piece of music with a suitably spectacular video that relates much to its generic expectations, especially in the modern day party scene. We chose this because it is full of action and its use of exciting colourisation really suits the mood of the song. As girls; we can relate to the feminine side of the video, although slightly cliché it works well with the audience it is trying to hit; young girls.

The music video begins with a unique font which immediately states the name of the duo and the name of the song. the same shot is used at the end of the video, showing continuity.  

Casual conversation before the song starts makes the audience feel more connected with the artists. This is a good technique as it conveys realism.

Using lyrics on the screen is a very original idea, however I think it makes the shot cheesy.

I like the idea of graffiti as it portrays the idea of 'I don't care' being a free spirit and surrounding yourself through words, memories and bright colours. In our music video it could be incorporated in a location that has graffiti; such as a skate park.

Freestyle dancing makes the mood of the video very relaxed, informality is suitable for those in the target audience who are young adults. This would be better then using choreographed dancing as there is a risk of it being amateur, so freestyle movements would be a good incorporation in out music video.

Using wacky shapes and replicating images is a very modern feature which gives a great illusion to the audience. This could definitely be used in out music video to break up images.

 A party scene is really relevant to the song, its upbeat fast and crazy, if it is done properly it could be very effective and make the video more dynamic.