Throughout our music video, website and digipak we have used, developed and also challenged conventions of pop music products. Conventions of music videos within this genre include the use of the male gaze and voyeuristic treatment of the female body, close-up shots of the artist, bright colours/mise-en-scene and, all of which we have either used or challenged. However, we also developed some of these conventions in order to take the pop genre further, such as by using a generic love story, which is often seen in pop music videos, but then developing this relationship through the way how it all turns out to be a pretence.
Using Conventions
One of the main ways in which we have used conventions of pop music videos is through our fast paced editing which is very common to pop music videos. For example, this is especially seen in Foxes' 'Let Go For Tonight' and Icona Pops' (featuring Charli XCX) 'I Love It'.
'Let Go For Tonight':
'Let Go For Tonight':
Both of the GIFs above show particular moments of the music video for 'Let Go For Tonight' where the editing is especially fast-paced. These parts of the video have been taken from the chorus of the song, and from this, it demonstrates how the editing of pop videos is often most fast-paced during the chorus of the song. In our music video, we also used this effect for the chorus of our song. For example:
This section of our music video is used for the first chorus of our song and shows the first 'level' of our video in which the couple rob the shop. Here we not only used quick cuts and fast editing as a convention of pop music videos, but we also used this to emphasise the drama and excitement of this scene, demonstrating how we have also developed this convention.
During this part of our music video we also used the convention of fast-paced editing during the last chorus of our song. By using this particular convention, we have made our music video more exciting for our audience, keeping their interest in our video. However, as well as using this quick editing during the chorus of our song, we also used this technique at the beginning of our video. This is similar to the start of Icona Pop's (featuring Charli XCX) 'I Love It':
The clip above has been taken from the very beginning of the music video for 'I Love It' and is edited to the beat of the song. By editing the video to this beat, it makes it very catchy and visually memorable for the audience. Thus we decided to use this effect in our own music video. We edited our footage to the beat of the song at the beginning of our music video:
By using fast-paced editing during the chorus of our song, this demonstrates how we have used a very popular convention of pop music videos, and also by using this technique during the beginning of our video in order to edit our footage to the beat of our song, this further shows how our music video is similar to real music videos.
Another way in which we have used conventions of pop music video is through the use of frequent close-ups. These types of shots are often used in pop music videos. Below I have included examples of this found in popular pop music videos:
From the collection of photos above you are able to see how close-ups are often used in pop music videos. When we found this in our research, we decided to apply this convention to our own music video:
This collection of images from my own music video demonstrates how we have used one of the key conventions of music videos within the pop genre. The use of this particular convention also shows how we have used certain rules of Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos.
Andrew Goodwin's theory states that there are always 5 key elements to music videos:
- Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
- There is a relationship between music and visuals.
- There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
- There is frequent reference to the notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
- The demands of the record label includes the need for several close-ups of the artist in the music video and from this, the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work.
Goodwin states close-ups are often utilised in music videos due to the demands of the record label and in our music video we have indeed used close-ups for this purpose. By including several close-ups of our artist, Kati, it allows the audience to see her closer up, enabling them to gain a more personal connection with her.
As well as this, another convention of pop music videos we have used is the use of natural and unnatural lighting. This is also frequently used in pop music videos, with shots filmed during night-time settings and also during bright day light, using bright and dark colours which is also part of this convention. One music video that especially uses both natural and unnatural lighting is Dua Lipa's 'Be The One'. The clips and photos below show specific moments in which bright colours are contrasted with dark colours:
In the clip above we have an example of bright and natural lighting being used, with Lipa lying on a field of grass with the sun shining down on her. This makes this part of the music video very bright which then contrasts with the darker footage later seen in the video.
In this clip you can see parts of the music video in which both natural and unnatural lighting is used. Consequently, this makes the brighter parts of the video strongly contrast with the darker scenes which is a key convention of pop music videos.
Both of these music videos make effective use of neon lights and colours but 'Chasing Highs' especially makes use of this throughout the entire music video. The clips below show some moments in which this is particularly prominent:
These clips above show similar uses of lighting to Rita Ora's music video for 'Anywhere'. In both of these music videos night-time settings and dark lighting is used along with neon colours and lights. This is commonly seen inn pop music videos, with the dark lighting of evenings/nights used as a symbol of night life which attracts the young and teenage audience (this is the common audience target for pop music). Then along with this night-time setting, neon colours and lighting are used to add elements of excitement to this video due to the way in which they add very bright colours which strongly contrast against the darkness of the evening lighting. In 'Chasing Highs', this effect is especially utilised, with much of the video seeming to take place in a city/arcade. Due to the affect that this has on the audience, primarily including the creation of a 'hype' around the artist, we decided to make use of this convention in our own music video. We specifically made effective use of lighting during the beginning of our music video and during the third 'level' in which the couple encounter the 'Mafia' group.
In the beginning of our music video, we used footage of the couple being intimate with each other in a taxi and for this we used a softbox lights with coloured gels placed over the top. The colours we used for this lighting were blue and purple because both of these colours complement each other and are also often seen in neon lights, enabling the audience to make that connection between neon colours and lighting within our music video. By using this colour scheme we have also further attracted our audience due to the way how they associate neon colours and lights with excitement and fun, capturing their interests. Below you can see images taken from the beginning of our music video which show this specific use of neon-like lighting:
We also used interesting lighting in order to connect more with our audience and in order to use conventions of pop music video towards the end of our music video. During the third 'level' of our music video we included shots of the boy punching the air with 'nunchucks' and the VR headset on to represent how he is playing a video game. For these shots, we also used soft box lights but instead used red and blue gels:
We also used this same lighting in one of the very final scenes of our music video when the couple go to the hotel room and celebrate their victory of stealing the money from the criminal gang:
From these examples you can see how we used bright and unnatural lighting in order to make these scenes more exciting and attractive for our audience. This is similar to other pop music videos, such as 'Anywhere' and 'Chasing Highs', thus demonstrating how we have used this convention within our own music video.
As well as this, our use of costume also demonstrates another way in which we have used conventions of pop videos. For music videos within this genre,certain costumes are used and for female pop artists revealing clothing is often used, such as crop tops, off-the-shoulder tops and dresses and mini/tight skirts and dresses. This is exemplified in Hailee Steinfeld's music video for 'Starving':
In this video, revealing and typically feminine clothing is used for Steinfeld. Below you are able to see all of the different outfits that Steinfeld wears in this video:
This collection of images shows Steinfeld wearing a short dress, mesh top (revealing her bra), skirts, V-neck dress and a strap top (revealing her shoulders). All of these items of clothing represent the femininity of this artist through the stereotypically feminine costumes, such as dresses. However, they also reveal parts of her body, such as her legs and her shoulders. In our music video we also used costumes similar to this. Below you can see all of the different outfits that our artist, Kati, wore for our music video:
From these images you are able to see how these different outfits included crop tops, skirts and heeled shoes, all of which are strongly associated with femininity and by using this feminine and somewhat revealing clothing, this also shows how we used conventions of pop videos.
Developing Conventions
One way in which we have developed conventions of pop music videos is through our narrative. Most commonly pop music videos feature a very simplistic storyline, making it easy for the audience to understand, and this storyline usually involves a generic love story. Whilst we have essentially used this convention of using a love story in our narrative, we have also developed this through the way in which it all turns out to be fake. Throughout our music video the couple are seen to go to a variety of different locations and commit crimes together and are shown to be deeply in love with one another through the intimate way in which they treat each other, such as by hugging and holding hands. However, at the end it is revealed that their entire relationship is actually just a video game, demonstrating to the audience how everything has only been a pretence. This adds a layer of complexity to our narrative, making it more intriguing and more challenging for our audience to understand. This is very different to popular music videos, such as Taylor Swift video for 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together':
This music video is very simple and easy for Swift's audience to understand. The narrative is based around a break up in a romantic relationship and features Swift celebrating the fact that she is "never ever getting back together" with her ex-boyfriend. This simplistic narrative is characteristic of music videos within this genre, with Taylor Swift's video for 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' being a key example of this. However, we developed this convention of pop music videos by using a more complex narrative. At the beginning of our music video, the storyline appears to be relatively simple, with the audience immediately recognising that the video is about the romantic relationship between a boy and a girl through the very first shots of our music video. For example, these shots...
...are some of the very first shots of our music video, showing the couple being intimate with each other by cuddling and holding hands. This immediately tells our audience that this video is about the couple and their relationship, making it originally seem quite simplistic and rather characteristic of pop music videos. However, when their entire relationship is then revealed just to be a fake in the end, this adds a layer of complexity to our video. In our music video, we hint at this aspect during the third 'level' of our music video. During this scene, the couple encounter two 'thugs' who attack them and whilst they fight, shots of the boy playing the virtual reality (VR) game are shown:
These are some of the first hints that the audience receives that this is not just a simple love story, and that this is actually a video game. It is only at the end of our music video that we completely reveal this, in order to build up suspense throughout our video but also in order to further develop the convention of pop music videos having simplistic storylines. At the end of our music video we replay previous footage with the text "CRIME 'N' LOVE STORY MODE COMPLETED" displayed over the top of the footage that plays on screen, alongside 'REPLAY' and 'MENU':
This shows how we have used conventions of video games as when you have completed a round in a video game, it usually replays the footage to you and appears with the options of 'replaying' or going back to the 'menu'. Consequently, this makes our music video much more realistic in terms of suiting the aesthetics of a real music video.
After this, right at the end of our music video we show the boy back in his bedroom taking the VR headset off, representing him finishing the video game. Then a shot of the poster for the video game is shown, fully revealing to our audience that throughout our music video nothing has actually been real, and it has all actually just been a pretence. This is shown in the clip below:
By using this alternative ending rather than a stereotypical 'happy ending' as the majority of music videos within this genre do, we have developed this convention and experimented with it more. This demonstrates the more creative aspects to our music video and as a group we believe that by having a more complicated narrative it makes our music video more interesting and more memorable for our audience. But we have also used some simplistic elements which are mainly seen in the beginning of our music video as exemplified above, demonstrating how we have developed this convention.
Challenging Conventions
One of the main ways in which we have challenged the conventions of pop music videos is by not using the 'male gaze'. Theorist Laura Mulvey argues that the 'male gaze' is represented in film through the way in which the camera lingers on the female body and objectifies women for male (commonly sexual) pleasure. This is also similar to Andrew Goodwin's theory whereby he states that in music videos, there is frequent reference to the notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Both of these theorists essentially argue that music videos often include the objectification of women as sex objects, with Mulvey arguing that this is specifically used for male (sexual) pleasure. This is certainly seen in many pop videos, such as Beyoncé's (featuring Jay Z) 'Crazy In Love' and Selena Gomez and Marshmellow's 'Wolves'. The music video for 'Crazy In Love' is applicable to both theorists but especially applies to Mulvey's theory, whilst 'Wolves' only applies to Goodwin's theory.
The music video specifically applies to Mulvey's theory through the way in which Beyoncé is arguably objectified as a sex object for Jay Z. During the beginning of the music video, close-up shots of Jay are shown, which then switch to shots of Beyoncé dancing who is clearly performing for Jay Z's pleasure which represents the male gaze. For example:
In the clips above you can see the clear way in which this music video uses Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. During these clips, close-ups of Jay Z are used which are then intertwined with shots of Beyoncé dancing, showing how the male is essentially watch the female perform for him. Later on in the music video, Beyoncé actually comes to dance right beside Jay Z, portraying her as a sex object for his pleasure and for his pleasure alone:
During these shots Beyoncé is clearly objectified as an object for the male's sexual gratification, clearly using Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. This is commonly seen in pop music videos and is a key convention of the genre. This music video also uses Goodwin's theory that music videos feature voyeuristic treatment of the female body by showing close-ups of Beyoncé's body when she is dancing. Goodwin's theory here also applies to Selena Gomez and Marshmellow's video for 'Wolves':
These clips above show specific parts of the video whereby Gomez is presented especially sexually, linking to Goodwin's theory that music videos often use voyeuristic shots of the female body. Although this music video may not use Mulvey's theory of the male gaze, it certainly applies to Goodwin's theory through the way in which Gomez is seen to move sexually for the camera for the purpose of pleasing the audience. However, in our music video we decided not to use these conventions.
Instead, we actually put the female protagonist (also our artist) of our music video in charge and at the end of our music video, it is revealed that she is the one who actually holds power over the male protagonist. During our music video, however, we do use some sensual shots of our female artist. You can see these specific shots in the images and clip below:
In his theory Goodwin also states that in music videos there is frequent reference to the notion of looking. This is certainly seen in Selena Gomez and Marshmellow's music video for 'Wolves' through the use of CCTV footage and cameras as well as screens:
The use of CCTV cameras and screens here emphasises the voyeuristic treatment of Gomez's body throughout this music video, with this notion of looking referring to how Goomez is actually being watched and her sexual and sensual dancing and movements implicate that she is actually performing for this seemingly anonymous 'observer'. In our music video we do not use this notion of looking to represent our female protagonist as a sex object, demonstrating how we challenge this particular rule of Goodwin's theory. Instead we give our female artist power and control over her own body. Some key examples of this are shown below:
During this clip, our artist, Kati, actually embraces the boy in a hug. The way in which she embraces him represents how she does so of her own free will, giving her control over the situation.
The clip just above shows the second 'level' of our music video when the couple break into a house. Here Kati is again shown to have a sense of power through the way in which she leads the way. During this moment the couple hear a noise in the house and then quickly start to leave. Kati leads the boy and directs him, turning her head at him when they get to the doorway to let him know that it is safe to pass through the house to leave.
Then at the end of our music video, we completely reveal to our audience that Kati has always been the one in control. This is revealed through the way how we reveal that the entire narrative of our music video has actually been a video game, with Kati constantly leading this game. All of this is represented in our final shot which you can see below:
This shot shows a poster advertising the video game, showing Kati as the central focus. This then reveals to the audience that Kati is the one who has been leading the way as well as leading the boy all through this music video. What this then demonstrates is how we have challenged Mulvey's theory of the male gaze which is also a convention of pop videos, showing how we have also challenged conventions.
Another way in which we have challenged conventions of pop music videos is through our performance shots.The focus on performance shots showing bands/artists performing with physical instruments is very commonly seen within pop videos. The Chainsmoker's video for 'Sick Boy' is a key example of this:
The entirety of this music video is based around the Chainsmoker's performance and features them performing their song with physical instruments, including a microphone, grand piano and drum kit:
The pictures above represent the strong performance aspects included in this music video, with it arguably being based entirely around the Chainsmoker's performance. Here they perform with physical instruments, making it a much more realistic portrayal for the audience. This is very common to pop videos yet in our music video we decided to challenge this convention.
The main way in which we achieved this was by using our performance shots to just show Kati singing, rather than performing with physical instruments which is usually seen in music videos. This made our performance shots simpler for our audience, thus making it more memorable.
Below you are able to see some examples of these performance shots used in our music video:
However, as well as using these more simplistic performance shots without any physical instruments, another way in which we have challenged this convention is by including one of our character in other performance shots. In these other shots, we have also included the boy in them who stars alongside Kati while she sings the song. Below you can see some key examples of these shots:
In these performance shots, by including one of the characters in them alongside our artist, it makes Kati a part of the narrative itself. These shots represent how Kati is an essential part of our storyline and how she is the driving plot of our narrative. On the other hand, this is very unusual for music videos to do, representing how we have challenged this particular convention.
Overall, our music video uses some of the primary conventions of pop music videos whilst also developing some of these and also challenging them. In particular we have made effective use of the convention of fast-paced editing and close-up shots, while we developed the convention of very simplistic narratives by adding a layer of complexity to our own. And in terms of challenging conventions, we have principally achieved this by subverting the 'male gaze' through the way in which we place our female protagonist in control of our entire narrative.
Digipak
Website
Conclusion
In conclusion, my main product, alongside my ancillary tasks use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real products. In my music video we used common conventions of pop videos, such as the use of close-ups and fast-paced editing. However, we also challenged conventions, mainly through our subversion of the 'male gaze' through the way in which we placed our female artist/protagonist in control. This is also conveyed in our digipak and website. The front panel of our digipak features a photo of Kati seemingly slightly hiding behind a jacket that she wears, suggesting that she is in control as she is hiding something from her audience. This sense of power in Kati's character is further reinforced in the front page of our website which shows an image of Kati with her head slightly titled upwards with stern facial expressions, portraying her as a bold character. Overall we used many conventions of music videos, digipaks and websites within the pop genre, whilst also developing some through experimentation and challenging others.
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