Codes and Conventions of a pop video

For every genre of music around there is a certain style of music video. These styles can be extremely similar such as Hip-Hop and R&B which both have a glamorous urban style. In contrast different genres can have a distinctive style video e.g. Heavy Metal which is surrounded with dark clothing, dance pits and mainly performance based.

From the research I have done by looking at existing products I have come up with the following conclusions about pop music videos and their artwork. Not all of the conclusions are strict, but many of them are common patterns in successfull artists and their work

Men are commonly portrayed in a modern way, where they show themselves as glamorous and attractive, much in the same way that women do. They show emotion throughout their work which is also seen as a female trait. However in complete contrast they also come across as traditional characters by associating with women alot. There is usually always a girl involved within a male pop video and vise-virsa with women. Males also come across as dominant and in control of the situation, usually through dance or performance shots.

Women are also shown in a modern way because they have usually done something wrong to upset the man, which traditionally does not happen! Women are traditionally known to stay at home, cook and depend on their husbands. Relationships in general are shown in a modern light where sexual activity is widely shown and the tables are turned leaving the male in an emotional state because of the woman rather than the woman being upset or alone. Women can also be made to look dominant such as in the Alexandra Burke video where Alex was very powerful over men.

There are a wide range of shots used within the videos I looked at. Most commonly used shots were long shots from the from or a high angle where you can see the character fully, usually watching them dance of perform something, maybe with or to someone else. Most videos make full use of shot types using many different ones and placing them together in a fast way to see a snippet of each one. Close ups of the face are used a lot to show attitude and expression within the face. In the GaGa video this shows the ‘bad ass’ attitude of gaga and also shows how she dominates me to seduce them. In Justin’s Rock your Body there are many continuous shots used to make the audience feel as if they are moving with justin as he turns and ‘fly’s’.

Each video obviously has its own unique style or location however there is a common theme of using black or white backgrounds (studio shoots) to create better lighting and make the audience feel as if they are connecting with the artist, one on one. Other places used are night time locations, places that are abandoned at night such as a car park i.e. in the Alexandra burke video and the Michael Jackson video. Also props are used in the videos to add glamour or style to the artist which could be unique to them. For example GaGa has the glittery sunglasses and disco ball. Alexandra is wearing all leather which adds to her dominant style.

Within the videos I found that most of the shots were performance based. There are some story lines within the video however it is not usually the dominant part of the video. Also the performance shots are typically taken at the places within the narrative storyline, connecting the narrative and performance together. This is a clever idea as it keeps the audience connected with what is happening, and why the artist might be there.