Codes and Conventions

Codes and conventions music videos and Genre

The genre of a media text is a way of constructing meaning and creates an audience for the text. Genre is a firm set of rules/way of doing things, they can slowly adapt over time because of different influences.  The different codes and conventions of a media text allow the audience to become familiar with different genres and it ensures a certain text works well and fits into a genre.

The genre of music that I am studying for my music video is pop. Pop music aims to appealing to a general audience rather than a particular sub culture or ideology. It is generally more focused on the recording, production and technology side of things more than a live performance. The main aim is to promote the artist. The lyrics of pop music generally focus on simple themes; the theme is often love and romantic relationships.

Codes and conventions of pop

• Pop music is very electric, often borrows elements from other styles of music including urban, dance, rock, Latin and country – Core elements which define pop
• Generally short to medium length songs
• Common – repeated choruses, melodic tunes and catchy hooks
• Main goal of pop music is to be pleasurable to listen to rather than have artistic depth
• Pop music is commercially recorded and desires to have a mass audience appeal
• Pop music has absorbed influences from most other genres of popular music
• Close ups are often the most dominant shot used in pop music videos to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotions. They are also used to reflect the words of the song, showing the artist lip syncing.

Jessie  J - Price tag

Jason Derulo - It girl

Other shots typically used in music videos are long shots; these show the setting of the video. Mid shots are also used a lot. Music videos intentions are to promote the artist, and give them a unique style, different shots help to show the artists style off well.Mise-en-scene in music videos is often used to add glamour or style to the artist which could single them out from other artists.

Alexandre Burke is framed in the centre of the frame, wearing a leather jacket, adds to her looking like the dominant character, the males all placed behind her in lighter clothing looking at her. She is the dominant character.Women are usually made to look modern and independent and dominant such as the Alexandre Burke video where she is dominant over the men (Bad boys).

Costume usually relevant to the genre, mood and storyline of the song – Creating an on screen image for the artist
Lighting emphasises the mood of the songColour – sets the mood for the video, creating either a sad or happy etc. atmosphere
Usually set in mansions, nightclubs, boats, beaches, streets, all settings associate with the good life and rich people
Modern stylish clothes which are normally designer especially on male artists

Usually pop music videos are performance based; if there is a narrative it isn’t very often that it is the most dominant part of the video.

In the Katy Perry video – The one that got away, it is mainly based on narrative. A song with a narrative based music video includes a narrative story of the lyrics and acted out in some way. It relies on imagery to produce a story for the audience to follow. A common story for pop music videos is Romance, showing a relationship and a story that goes with the song lyrics.
This video is a story of a broken down relationship which ends with the boy in an accident that kills him. It shows the past and present Katy, with clips of a kind of flashback and the two different stories running alongside each other

Performance based videos tend to show the band or artists mostly performing there song, possibly at a gig or in a studio setting. Pop videos are often set in a studio.

A lot of pop videos are mainly performance based; this helps the audience to connect with the artist. Often if the music video has a narrative the performance part of the song is also in the same setting as the narrative, it helps to connect the two together. The narrative will run alongside the performance side of the video, but the performance side will be the more dominant part of the video.

In the three images of different music videos to the left they all show the artist performing to the camera. This makes it better for them to connect to the audience.

Pop music is usually about the good things in life. A lot of the themes in the songs include, love, teen august, rebellion, coming of rituals, currency of cool, friendship etc. The themes of the songs are reflected in the music video. For example, Rita Ora – How we do (Party) is about parties, being young, and friendships/relationships. In the video she is shown at a party and is surrounded by friends, having fun.

 

• Typical summer pop song
• Quick paced shots from clip to clip
• A lot of action happening fastParty atmosphere, people having funClothing of Rita Ora is revealing, also makes her look quite glamorous, she is wearing well-known brand boy London in the video
• Relaxed fun atmosphere
• Night time location

 

Artists like Miley Cyrus convey the new conventions of pop videos where there are flash cars, women showing more skin and having a setting somewhere hot and sunny (especially in male videos). Older pop music videos aren’t as glamorous as current music videos. Pop music tends to follow the current trends rather than creating any of its own; it is influenced by the trends at the time of the video.