Deconstruction of a Pop Music Video

Pre-production Deconstruction of a Pop Music Video

Pop music comes from the word popular, which is why it is mainstream music, it is what most people tend to listen to and what makes the charts, it’s a combination of many different genres, but is known for its simplistic and basic format of the verse chorus structure. I am going to deconstruct a pop video to see what the typical conventions of a pop video are.

SHOT TYPE: Mid shot

ANALYSIS: This shot allows you to focus on the main character of this ‘Love Story’, but it also allows the target audience to really relate with this as it is quite clear that the main character is at school from the opening sequence we saw, the background behind her and the books she’s holding. She displays innocence with her curly blonde hair and minimal make up and it covered up unlike in Hip-hop and RnB music videos. This helps create a connection with the younger audience members they are trying to entice and being a role model to them.

EDIT: The edits are very soft and dreamy like the video story line is meant to be like, this creates a connection for the audience because they look at is as something that they want.

MUSIC/LYRICS: There are no lyrics at this point, simply just the music which is soft that fits with the character and story line/visuals.

SHOT: This shot is a wide long shot

ANALYSE: This shot uses a wide long shot to make a more dramatic affect on the size of the castle and make her look really small in comparison to show how grand this place she is in is. It also creates that sense of in touching distance to her and that life. It is very clean and beautiful making it look more fairy-tale like and more appealing and desirable to the target audience, they have dressed her in a princess dress and done her hair in a posh up do to again make the audience want to be like her. The colours used are creams and whites, this shows connotes the innocence. The lighting is cleverly done with the sun shining from the back though making it more beautiful and giving the character an angelic glow that again young audience members will look too and want to have and be like. It also uses intertextual reference to common fairy tales such as Cinderella or Romeo and Juliet to grasp their audience and make them fall in love with her little love story as well as the song itself.

EDIT: This shot is a zooming in shot to her face which allows us to become closer to her and closer to that fairy-tale, it soft to carry on the dreamy feel that it started with.

MUSIC/LYRICS: The song begins here with her singing;

             “We were both young when I first saw you”

This connotes to an audience that she’s reminiscing and thinking about the past due to the past tense and her gaze into the distance.

SHOT: This shot is a high angle, wide long shot.

ANALYSIS: This shot shows the typical conventions of a pop music video as it has a dance routine, this is very common within this genre, even though this kind of dance is a lot different to the usual type that we see on pop videos, but this is because it has to fit in with the story and the time era that it is in. The costumes and the lighting make it seem very surreal, intimate, romantic and again something that young audiences will dream of, the idea of ‘finding their prince’. Pop videos are often very cheesy and cringey for an older audience to watch, which is why it is targeted at a younger audience. The fact we’re looking down makes us feel as though this is within touching distance and that that could be us.

EDIT: The edits are still soft and slow to help the flow of the video.

MUSIC/LYRICS:

       “Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone,

        I’ll be waiting”

These lyrics try and express to the young audience that there is such thing as a fairy-tale and a happily ever after. The lyrics don’t exactly go with the visuals on screen but it is easy to see that the point of the video is to show the progression in the relationship through her memories and is singing about the past.

From deconstructing this video and watching other pop videos it is apparent that the typical conventions of a music video are, a few costume changes, different and usually elaborate settings, a cheesy back story, a dance routine, a lot of close ups and direct singing to the camera to make the audience feel as though they know the singer personally, the lighting is often bright and dreamy, the clothing is colourful, they often have a lot of people surrounding them making them look more liked and popular which makes their young audience think that if they like this music and be like this person then they can have those kinds of relationships with people too. When there is a boy or girl band it is quite often each band member will be different from the other as the young audience can then pick their favourite, or the one their most like, or sometimes like JLS and The Saturdays, they have particular colours that each of them wear, this is a simple technique that allows the children to pick a favourite keeping them interested in whats going on. These are the things I have learnt that I will be able to use to understand better how I can put together my own music video.

Deconstruction of a Rock Music Video

Pre-production Deconstruction of a Rock Music Video

Rock music is largely based around heavy musical instruments such as base, electric guitars and drums, rock music is dominated largely by white males. I am going to deconstruct a rock music video to understand and determine the conventions.

SHOT: Long Shot

ANALYSIS: The shot shows us instruments which instantly tells us it is likely that it is of a rock genre, it is apparent that the two people within the shot are only part of the band. This shot is of them practicing which is another thing we know of rock stars, they’re always practicing. The clothing that is worn is that of a rock star too, the long hair, the leather trousers, sleeveless tops, crazy hats this is very typical of rockers. Their body language tells us a lot about their genre too, they are very much focused on their instruments and what they’re doing ensuring that they are giving the best performance they can, it is so apparent within rock music videos that their focus is their music not their audience, how they come across and so on, which is why it always feels so intimate and it feels real and is something that the audience can really enjoy. The lighting is also very dark which depending on what they’re singing can give off different affects, when they sing about death it makes it darker but when they sing about current situations or love it just makes it feel more intimate as if we’re looking in on their lives. It is also filmed in black and white which makes it feel a lot older which is something that we would cherish more as we don’t often see it. The setting is very simple which is what you always see in rock videos as it is about the music and not the fancy places and sets they could record it in, the thing they want to stand out is the music itself.

EDIT: This shot was part of a panning shot, this is like backstage filming, its as though we get an insight into the rock and roll life that is so famous, it gives their audience something that makes them feel closer to the band itself creating a special connection. The shots itself are soft, only on the drums does it do quick harsh shots, this is to emphasis and coincide the visuals with the music.

MUSIC/LYRICS: There is no lyrics at this point just music which is visually matched by instruments being played.

SHOT: Medium Close-Up

ANALYSIS: This close up is to express the relationship between him and the girl that he’s with, again the outfit, and general keep of himself is very much the rock style. The romance element shows the softer side to the rocker letting people see them more venerable.

EDIT: The edits are soft which go with the idea of the song.

MUSIC/LYRICS:

      “I’d hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain”

This expresses the visuals quite clearly and again shows the different side to rockstars.

From doing this deconstruction I understand that rock music videos conform a certain stereoptypical person, they are males who are a bit more 'out there' than others, for instance the clothing (and in some cases not alot of clothing which is where their female fan base comes from), the long hair, the tattoos, the attitude they have. Their surroundings are usually minimalistic as they are focused on their music rather than how they look on a video, there is a lot of camera action on the imsturments being played, there is also usually footage within the music video of them practising or performing at an actual gig, this makes it more apparent that they are not fussed massively about the video but more about the music because they don't spend hours/days performing for a camera in elusive sets for a music video, instead they come across very down to earth and passionate about what they do instead of fame hungry. These are all factors I would consider if I were to create my own rock music video.

Deconstruction of an Indie Music Video

Pre-production Deconstruction of an Indie Music Video

Indie music was known as music made from Independent Artists, now it is known more as a genre, such as indie rock, indie pop and so on. It’s a hard category to define, but they are usually bands and the music is quite easy to decipher from other types of music, it is very close to rock music but usually not as harsh.

SHOT: Mid shot

ANALYSIS: This whole music video is filmed by the members of the band themselves rather than someone filming them from afar, they hold the camera themselves or hold it to film each other, this particular shot shows the lead singer holding the camera himself as he sings into it, he’s also looking directly into the camera, both of these combined make this really personal and intimate but also quite intimidating especially with the music, it sounds quite sinister. The clothing is very simple, which is what is different from other genres, other genres have a specific style, where as indie music is just your day-to-day wear, however their hair is usually of a type, the short back and sides with the slick top. They also have a particular singing voice which is often different from others. This is filmed in black and white, which is an element we see often in rock videos, which is why they are so similar.

EDIT: There are no cuts atall within the filming which means that this was very well planned and so it runs slickly.

MUSIC/LYRICS:

       “I guess what I’m trying to say is”

This is good with the lyrics as he is actually speaking directly to the camera, so the lyrics fit really well, as if he’s trying to tell his audience something.

  

SHOT: Mid close up

ANALYSIS: Another thing that indie music videos are known for is their randomness, these women in masks and cowboy hats have no relevance to this whatsoever, we at least in the way their dressed, the lyrics here are ‘Are you mine?’, which does make sense with the facial expressions and so on.

ANALYSIS: This shot goes to another conventional aspect of an indie video, the instrument playing, this is another reason it is so close to the genre of rock, they, like rock music videos, like it to be about the music rather than what’s being presented, that’s their main focus, so it is often you will see them playing for the majority of the song. The location is an empty piece of ground next to a warehouse, which is like what you see in rock music videos, the location to them isn't particularly important, it’s very simplistic so their audience can focus on the music.

EDIT: Again, there is no edit, its one long shot, which means it was cleverly thought about beforehand.

This deconstruction allowed me to understand by doing an indie music video it would allow me to explore different avenues using things I wouldn't usually use as it’s a lot more conventionally random, it often differs to what their saying within the song, which makes it stand out from the usual conforms you see in mainstream music video and also makes the video more fun as well as giving it a relaxed and not taken too seriously approach. It is so apparent that the videos are focusing on the music rather than what people think about them or what they’re doing, this is why their instruments and the randomness is highlighted so much rather than the band itself, it lets the music do the talking allowing people to really understand what the bands about, which is why their audience is such a niche. This will help me when I think about creating my own music video.

Deconstruction of an RnB Music Video

Pre-production Deconstruction of an RnB Music Video

The Genre of ‘RnB’ stands for “Rhythm and Blues”, more modern RnB is known as “contemporary RnB”, which consists of more than just rhythm and blues and includes pop, soul, funk and hip-hop together. I am going to deconstruct a music video within this genre to determine the typical conventions.

SHOT TYPE: Mid shot allowing us to see her facial expressions and in particular her jewellery for this shot.

ANALYSIS: This mid shot allows us to see the diva facial expressions and the confidence of the woman in the shot, this makes women watching feel slightly more empowered where as would make men feel slightly intimidated by this strong woman figure. There is a red table that she is resting on and the colours she’s wearing are a mixture of reds and pinks, this shows her fiery personality but also shows the softer more feminine side to her, this connotes to the audience the way in which a woman should be; strong and independent yet still girlie and soft. The jewellery shows that she is well off and is something that younger girls will aspire to have and be like, the gold and diamonds also show that its not only men that can have these nice things.

EDIT: The edits are very sharp and go to the fast paced beat of the music which in sync with the visuals help to get across that strong attitude they have.

MUSIC/LYRICS: The lyrics for this shot are;

              “Question, tell me what you think about me,

                I buy my own diamonds and I buy my own rings”

These lyrics show how these women are trying to put across a point about how women are treated and are saying that they are strong independent women who can pave their own way in life without the help of ‘alpha males’ buying things for them, they also show that women can be just like men as the lyrics go on, and men shouldn’t feel as though they are better than women because we can do exactly what they can.

SHOT TYPE: Low angle long shot.

ANALYSIS: This shot is used to show how superior these women are, it also shows how they’re sticking together, the space is massive but yet they stand quite close together, this shows the audience that you have to stick together, this is shown also through the dance routine performed. This shot also shows how even when women are dressed seductively that they do not have to be portrayed in a bad way, these women use their beauty and bodies to their advantages rather than because there is a man about. The colours again are fiery but feminine reiterating to the audience how they feel women should be, as they are proving to be role models.

EDIT: The transitions between shots are still very sharp which coincides with the visuals and the music nicely. 

SHOT TYPE: This is another low angle long shot.

ANALYSIS: This shot is really expressing the idea of the song, this is showing that women  can have all of the stuff a man can. The superior role a women can have, how she can buy things for herself rather than have a man provide for her, that she doesn’t need anyone else. The fire really expresses the personality of the song and the girls. Again the outfits are little but the angle of the shot shows that she’s too good for people and showing that women do not have to be exploited or belittled when wearing little clothing and can be seen as strong.

Edit shot: These transitions are slower and use panning shots around the women to make you admire them so you understand that they are better and aid people, in particular women, to look up to these people.

MUSIC/LYRICS: The lyrics for this are;

                “Charlie’s Angles,

                  All the women who independent”

These lyrics talk about Charlie’s Angles which is one of the intertextual points made within the Goodwin Theory, this again heightens the popularity of the song and single handily ties together the whole idea of the music video itself, women empowerment, a theme that carries on throughout the video and lyrics.

From deconstructing this music video I was able to understand that Rnb is a mellow more soulful version of Hiphop, unlike hiphop it is not majority of males who make this music, it is a range of women and men who create this type of music, Destiny’s Child show that, particularly through this video which creates a strong statement and message. They also introduce an element of pop through their dance routines. These conventions are things that I will think about when creating my own video

Deconstruction of Hip-Hop Music Video

Pre Production: Deconstruction of Hip Hop Music Video

Hip-Hop is when Rap is brought together with a rhythmical sound. I am going to deconstruct a Hip-Hop video and analyse it looking at the typical conventions of this genre music video.

SHOT TYPE AND MOVEMENT: This is a tracking shot that shows the whole of the room, which then edits to a close up of the secretary.

ANALYSIS: The tracking shot through this thing we’re travelling in makes us feel like a peeping tom, as if we’re not meant to be here or know what’s going on, this makes the audience feel as though they’re seeing something secret, intriguing them more. The surroundings are very futuristic in the colours and the mise-en-scene as a whole, we can also see doctors, this leads the audience to believe there is some sort of experiment going on, this makes the genre hard to guess, but then we see on the two TV’s Eminem playing as well as hearing the music playing with indicates the type of music we’re about to hear and what genre it is from. Seeing Eminem on the TV’s is part of the Goodwin Theory I have previously spoke about, one of his points was that of they often have intertextual references usually to other music videos, like this does, this creates more of a connection for the audience but it also makes the music more likeable as that person is someone else they admire within that genre and is seen to be admiring this persons music by allowing the intertextual reference. This also helps us define that the genre is more than likely that of Hip-Hop. The idea that we’re peeking in and we’re far away from the action also helps us to define the type of music it is, it creates that boundary between the audience and the artist itself, as if to say they can simply just look in and admire.

EDIT: The cut shot isn't sharp to the next shot, which goes with the music, which is again one of the points that was made in the Goodwin Theory, that the music and visuals have a relationship.

MUSIC/LYRICS: At this point there are no lyrics, just an instrumental, this is the beginning so gives a chance for the beginning sequence to set the scene, the music and visuals work hand in hand because they’re very intriguing.

SHOT TYPE AND MOVEMENT: This is another tracking shot from behind from a high angle.

This shot shows how important this alpha male is made out to be, he has his friends surrounding him making him look superior and important as he is central at the front, this also makes us feel as though we can’t touch him as we’re following him and looking beyond other people. The colours in this shot change, the group of men are hinted with blue, making it look quite cool which would represent how people feel about them, but they are walking into a red tinted room full of women which connotes lust and romance, this gives the impression of to the audience that the people are lusted for, they are rich, their clothes gives that ‘gangster’ impression making them seem like rebels, all this makes them that more desirable by their target audience.

EDIT: The cuts again are quite soft by go in beat with the music, and work well with the visuals which are slow motion.

MUSIC/LYRICS: “You can find me in the club,

                              Bottle full of bub”

These lyrics match the visual as he walks into the club, the lyrics make their lifestyle seem even more amazing making it again more desirable for the audience.

SHOT TYPE AND MOVEMENT: One of these shots is a low angle mid shot, allowing the audience to look up at a woman’s body, the second close up shot, where you can see one of the men kidding the neck of a girl whilst she’s consuming what we believe to be an alcoholic beverage, and in the last we see a mid shot of the same girl in the close up dancing with a different male.

ANALYSIS: The first shot was quite a provocative shot where the camera tilts further up slowly whilst she is dancing against a man, this shows us how they use a woman as an object to promote their lifestyle to others. The next two shots are of the same girl with two different guys, this is another way to exploit women within their videos, not only using their bodies as an object but expressing they can have the same girl. The outfits are very revealing which again is used to make the women look cheap and desirable, whilst the men keep covered up and wear big expensive jewellery, this is their way of showing off their lifestyle, the money they have and how superior they are and that anyone will do anything for them. The lighting is dark to show the intimacy within the club and it adds more lust within the video. All of this just shows the genre and the typical conventions used within this genre and target its audience well.

EDIT: Again, these cuts are very smooth rather than harsh, there is a lot of slow motion parts which is another typical convention.

MUSIC/LYRICS: Each of these shots were different stages in the song, but each were from the same line in the chorus;

              “I’m into having sex,

                I ain't into making love”

These lyrics go hand in hand with the visuals we see, which ticks two of the points made in the Goodwin Theory.

It was apparent from deconstructing this, and from knowledge I have of Hip-Hop videos, the vast majority are made by black males in their mid twenties onwards, it is often that they wear expensive jewellery and use their money to express their power and lifestyle such as when they show cars, their homes, parties, women that flock them and using women in a way that make them seem beneath the men in the video. This music video plays with the typical conventions of this genre of Hip-Hop and is something I will think about when creating my own music video as whether to go with conventions or to stray from them, this will come in use whether I create a Hip-Hop video or not as I will be able to understand this genre of music more, but will also understand what I shouldn't include if I want to create a different genre as not to confuse my target audience.

Goodwin Theory

The Goodwin Theory

Andrew Goodwin came up with a well known theory about Music Videos, as I am researching them for my own video, I thought his method was a good way to help me to analyse them better. He made six points, which were;

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, e.g. a stage performance in a rock/metal video, a dance routine for boy bands and girl bands, this enables there to be a line between different genres through not only the music itself but the characteristics within it.

There is a relationship between the lyrics in the song and the visuals you see in the music video, illustrative, amplifying or contradicting, this helps the music come to life for an audience and gives them a better connection to the music, even in some cases people will only listen to music because the video is so good.

There is also a relationship between the music itself and the visuals, again, illustrative, amplifying or contradicting, this is also to make the music and video, as I said before, come to life, the visuals and the editing should be in time with the beat of the music for it to be impacting and dramatic.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of their artist and the artists may develop motifs which reoccur across their work, such as a visual style, for example through the likes of Michael Jackson through his clothing and his dance moves.

There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body, these things are done to give audience different perspective, or to interest people in the song through the use of women being provocative or them being displayed in a certain manner.

There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos, etc), this gives the audience a further connection with the song.

From looking at the six points in the Goodwin Theory, it is apparent that his theory is correct and it will help me immensely when I deconstruct music videos so I shall try and incorporate his theory within my work to ensure I get a better analysis, resulting in myself being understand how to produce a successful music video.

Changing to Music Video.

After a lot of deliberation between making a Trailer or a Music Video, I had decided on a Trailer, however after exploring the concepts of making a Trailer, it quickly became apparent that my ideas, that I was set on doing, would not only require things I would not be able to get a hold of or do, but the people would not be believable in the genre, this was gutting as I really wanted to do this, however I did not want my trailer to look boring, unprofessional and unbelievable and there was no way that I was going to do something different to the numerous plans I had so I decided my best option was to change to creating a music video to enable myself to get the best outcome I possibly could.