In what ways does your media
product use, challenge and develop forms and conventions of real media
products?
USED
Lip Sync
At times, the lyrics
to the song are relevant to the performance and/or narrative of the music
video. Therefore they use lip sync to put emphasis of certain lyrics to ensure
they stand out; this could be done because they relate to the action taking
place but also because the connotation of the lyrics may be essential to the
music video. 
In our video, we have recreated all
these different camera angles when filming the artist performing. We used side
view shots as well as O-T-S, Face on and Low angled shots; our predominate shot
is a mirror shots which is also used for performance. We ensured these shots
were in time with the audio; this was a very important feature for our music
video to ensure it remained realistic and relate-able to the video from the pop
genre.
Voyeurism
One of the most important conventions in the pop genre, especially with female solo artists in general is voyeurism. Voyeurism is used throughout videos to increases the sex appeal the main artist has which could result with an increase in the audience. This also suggests that the main character is being watched without knowing, which would engage the audience as it gives a sense of ambiguity to the story line. Sigmund Freud’s theory suggests that females in music videos are usually seen as ‘sexual objects in which pleasure could be gained from watching them’. This is common in music videos to attract the male audience and theorist Laura Mulvey concluded that pop videos could cause a ‘male gaze’; the purpose of this powerful controlling gaze at the female on display is to effectively suggest she is objectified and passive. This feature also gives a personal insight into the life of this artist if used in the narrative of the music video; these appeals to the audience as it creates a relationship between the artist and their fans and they believe they are accessing extras and unseen footage. Suggests they have a connection and closeness with the main character.
One of the most important conventions in the pop genre, especially with female solo artists in general is voyeurism. Voyeurism is used throughout videos to increases the sex appeal the main artist has which could result with an increase in the audience. This also suggests that the main character is being watched without knowing, which would engage the audience as it gives a sense of ambiguity to the story line. Sigmund Freud’s theory suggests that females in music videos are usually seen as ‘sexual objects in which pleasure could be gained from watching them’. This is common in music videos to attract the male audience and theorist Laura Mulvey concluded that pop videos could cause a ‘male gaze’; the purpose of this powerful controlling gaze at the female on display is to effectively suggest she is objectified and passive. This feature also gives a personal insight into the life of this artist if used in the narrative of the music video; these appeals to the audience as it creates a relationship between the artist and their fans and they believe they are accessing extras and unseen footage. Suggests they have a connection and closeness with the main character.
Theorist Goodwin
argues that female artists often objectifies themselves through fashion and a
combination of camera work and editing hence the use of close ups and body shots to enhance their most appealing
sexual feature.
For example, in Sweet Nothing the female is shown half naked
with a lack of clothing. A male is also caressing her body which would
emphasise the sexual engagement the male character has with the woman. This
objectifies her as she a sexual object and is seen as vulnerable due to him
having possession over her. This demonstrates the female as downgrading and
shows the man has more control which is the stereotypical view on males in the
music industry.
In our music video we have the main character changing outfit
and undressing several times throughout. This increases the sex appeal and
intimate connection with the female artist as we see her in the process of
daily tasks. Also, in one scene there is a birds eye view of the artist changing
in the bathroom, this is a breaching of their privacy and shows the female is
not aware of them watching. This reinforces the idea of woman being less
important than males and therefore suggests that they have no privacy and do
not receive as much respect. In our video the choice of clothing also
reinforced Mulvey’s theory on voyeurism portrayed through fashion; the main
character wears dresses, short playsuits as well as high heels, this represents
the in a sexual way and therefore appeal to the audience.
DEVELOPED
Mirror Shot
One convention that we developed was the mirrored shot. Although it is a
very specific camera shot, is it our master shot in the music video; all of the
performance is filmed in front or from the mirrors perspective. Most pop genre
music videos focus themselves around various shots; this is to give the
audience different perspective and takes on the artist and the actions that are
occurring. Mirror shots are used
throughout music videos to show this other image of the artist; the reflection
can suggest another personality or way or living that the artist may have.
For example, in Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video,
she is seen singing to the mirror. Her pose suggests she is a very confident
and powerful character; this is also reinforced with her costume in which she
wears black and has a crown placed on her head. The use of the mirror is to
reflect her face to the audience whilst she sings; she has a very stern
expression on her face, which could represent her emotion and her reaction to
some of the events taking place. The mirror suggests nostalgia which can be
related to her emotions towards the lyrics of the song, which connote her hate
for the music industry and how they control her actions. It represents her as
being trapped and watched by all the record companies. Hence, the cold
expression in the mirror suggests that the emphasis is on the song but that the
mirror expands on that effect due to the simple fact that we are able to see
the entirety of the artist which gives us more of an insight.
In our video we also used a mirror purely for
the performance shots. This was to ensure that the audience were aware of the
artist’s reactions and could see her lip syncing the words of the song. By reflecting it in the mirror, the audience are able to establish the artist
which important in our music video due to the storyline;the main character is
getting ready in the comfort of her home before leaving to work, this needs to
be obvious to the viewers as it is contradicted by the more outgoing and wild
side that we see of her when she is conning the men. Reflected ensures that the
audience can also see what the artist is wearing and doing which is important
to the story line as well. Footage filmed from the mirrors perspective reinforces
the emotion in the artists’ facial expressions due to the face on shots, whilst
also establishing a relationship with the audience by directly addressing the
camera and performing as if it was to them.
Fast cutting rate
Another main convention that is evident in all pop genre videos is a
fast cutting rate. Pop music is rather fast pace song with a catchy drift and
tends to have a fast beat. A feature that is common in most music video of this
genre is that the editing cuts on the beat and the chorus is generally
emphasised in the performance. Pop songs usually have connotations behind the
chorus and small sections in the verses; therefore the cutting rhythm is
important when editing the footage on completion of the music video. When music
videos have both complex performance and narratives throughout, cutting rate
needs to ensure it is in time with the different actions taking place. Hence,
this ensures the video is coherent and therefore is suitable for the pop genre.
For example in the music video for Katy Perry’sHot N Cold, there is a fast cutting rate when they are filming the narrative
for the video. The two main characters are having a chase scene down the street
in which there are various collisions and different events happening on the
run. Hence, the speed of the cutting is increased due to the amount of action
taking place; this ensures that the video moves faster and is suitable with the
song. This editing is rather rapid in the music video to show passing of time,
the simple fact that the chase taking place is at high speed and therefore the
editing represents the motion in which the event is occurring. 
In our music video we increase the cutting rate
during the poker game towards the end of our product. This is because the songs
beat increases in speed and therefore, to keep the editing coherent with the
song we increased the cutting rhythm. Another reason for the cutting rate to be
made faster was because the atmosphere of the actual scene taking place is very
intense and rather cutting edge and therefore to recreate the mood of the
scene, the fast paced cutting speed ensures that the action is very realistic
and believable for the audience; we wanted the viewers to feel like they were
involved in the poker game. There is a close ups of the main characters
inserting the chips in the poker game which creates tension, this engages the
audiences and entices them to continue watching to discover how it concludes;
this is also done through the gain of power through the fast extreme close ups
on the facial expressions.
CHALLENGED
Vibrant/Jumpy
editing
A convention that tends to be commonly seen in pop genre music videos is
the way that the products are edited. Pop videos are usually set in remote
settings which include clubs and other social places; hence music videos from
this genre contain very jumpy footage and colourful filters that represent the
club like scenery, and atmosphere that would be evident in the type of places
that the target audience for this genre would be found. This engages the
viewers as it is relate-able to them, and results in being more interested due to
the familiarity of the surroundings. The vibrant filters used of the footage
also connote the up beat positive vibe that the pop song itself represents; the
songs from this genre usually rather fast and have a dance rhythm to; them;
this form of editing ensures that the music video matches the song and is
acceptable in the music industry under this specific genre.
Jumpy cuts are also a convention found in some
of the music video in the pop genre. By reversing frames or playing the footage
in reverse gives the video a different style and makes it stand out. This
reinforces the idea of pop music being set in venues such as clubs, where the
target audience for this genre are usually under the influence of alcohol and
are having a good time. Hence, the needs for the fast beat in the song. Also,
this form of editing also suggests the time scale for the video is disjointed;
there may be a time lapse to represent nostalgia and the past but they may also
increase the speed to show the progress of various events. For example, in the
music video of Right Here by Jess Glynne the video contains very colourful
filter throughout. Bright streaks such as yellow, pink and red are shone across the video to create the effect of lighting. This edit matches the upbeat bass
song that is played over it, and engages the audience as it is relatable due to
the club like high key lighting. Various jump and match cuts are reversed to
show the artist doing the same action twice, this is to highlight the action
and making the main feature of the shot.
Also, by making the video different
and non-coherent gives the artist a very quirky star image which is essential
according to theorist Dyer who discovers that this image represents the
artists’ lifestyle and cultural beliefs. Time lapse is also used throughout the
video to replay scenes and show the in a decreased speed so that the audience
are able to view it longer; this is done so that there is emphasis on the
action in that scene as it is important to the music video.
In our video we edit in a very clean cut and crisp manner as we want it to highlight and relate to the artists actions in
the narrative of the music video; basically, the main character is a con artist
and therefore by having very simple and precise editing it represents her work
and how she is very professional and experienced, doesn’t commit an error. We challenge this convention as if we were to edit our music video like the stereotypical ones in the pop genre, it would not be as engaging and by our product not being superimposed it suggest that the woman was aware of what she was doing and was doing it with ease. We also use white transition flashes to represent the flashbacks instead of using a time lapse or reverse shots, this flash would suggest she is nostalgic as well as the flashes also connoting photographs which are essentially past memories.
Narrative
A key convention in pop music videos is that they contain a large amount
of performance which evidently is made up of a high percentage of lip sync.
This is because pop artists usually connect with their audience through direct eye contact when addressing the camera and also through the direct connection
between them both, as it suggest that the artist is singing to each viewer
personally. Performance is also essential for pop artist so that they can ‘show
off’ certain skills they may obtain such as playing an instrument, being able
to dance or just directly being able to sing the song flawlessly, so it
appears. Due to them not being able to stand out like lead singers from a band,
performance also ensures that all attention is on artist, and this is usually
effective by placing them centre shot as well as using high key lighting and
highlight the artists face. This lighting feature is also used in commercials
to emphasise certain aspects concluded theorist John Stewarts; he discovered
that music videos contain lots of close ups and set the lighting to focus on
the stars face.
For example the video for Love Song by SarahBareilles consists mainly of her performing behind a piano. There are series of
close ups to focus on her face and show her singing the lyrics. Although, there
is some narrative which, like the performance, is rather illustrative, the
highlight of the lyrics ensures that the audience are aware of the story line
and theme behind this music video. In this video, the artist is showing the
viewers her ability to play the piano which is the master instrument in the
song; the simple fact is that by showing off her talents also gives the
audience an insight in to the artists’ skills. The large amount of lip sync
during this specific video ensures that the main character of the product
establishes a connection with the audience due to the increased time she spends
directly performing to the camera. This engages her fans as this demonstrates a
more personal connection with her; this is effective due to her not taking part
in the narrative. 
