Research: Genre

My group and I have decided to create a film opening in the genre of Pop. Here is my research into the codes and conventions that are used in opening of text from this genre.

Films from pop genre usually include mis en scene of cinematic performance such as lip syncs or stage performance by the artist, or  which is important to show the artist pesona, personality and  energy. The element of sound is used as the main influence from the beat of the music which is used often as a transition in edits between the music video and is used when emphasizing the scenes from the audio. Edits used in pop music are usually fast cuts as the sound has uplifting beats. Also used to sync with how to music is, as the music video needs to match with the idea of the producer. When editing they also usually mix with other elements such as performance or audio conversation to edit in the music video. Another element is camera, which usually uses tracking and long shots to track the artist when they are doing the performance (as the artist is the main focus), Close ups to show facial expression matching the music video. The narative is normally about romantic emotion expressions, life journey, self empowerments which the films opening is often used to take people's attention and to introduce and show the artist's difference (pesona).

High School in Jakarta, 2022 (NIKI, distributed by 88rising) > big research

I choose this music video to analyze not by coincidence since i have been a big fan or the artist NIKI and her music, which her music videos share a certain deeper meaning which i love from the music video and has the element of story telling instead of just a normal music video which gives a sense of connection to the audience more. Niki's music video "high school in Jakarta" is considered a pop music, however it is also mentioned as alternative pop/indie song as the sub genre. 

The music video confirms to the element of performance such as emphasizing the artist pesona shown as it focuses on emotional delivery such as storytelling and also the element of mis-en-scene which matches the vibe of the song. This is shown from technical elements such as camera angles close up of Niki's expressions which brings the listeners into her own personal world, making them feel more connected. As, the editing was not fast cuts, rather slow cuts (slower paced) as this makes it more movie like, having more storyline and overall creates a better bond as it has become a part of the audience journey as well as the actor(Niki) as Niki's song is about looking back to highschool years, which with those elements they create the feeling of nostalgic. The mis en scene also helped in the blue colour palette and lockers, uniforms, stationaries, classroom which is connoted for school, and sound used for school bells.

However, Niki's music video "high school in Jakarta" subverts the convention of usual flashy and exaggerated performance of music video's by artist who are doing pop. Niki does have a performance but the performance is more raw, unfiltered and natural looking which can make the audience feel more closer as the video feels more real and creates an emotional bond to the listeners.

The representation of this music video is Niki herself (typical high school experience), Jakarta and high school events (drama club). The representation from the actor Niki is showing her life in high school representing teenagers life as high schoolers (fun, messy, complicated). The representation of Jakarta is not the same with the actual school. However Jakarta here is represented as an average american high school drama shown using mise en scene of uniforms, drama club, ect.

Please Please Please, 2024 (Sabrina Carpenter ) > big research

The genre of "please please please" is pop and the subgenre is Synthpop, Electro-pop, Indie pop. The subgenre shapes the sound visual style and the audience's expectations of a song.

Pop music usually are very catchy and upbeat so that the songs will be memorable for the listeners. In Sabrina Carpenter's song "please please please" include notes that grabs people attention making the listeners feel emotions that blends perfectly such as freshness and excited from the tone, melody and the scenery changes from the music video. Using mis en scene such as outfits, location changes creates new excitement for the audience as they do not see the same thing over and over again. Another thing this song confirms is the quality and the high polished visuals from the music video which is shown as the clearness of the video, and the mis en scene that looks like they cost a lot (which they do, in most pop videos they use expensive mis en scene such as clothes, actors, ect). The quality of the music video looks as if they produced by a movie producer as the music video consist a story line which tells another story inline with the music video's lyrics. The music video also highlights sabrina carpenter as the main character and showing her pesona using close up shots and long shots of her makeup, hair, outfit and style.

Usually in pop music, not only their beat are catchy but the music video contains elements that are shows brightness, uplifting colours, catchy with shots in bright locations, and bright colourful visuals overall, which connotes as playfulness, fun, happiness, vibrancy and catches the viewers attention. However, Sabrina Carpenter's song "please please please" subverts from this conventions by using darker muted colours, darker lighting and locations such as jail, bank, and sketchy places. By subverting the conventions they also subvert the usual happy bright ending into emphasizing the authenticity of the music video rather than fantasy or such.

Sabrina (girls) who are represented as someone who prioritizes on looking good which is shown using close up shots of a scene where she was bailed out of jail and the only thing returned to her are her glasses and lipstick, which she later used in front of the officer while he was giving instruction. "this is not a beauty class maam" is pointing towards the character prioritizing looking good but unaware of her surroundings (she just got bailed out of jail), making the character look dumb. The character (sabrina) was also shown always dressing on point with numerous outfits and accessorizing, even if her and the other guy in the music video are doing robbery, ect. This is shown from the long shot of her in red doing nothing while the boyfriend(?) was fighting the other guys. The scene was pointed towards her, as she was wearing a red dress while others are wearing muted colours. The scene of her constantly doing nothing and waiting for the guy's guidance portrays her as "helpless" and in need of the guy.

However, the guy in the music video is represented as stronger, more masculine and the one who directs and take charge in his life. This is shown using clips and long shots of the guy constantly going in fights and receiving money from others. Which from the mis en scene the audience are able to see that the guy is involved in criminal activities, usually people involved are strong and independent.

Good 4 u, 2021 (Olivia Rodrigo) > small research

Genre / Sub genre: pop / pop rock

Teenagers and young adult  are the target audience which appeals to them as the setting of the music video is at school, doing activities such as cheer. The song's theme is about heartbreak as well and these elements relate to teenagers and young adults as they are going through the same thing which creates an emotional bond between them and the song. 

Olivia Rodrigo is represented as angsty, heartbroken teenager who was dealing with heartbreak which many target audience can relate to this. She is represented this way using close up shot of her expression stern and mad, which shows her raw emotion and connects with the audience. Low angle was also used to make Olivia Rodrigo look more powerful which shows her more rebellious side and making her look stronger and making her look more chaotic and relating to teenagers more. 

I love the mis en scene of the movie and how the mis en scene creates a high school atmosphere like a typical american high school such as the cheerleading outfits, the vintage edits and looks which makes the music video looks like they came from the 90's and i would def consider making mine feel retro as the vibe really cool and vintage. I also love how fun this music video feels and how connected I feel as an audience with the storyline.

I would like to avoid the messiness of the scene, as i think as students it is not possible for us to make it too messy. However it is a good connotation of how breakup feels like from the song "good 4 u". Although it is a good theme, i dont think i want to choose a song with heartbreak theme as it is harder to make for students for us. 

Make you Mine, 2024 (Madison Beer) > small research

Genre / Sub genre: Pop / R&B and Soul

The target audience is teenagers and young adult (16-25 years) which is appealing to the audience as they mis en scene such as location of music video which is at school, the outfits (cheerleading outfits, and 90's based outfits) and the activities the music video is showing (cheerleading). This appeals to the audience as they are experiencing high school recently and this would make them relate to the music video more.  

I like the concept of the mis en scene where they are recreating an american high school scene and atmosphere as it brings nostalgia feeling. I also love how they use light settings and natural outdoor shots as seen in the cheerleading clip of the video. They also uses close up shots a lot during filming the scene, to emphasize the emotion between characters which captures slight emotional shifts to draw the audience attention more.  I think in my music video i want to use more natural lighting as it captures the essence of highschool in a cheerful way, happy way,

 

I would like to avoid the music video in being too performance related such as cheerleading since I want the element of performance in my music video to be something else thats more relatable to the audience (Indonesian audience) and cheer isn't something very common in Indonesia. By avoiding performance such as cheer, i would be able to go for a simpler one which makes my target audience relate more as they can see themselves reflected in the characters or the narrative. 

The video uses alot of tech elements such as close up shot which focuses on the emotion between characters which by focusing on the emotions shifts between characters in close up shot it makes th relationship between characters more intimate and engaging which emphasizes emotional connection.

APT. 2024 (Rosé & Bruno Mars) > small research

Genre / Sub genre: pop / pop - punk

Target audience is also young adult and teenagers 16 - 25 age range through the nostalgic as the video concept feels very 2000's vibe which is shown from the fun, retro and nostalgic appeal  as the audience can see older viewers are reminded of their childhood and younger viewers sees it as cool and vintage. 

I love the simplicity of the music video, where the artist collaboration is portrayed very good as they look like they are having fun. This is shown using the mini performance which is recorded using long shot of Rosé and Bruno mars moving in synch which perfectly captures the artist pesona and chemistry. Rather then them relying on over the top music videos, this music video focuses on simplicity which makes the collaboration between Rosé and Bruno Mars feels more natural and approachable which makes them feel relatable for the audience as it gives of a down to earth vibe.

The edits in the music video is very retro and very engaging which is good. However, it does not suit the style as retro can give a sense of nostalgia can often connotes as childfull and playful. Since i am aiming for a more mature nostalgic theme, not retro and playful then a simple cleaner style of editing would suit more instead of this funky, playful type of edit. 

I love you, Im sorry, 2024 (Gracie Abrams) > small research

Genre / Sub genre: pop 

The target audience for this music video would be teenagers and young adults (16 - 25), this is as the target audience is drawn to emotions, vulnerability and carefreeness which is shown through raw and authentic emotions that gracie expresses in the close shot (which was used in most of her camera angles throughout the music video).

I like how the music video seems very relatable to the audience as they use settings that are in everyday day such as the beach, in school stage, car with friends. I think that the beach scene will be very usable as it makes the music video very natural and relatable which is what im aiming for. I would also probably use the car scene idea where she lip syncs while she was with her friends which i think can seem very fun and relatable because the target audience is teenager and young adults (usually they value friendship alot which helps them relate and have an emotional connection with the music video). 

I would like to avoid the scene where there are many people carrying Gracie Abrams while she was lip syncing to the song in a medium shot. It is good however it does not match the aesthetic i'm going for  as the mis en scene of the background is very dim and dark lighting and blinking lighting which makes the vibe seems darker and im going for a more uplifting vibe. 

You belong with me, 2009 (Taylor Swift)

Teenagers and Young adults (13-25), with a demographic of teenagers who are navigating from highschool experience such as personal identity, relationship, self identity which is the theme of the song which appeals to the audience as they relate to the theme of the music video which uses the theory of Blumer and Katz, Uses and Gratification theory (personal identity) where people consume media for personal identity and exploring their own selves (such as preferences) which is why the audience are able to relate and are interested to the media in a certain way.

I how the singer (Taylor Swift) is able to represent both characters which the girl next door and the popular cheerleader. In the scene they were both rivals as they liked the same guy, which Taylor Swift are able to represent the characters in a very contrast way which is why it catches the audience attention as it draws a clear plot. 

I would like to avoid the mis en scene of the colour quality as it seems very muted and old fashioned due to slightly washed out look, which i do not want for my music video as it does not match the aesthetic as I would love for my music video to be more vibrant which connotes as brighter, cheerful as it resonates more with pop music. 

Hot To Go, 2023 (Chappell Roan)

Target audience might be a wider range of age (16 - 30) however there are many age range of people in the music video which might suggest that it is for a wide range of audience and demographic are people who are drawn to vibrant, energetic pop energy, performance based which this music video's theme is about. The bright colours and visuals draw the audience as it's very eye catchy which Blumer and Katz, Uses and Gratification theory where audiences consume media for entertainment. Since the music video is very eye catching, the audience would more likely be interested in these type of vibrant and catchy media. 

I love the vibrant and catchy vibe of this music video as the bright and saturated colours (in this music video blue, red, yellow) connotes in the video looking more energetic, lively which creates a fun and immersive environment for the audience to enjoy as it mirrors the pop energy. I also love the fact that many people learned the dance in the music video which makes it very interactive making it highly engaging for the audience and encourages the audience to be a part of it too. 

I would like to avoid the music video too performance based and overly colourful, as i would want to be able to create a more authentic music videos which theme is about high school based and give a more naturalistic theme which by adding too much colors, will contrast with the theme. 

this is some additional research our teacher Mr Nick showed us about elements of performance.

in here, i am able to see what a performanced based music video looks like and it really helps me in knowing the base of a good music video. 

Self Reflection: This research has taught me strong conventions in pop music from each of the music video such as the vibrant, vibes and such. However from researching the music videos i came across some of my favorites which is "High School in Jakarta", "I love you, Im sorry" and Good 4 u as they came across as more fun, raw, unfiltered and more relatable as the stars are made to be teenagers which of course relates to us and most of the settings are in school. They also do daily activities that teenagers normally does which i think would be a really great example for our project as we are not able to do very high quality production aiming at luxuries (cars, clothes, ect) but rather focus on simplicity and reality of every day lives. I really like when the music video shows the artist actually having fun, feels very voluntarily, free flow type of thing, low efforts and real instead of heavily edited, heavily scripted as I love music videos that are able to reflect on my daily life and making me relate to it even more.