researching music genres

1. Initial Genre Research
POP
By Hannah Chyriwsky

2. Forms and Conventions
• The artist wears clothes that are fashionable and mainstream.
• They are often seen in their videos as enjoying life.
• The song lyrics are often based on relationships or love.
• Pop music tends to follow the current trends so they don’t stand out as unique.
• The artist sticks to the structure of verse, chorus, verse and by using catchy song lyrics in the
chorus there is a likely chance they will stay in the audience's head.
• The beat of the song are dance orientated as the music is likely to be used at clubs/parties to
dance to.
• As teenagers are the main target audience a stereotypical convention is showing teenagers out
dancing along to the music because that is what some associate pop music with.
• Bright lighting and costumes are sometimes used because it appeals to the main target audience
as they are lively colours, they also fit the music genre because of the upbeat music.
• Close ups are used to make sure the artist still looks familiar as the music industry is changing.

3. Ellie Goulding
http://www.elliegoulding.com/

4. In this music video through the lyrics and the
visuals on the screen it is clear that this song is
about relationships which is a clear convention of
pop music because it is a common theme
throughout the genre. Then in the majority of the
video shots that could have taken from a handheld
camera are used to show them enjoying life
together as a couple and that life was perfect.
The song also has the structure of verse-chorus-
verse which means there is a high chance that the
chorus will stay in people’s head as it repetitive.
To go along with the upbeat music and mood of the
song the shot durations are quite short so that the visuals match the beat of the song. Also this music has
probably been created as a song for people to dance to because of the rhythm, to support this at the end
of the video they are stood in a club.
The costumes that the artists are wearing a fashionable and they are the style of clothes that their target
audience, teenagers, would wear. So by doing this the music video can be appealing to the target
audience because it is a style of clothing they like.

5. In pop music videos the colours used are often bright
and vibrant because they are colours that often
appeal to the target audience. In this video the
colours are taken to the extreme because inverted
colours are used, which links in with the type of music
because it is a song that you might hear at a club and
dance to.
Another convention in this video would be that the
chorus is repeated 3 times so there is a likely chance
that because it is catchy it will stay in the person’s
mind so they will recognize the song when they hear it.
Also the costumes in the videos are the types of
Clothes that teenagers , the target audience, would wear if they go out to a club like they have done in this
video.
Just like most pop songs they are about relationships which is evident through the lyrics of the song
because it sounds like there's a man that she wants but they wouldn’t be happy with each other.

6. Spice Girls
https://www.thespicegirls.com/

7. A popular convention represented in this music
video is the bright colours which is shown by the
costumes that they are wearing and the mise-en-
scene of the building that they are in. As it is a group
they all have their own individual style which go with
their nicknames, so the costumes that they are
wearing are typical of the genre.
Another convention shown in this music video would
be the dance routines as a few pop music videos
made have a dance routine in the video which
supports the convention of them enjoying life which
a younger audience would enjoy to see. Also by
having a routine it could suggest that the song is
easy to dance to which pop songs are typically used
for because of the beat and style of the song.
As this was the first song and video that was released a variety of different shots were used to follow
them around the building, but close ups are commonly used. This would have been because they would
want people to know what they look like if their career kicks off, which it did, and it is a common camera
distance to be used in pop music videos.

8. One of the main conventions present in this song is
that it is about relationships as it is about 2 people
coming together entering a relationship.
Another convention would be the costumes because
even though teenagers might not wear these types
of clothes, these particular clothes were fashionable
in the 90’s and in pop music videos the artists usually
wear something that is fashionable at the time.
In pop music videos the artists can be seen as
enjoying life, which can be shown in the visuals and
through the lyrics. So through the lyrics of the song
they will be enjoying life because they are happy in a relationship.
Also the convention of verse-chorus-verse is present in this song which means that the song will stick on
somebody's mind and has the video is based on performance so in all of the shots they are all singing
their parts of the song.