A-level Media Coursework

1. Evaluation 1
Hannah Lortie

2. For my portfolio I created a music video to the song ‘Circus’ by Britney Spears, I also
created an ancillary to advertise my music video as if it were real. I started with the
creation of my music video by researching the codes and conventions of my chosen genre,
Pop.
MUSIC VIDEO
My chosen genre is very lively and fun to watch as it includes a range of conventions to
entertain and aesthetically please the viewers, these codes and conventions are;
 Mainstream costumes
 The lyrics
 Bright colours
 Relatability
 Sexualisation
 Settings/location
 Shot types
 Props

3.  The costumes used are relatable to the target audience of the genre; it is usually typical
teenager trends such as ripped jeans (1), denim (2), cropped tops (3) and branded shoes
like Nike (4) or Adidas (5). This is relatable to the audience because it shows them that big
name artists are normal and wear the same clothing make the viewers watching feel as
though they are on the same level as their idol, it shows the artists wearing low priced
everyday clothing just like in the video for ‘Breathe’ by Jax Jones, the actors are wearing
high fashion clothing that can be found in a regular clothing stores, the female is wearing
flare pants and the male has a high fashionable ‘supreme’ branded bag. Both are generally
seen being worn by 18-25 year olds on a normal day outing or a night out in local night
clubs, this allows the artist to gain likes and fans by making themselves look like an
everyday person. In my video I have used costume to relate more to the theme of my
song choice and any performer within my target audience, the costumes used do not relate
to my target audience but it does relate to a new trend making it as liked as a costume
used for to the song by Jax Jones(6). For my choice of costume I had my artist and dances
wear simple black and red coloured costume, these colours linked to the theme of my
video because circus ringleaders usually wear the colours black, red and gold to represent
the fear, fire and unknown felt when watching a circus act. These costumes were also easy
to access, for my artist I had her wear full black, in the different scenes she either wore a
black leotard with black tights or black jeans with a black top, all of which was worn
underneath a black tailcoat with a black top hat, with a red fabric lining the bottom. The
dancers wore black, leotards, tights and red skirts with a white line on the bottom to add
detail, these costumes were effective because they portrayed a realistic circus look and
gave off the circus performance vibe that they were made to do.

4.  The lyrics of a song entice the audience into the song, a lot of the times
the lyrics make the viewer’s empathise with the artist as it creates an
image of in the minds of the listeners, the lyrics can also be related to
past experiences or future experiences of the target audience. For
example, the song ‘IDGAF’ by Dua Lipa (7) this can relate to a girls
heartbreak and how to overcome it giving the female viewers a sense of
courage to let go and carry on, it can also give male viewers an insight
into how females feel in that situation. In the lyrics ‘I cut you off I don’t
need your love’ allows the viewers to sing a long and understand that
they can say it and act in this empowering way that helps them succeed
in the future. The lyrics from songs in this genre can also be confusing in
the way they fir to the melody, for example, songs can be about
heartbreak but can be sung in such an uplifting tune you don’t realise
until you think about the lyrics. The lyrics in my chosen song choice can
uplift my target audience as it is about being strong within yourself and
show your fun side that isn’t held back by insecurities or other people.

5.  Bright colours are an easy way for the video to look appealing to the target
audience because it shows a fun side to their personality that can be relatable
to the audience because of the feeling flowing throughout the viewer’s when
watching it. The artist is using bright vibrant colours to replicate the happiness
of the song, for example, in the video for ‘No Excuses’ by Meghan Trainor (8)
the colours allow you to see the vivacious costumes worn and the uplifting
body language and facial expressions portrayed by the artist. This convention
links to our first convention as when put together the intended feeling is
heightened because of the vigorously lively costumes worn like Meghan
Trainor’s metallic silver jumpsuit (9). In my video I haven’t included a large
amount of bright colours as it only needs the stage like presence at the end of
the video to show the performance of the performers, however, with the final
performance being filmed outside in an amphitheatre the bright colours are
needed as much as it makes the performance more natural, eliminating the
need for bright colourful lights in my media product.

6.  Our next convention is relatability; each and every code and
convention for any genre are based around the reliability of the
artist to the audience and how the artist can be portrayed to gain
ratings and fans. In every convention there will be a relatable
factor that links to the target audience of the video and genre.
Doing this song now has helped my video be more popular
because of the recent up rise in circus themes, it has become the
‘in’ thing for people to watch and listen to the soundtrack from
the new film ‘The Greatest Showman’ (10) this meant that my
video appeals to new trends despite its difference from typical
pop videos making it relatable to recent outstanding trends.

7.  The next convention is sexualisation, in typical pop music videos female
actors are sexualised because it entertains the audience especially
teenage male viewers as it is a form of sexual stimulation. It also appeals
to the female viewers as the costumes worn by the female actors are
seen as alluring because of their fashionable presentation. In my video
the use of sexualisation has been used slightly in the dance style of
commercial jazz. This dance style usually involves a number of
provocative movements that show the sexualisation of women such as
gyrating and grinding body movements. For example, in the song ‘Tip
Top’ by Jason Derulo (11), the video shows female crawling on the floor at
the beginning showing animalistic movements using her hips as her focus
point whilst the camera follows behind giving a clear view of movements,
in this video the male dancers and Jason Derulo himself are seen doing
sexual dance moves as well which appeals to teenage females. In my
video I have used a few of these types of movements to entice both
genders of my audience and to conform to the genre of my video.

8.  Pop videos have no specific location or setting as it depends on the narrative,
for example, in the song ‘Strangers’ by Sigrid there is only one location used
throughout the video, this location is changed during because of the lighting
and props used for each different scene. This isn’t the case for all pop genre
music videos, for a majority of pop videos a variety of locations are used, for
example in the video for ‘I’m the One’ by DJ Khalid multiple locations are used
to show off the artist and the amount of money the artist has through being
able to afford such luxurious locations. The locations I used were very simple
and linked to the genre and theme of the video, these locations worked in my
video because of this link; the changing room setting signified the preparations
for the final show from the artist alone, whereas, the dance studio represents
the whole company preparing for the important finale. My final location, the
amphitheatre, allowed me to use natural sunlight and a synthetic everyday
breeze from the wind instead of un-relatable spotlights and fans. Also, an -
amphitheatre is made for performances and using this gave the actors and the
video the real outdoor theatre experience. My chosen locations fit with my
target audience, because they are easy to come by and many will have been
inside these locations, especially a changing room, this gives the audience an
aspect of the video that they can relate to.