little mix

1. Analysing Pop Music Videos
Little Mix- Hair:
Throughout watching this music video I will be analysing how the four technical elements have
been used in order for the music video to become successful. As well as seeing how the four
technical elements have been used throughout this music video being able to pick out the
strengths and weaknesses of this video will help me when creating my own version of a pop
music video and achieve the highest grade possible for my music video.
Camerawork:
In this video there are a lot of different camera shots which
have been used, however the main camera shot which keeps
being used is a close up shot. Close up shots are very
conventional for a pop music video because this allows the
audience to see the singers face so they are able to see their
emotions while singing this song. Another thing the close up
shots are used for in this video is what the girls are doing and
one example of where this is used to show the audience of
what the girls are doing is when the girls are all in the
bedroom and are doing their makeup. This is very
conventional for pop music because makeup is always being
used by teenage girls.
A second example of when camera work has been used
effectively in the video is when Sean Paul is calling one of the
girls on their phone and the camera slowly starts to zoom
onto this. The camera slowly zooming on to the iPhone
makes it effective because for this part of the video the
music is very slow paced so the slow zoom links into the
pace of music at that part of the video.
A final example of when camerawork has been used effectively in the video is the use of a high
angle. High angle shots are used frequently in this video because it creates a narrative
convention which is girls only need their friends to have fun. Narrative conventions are very
conventional in pop music videos because the lyrics to the song always tells a story to their
audience and this story is normally a real life experience so their audience are able to relate to
the songs which they produce.

2. Mise-en-scene:
The music video is very conventional for the genre pop and this is because of the high key
lighting used throughout the video. High key lighting is very conventional for a pop music video
because the songs are very upbeat and modern and therefore the high key lighting creates a
happy atmosphere for the video which is effective because pop music videos are meant to
make the audience in a good mood. The use of high key lighting in the video is also very
stereotypical because you don’t see pop music in the charts with a dark background to bring
the audience members into a dark place because that is what the genre rock does. Also the
location of the music video is very conventional for pop because it is filmed in a house where
the girls are all able to party together.
A second example of mise-en-scene being used is at the beginning of the
video an iPhone is being used and the camera is showing us the phone is on
Instagram which is a popular social media which makes the iPhone an
efficient prop to use. This relates to the pop genre because this genre is
aimed at teenagers and the majorities of teenagers have an Instagram
account or are always on their phone. Props are usually used in pop music
videos because they tend to use props which are currently being used by
their target audience because the audience will feel like the band are just
like them and have social media when they aren’t busy.
A final example of mise-en-scene being used in the video is the clip of all
four girls are sat down in their Instagram photo.The costumes which can
be seen of the girls wearing are very stereotypical for a pop music video
because the clothes are all in fashion and this fits in with the genre of pop
because it is very upbeat. As well as the clothes being in fashion in this
photo another stereotypical thing found in this video is their new music
album which is being promoted from this photo.

3. Editing:
The majority of pop music videos you will find that they have used fast paced editing
throughout the video. Most pop music videos used fast paced editing because pop music is
quite fast so having fast paced editing during the video makes the video look effective because
the video is keeping up to the speed of the song. However in this music video the pace of the
song is quite slow at the beginning and is quite slow until 14 seconds in. Due to the pace of the
song being slow the editing in this part of the video is quite slow and this is effective because
the camera shows everything in the scene because it is moving slowly before the song changes
its beat. At 14 seconds into the video the song starts to become fast after the word ‘Wow’ and
this is an effective word to leave the slow part of the song behind becomes it attracts the
audience to the high pitched ‘wow’.
A second example of when the music video has been edited
effectively is at 15 seconds into the video. The video at 15
seconds has now used split screens and shows one singer of the
band in each screen. This type of editing makes the music video
look very effective because the audience has to look at different
parts of the screen in order to see each member of the band
which is much more interesting for the audience because they
aren’t looking at one part of the screen for 3 minutes 56 seconds.
A final example of when the music video has been edited
effectively is by using cutting. An example of when the video
has been edited to show cutting is when the girls are all on
their phones in the split screens and then as soon as they all
get off their bed you see the video cut to the next scene of
the three girls standing at the girl’s front door. This is an
effective way to cut the two scenes together because the pop
genre target audience don’t want to know how the three girls
got to her house because they will get bored. I have included
below the shot of the girls on the phone to the scene which
the video has now cut to.

4. Sound:
In pop music videos lip syncing is always used and this is
conventional for the genre because of the dance routine which
has been made for this particular video. Lip syncing is very
common in pop videos because the audience are now able to
hear the words to the song clearly and watch a dance routine at
the same time which keeps them entertained. The lip syncing will
be the band’s sound track for the song but just without them
actually performing it live in the video.
The dance routine is the most important feature about a pop music video because this is what
attracts the audience and because pop music has a target audience of teenagers the dance
routine keeps the audience entertained.
A final example of sound in the video is when the backing track is played over clips from the
video it is very effective because the beat from the song is the same to the dance routine and
you can see that the energy from the dance routine is fast paced just like the song. However
when there are slow parts of the song the video tends to focus on other things such as an
iPhone ringing.
Convention of genre:
In this video the band are lip syncing their song because of a dance routine which has been
choreographed for this music video. The band have had a dance routine made for this video
because pop music is aimed at the younger generation and therefore the younger generation
like to watch a dance routine while the music is playing in the background as this routine keeps
them entertained. Dance routines for pop music videos are very conventional for this genre of
music because the songs end up in the charts to make people happy and in a good mood and
this is because of the pace and beat that goes with the lyrics of the song and the dance routine
in the video.
Convention of form:
Throughout this video or any other form of music video you often find that the singers will be
lip syncing their song due to them having a dance routine in place or maybe not even seeing the
singer on the screen for a certain part of the video. Lip syncing is conventional to a pop music
video because all videos tend to make their singers lip sync their song.

5. A second point which is conventional to pop music videos is having a narrative convention and
this is where the lyrics to the song tell a story of an experience which has happened to either
the singer themselves or a story of something that can happen to their audience. In the video
hair the story to the lyrics is about girls just paying attention to their main features such as their
hair and not needing any boys to help them enjoy their life. The lyrics in the video such as ‘I call
my girl cause I got a problem, Only a curl is gonna solve it, then I don’t really care, just get him
out of my hair.’ These lyrics here relate to the narrative convention of the song.
A final point which is conventional to pop music videos is due to the song being called hair
during the video you see the girls with hair straigtners in the bedroom which is conventional to
this music video because the lyrics are all about hair.