The video uses a variety of camera shots and angles including close-ups, mid-shots, and long shots. The lighting starts bright and natural inside a dance studio but takes a darker, more immature tone in a disco setting. The costumes, dance moves, and activities portrayed represent stereotypical images of young girls as playful, immature, and energetic. The narrative follows the girls and their dreams of dancing, and the video aims to attract its target audience of young girls through idolizing the dancers and their journey.

1. IT’S A GIRL PARTY – MACK Z
(2014)

2. CAMERA ANGLES AND MISE-EN-SCENE
A variety of both camera angles and shots used within this
video. All three of the camera shots are used including long
shots, mid-shots and close-up shots throughout the video
including many different young girls featuring in the video. The
video begins with a close up of the main featured artist Mack Z;
cuts and pans are also used to transfer from scene to scene of
the video. There are no main focal points during the video as it
is quite sporadic in the fact that not a lot of the shots last for
more than 20 seconds. The cuts and pans featured throughout
also use zooming in and zooming out as well as high, low and
medium/natural angles which keep the video fun and
entertaining.

3. Close-up Mid-shot Long shot

4. LIGHTING
The lighting in this video reflects the people
that star in it; it has a very immature theme.
For the first half of the video the lighting is
natural, bright, white light where the location
(inside a dance studio) is appropriate.
However it takes a darker, yet more immature
and youthful tone as the location changes to a
disco and the lighting changes to darker lights
such as navy, dark green and other shades of
turquoise and blues.
The costumes used also represent the theme
of the video quite well, again immature
looking with feathers and sequins etc.

5. REPRESENTATION
This video does make references to stereotypes; for example the common image of a small and
youthful girl is extremely playful, immature, and energetic. All of these qualities are portrayed
throughout this video; whether they are represented through the simplistic yet energetic dance
choreography, feathered and sequinned dresses or the theme of the first half of the video where
they are situated in a dance school which is a typical activity for a little girl to take part in.
The dance moves used in the music video also do not border inappropriate meaning that they
are not countertypical to either the young female stereotypes or the elder/middle aged
stereotypes for women. The outfits although within the first half are revealing due to the young
girls wearing bootie shorts and crop tops, this video is not attracting the kind of target audience
which would appreciate this.

6. NARRATIVE &
MEDIA
THEORY
By also using typical young girls pastimes to feature in the
music video; things like going to discos and having sleepovers
with pillow fights are also stereotypical of young girls.
MEDIA THEORY
Theories such as Richard Dyer 1979 as well as Perkins 1979.
•Richard Dyer in 1979 suggested that the complexity and variety of a
group is reduced to few characteristics, and these characteristics are
applied to every member of the group. This is appropriate here as all
of the girls featuring in music video share the same interests and
characteristics as they are a part of the same social group.
•Perkins 1979 however suggested that stereotypes are not often all
negative. The stereotypes seen in this video are not negative which
conforms to Perkins theory as the youthful girls characteristics and
traits are all immature and innocent which are more positive
characteristics than negative.
The narrative to this music video is very
simple; the story follows the little girls and
their journey ad dreams within dancing.
The way in which the artist positioned their
target audience is through the means of
idolization. Many individuals in the target
audience will admire these stars during their
dancing careers and also follow them through
their journey; due to the TV show ‘dance
moms’ which has been aired since 2008 is
extremely popular globally so therefore
attracts a larger target audience for the artist
Mack Z.