The document analyzes several music videos including Freya Riding's "You Mean the World to Me", Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" featuring Cardi B, and Dua Lipa's "IDGAF". It discusses the conventions used in each video such as introducing characters, telling a story, use of flashbacks and flashforwards, and depicting abstract ideas. Elements like camerawork, lighting, staging, and choreography are examined. Key themes of family, female empowerment, and moving on from heartbreak through self-love are explored.

1. POP MUSIC VIDEO
ANALYSIS
By: Rebecca Howard

2. NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEO:
FREYA RIDING – ‘YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME’
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJt8RDOjKBU

3. ANALYSIS – FREYA RIDING ‘YOU MEAN THE
WORLD TO ME’
Introduction to the Soundtrack
Freya Riding’s new single ‘You Mean the World to Me’ focuses on personal resilience and
family struggles in the Western world. The music video focuses on the importance of family
and how relationships can become stronger overtime.
Conventions:
 Introduces Characters
This story in particular introduces 3 relatable characters to the targeted audience: a father,
mother and a daughter.
 Tells a Story
Like every narrative music video, Freya Riding’s ‘You Mean the World to Me’ tells a story.
The story illustrates the weakening connection between a mother and father at the
beginning of the music video, this is implied through the unhappy facial expressions that are
presented by the characters in the video.
Father Daughter Mother

4. …Conventions Continued…
 Use of Flashforwards and Flashbacks
A flash forward is used to present the daughter as a teenager/young adult and no
longer as a child.
A flashback is then used to show her mother leaving and giving the daughter a gift
before she left.
 Hidden Moral
Like every other narrative music video, there is a hidden moral within the storyline. In
this case, the moral is that family is the key to happiness. If a person is in absence of a
supportive family, then their emotional well-being can become at risk.
FlashbackFlashforward

5. Further Analysis:
The mother in this story is clearly distressed within this relationship as she is seen looking
into space with a worried look on her face. She is also sitting alone in a dark setting which
indicates isolation and unhappiness. This sense of overwhelming sadness soon causes the
mother to leave and abandon her family. It is evident that the daughter still has a relatively
close relationship with her father as she is seen playfully poking his arm to wake him up.
However, she still holds a lot of resentment towards him. This is strongly depicted in the
video where the daughter confronts her father after leaving the house to go for a walk. But at
the same time she loves her father very much, this is conveyed at the end of the music
video where she hugs her father as they walk alone together in a field.
…Conventions Continued…
In similarity to other narrative pop music videos, the artist herself is also featured in the
video where she is seen singing alone and looking into the camera whilst lip syncing. This
can be used to present the artist to the audience in order to create an identity through
physical appearance.
Close up on Freya Riding
and diverting the focus
away from the storyline.

6. Media Elements
CAMERAWORK: Close up head shots and an over the shoulder shots of the mother and
father when they exchange disappointed and unhappy facial expressions to indicate that
their relationship is weakening.
The camera mainly focuses on the daughter throughout the music video to portray how
vulnerable she is within this situation.
There is also many cuts in this music video to focus on the artist singing which disrupts the
continuity of the narrative at the beginning. This could be an indication to the separation and
disconnection between the mother and her family.

7. …Media Elements Continued…
MISE-EN-SCENE
Lighting: A dark setting is used when the mother and father are together to convey their
unhappiness and lack of love for each other. However, whenever the father or mother interact
with the daughter, a warm lighting is used to present a positive interacting bond with their child.
Clothing worn by the Artist:
Freya Riding
wears a long dark
dress which
signifies sorrow,
pain and grief.
She only wears
this outfit when
the daughter is
vulnerable and
seeking comfort.
The artist wears a long white
gown when the daughter is
comforted by a family member.
The white gown also gives the
artist an angelic presence,
implying that she is looking
over the daughter in this
narrative. This is later shown
when the artist is seen
physically hugging the daughter
when she is crying.

8. PERFORMANCE MUSIC VIDEO:
MAROON 5 – ‘GIRLS LIKE YOU’ FT CARDI B
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJOTlE1K90k

9. ANALYSIS – MAROON 5 ‘GIRLS LIKE YOU’ FT
CARDI B
Introduction to the Soundtrack
Maroon 5’s song ‘Girls Like You’ is about Adam Levine’s
personal relationship with his wife when they were younger.
However, the band wanted to show the importance of
women and girls around the world that make a difference in
society. So in this music video, a number of female
celebrities are featured to celebrate a woman’s
achievements and successes in life.
Conventions
 Artist performing
Within this music video, the band – Maroon 5 – are
performing their song ‘Girls Like You’ to the camera.
Throughout the performance, Adam Levine – the lead
singer – is the main focus for the majority of the music
video, with the other band members making a small
appearance in the background whilst playing their
instruments. Just like other performance music videos,
Adam Levine is lip syncing into a microphone.
Cardi B is also presented to the audience when she begins
to lip sync her verse of the song later on.

10. …Conventions Continued…
 Staging of the artists
The lead singer is positioned in the centre of the set to draw
the attention towards him. The other band members on the
other hand, are playing instruments in the background. This
particular use of staging is commonly used with most
musicians in order for the members to listen and keep in
time with each other.
The singer is always in front to engage with the audience,
whilst the remaining members are behind them generating
the backing beat and tune of the song to accompany the
singer’s vocals.
Media Elements
CAMERAWORK: For entertainment purposes, the camera
rotates 360 degrees round the main artist, purposely
focusing on the assortment of women dancing and lip
syncing around him. After every cycle, a different female
celebrity is standing back-to-back with Adam Levine.

11. …Media Elements Continued…
MISE-EN-SCENE:
Lighting: As previously seen in the music
video, the set where the band is performing is
relatively dark and gloomy with a few
spotlights to resemble a concert-like
atmosphere. However, the darkness may also
connote the world’s negativity and judgements
towards women, and the spotlights could be
used as a sign of hope and guidance for
females to achieve their goals and aims in the
future.
Band members are wearing dark
colours.
Clothing: Most of the females featured in this video – including Cardi B – are wearing brightly
coloured clothes in comparison to Adam Levine and his band members, who are wearing dark
colours that blend in with the stone blue background. This makes the audience focus more on
the female representations instead of the artists themselves to portray the importance of
women in today’s society.
Female celebrities wearing
colourful clothes

12. Further Analysis:
The clothing worn by the guests of the music
video signifies several messages that represent
various social justice and identity movements.
For example:
Immigrant rights activist Angy Rivera of New
York State Youth Leadership Council wears her
organization's T-shirt with the phrase
"Undocumented Unafraid Unapologetic“.
Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman wore a T-shirt
with the phrase "Always Speak Your Truth".
Jackie Fielder, founder of indigenous-led San
Francisco Defund DAPL Coalition, wore a T-
shirt with the words "Divest, Water is Life".

13. CONCEPTUAL MUSIC VIDEO:
DUA LIPA – ‘IDGAF’
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgfe5tIwOj0

14. ANALYSIS – DUA LIPA ‘IDAF’
Introduction to the Soundtrack
Dua Lipa’s conceptual music video is about the importance of
self-love and empowerment after ending a toxic relationship
with a lover. The lyrics help Dua Lipa convey her message of
self-empowerment by including many insulting and hurtful
comments aimed at the her ex in the song.
Conventions:
 Abstract depiction of an idea
Like most conceptual music videos, Dua Lipa is presenting an
abstract depiction of an idea to her audience. In this case, the
idea is about self-empowerment after experiencing
heartbreak.
 Colour Scheme is used
In similarity to a majority of conceptual music videos, a colour
scheme is being used to support her creativity. To depict the
two emotions someone can experience during a breakup, two
complimentary colours are used: Blue and Orange. The royal
blue colour indicates strength, freedom and independence.
Where as the colour orange – which is lighter in colour –
indicates weakness, fragility and lack of confidence.

15. …Conventions Continued…
 Choreography
To show the conflict between the two
emotions, Dua Lipa uses the visual
movement of dance. Choreography is
used in most conceptual music videos
to help explain the hidden morals
within a song to the audience. As you
have seen in the video, there are two
groups of dancers who are identical to
each other. Group one wears the
colour blue and has bolder, conflicting
movements in comparison to the
orange dancers whose movements
are more fluent and timid. The blue
dancers illustrate self-respect and
dignity, where as the orange dancers
represent the emotional instability and
self-doubt.
Blue dancers have bolder
dance moves
Blue dancers are
superior
The 2 groups opposing
each other to convey the
conflict between them
Further Analysis
However, as the music video comes to the final
chorus of the song two white walls separate Dua
Lipa from the rest of the dancers, leaving her two
‘emotions’ in one room together. The blue version of
herself appears to comfort the other by kissing her
forehead, and straightaway they both glare at the
camera to show the transitioning process from
emotional instability to self-love and respect. Now
both of the groups are reunited once again, but this
time they are all in sync with each other and dancing
with self-confidence and empowerment.

16. Media Elements
CAMERAWORK: The camera shots consistently focus on the blue dancers to convey the
value and importance of self-love. Its is very rare for the orange dancers to have a single shot
to themselves.
MISE-EN-SCENE:
Make-up and Hairstyle: Dua Lipa has her
hair slicked back and in a bun when she’s
with the blue dancers to convey a more
dictating and sophisticated look. But when
the artist is with the orange dancers, her
hair is let down loose to indicate a lack of
control and vulnerability.

17. …Media Elements
Continued…
…MISE-EN-SCENE…
Accessories: The artist wears a
metal looking earing in her left
ear when she wears the blue
suit. But wears a red feathery-
looking earing in her right ear
when she wears the orange
suit. The metallic accessory
indicates strength, where as
the feather accessory implies
fragility.
Lighting: Initially a blue lighting
is used to portray the sadness
experienced after a break up.
However, towards the end of
the music video a pink and
purple lighting is used to
convey strength and self-love
when the two emotions
connect and become one.
Beginning of the Video
– Blue Lighting
End of the Video –
Pink Lighting

18. CONCLUSION
The purpose of a music video is to promote the artist’s content through the advertising of a
song to appeal to their targeted consumers. Generic conventions are used in a music video in
order to attract a targeted audience, in this case the pop music conventions are aimed to
attract mainstream youths through the use of the physical appearance of an artist presented
in a music video. This is to create a visual image and sense of identity for the artist as well as
appealing to their consumers. This can be done through sexualising an artist to attract the
opposite sex, or having a unique dress-sense in order to intrigue a wider range of consumers.
Audio visual texts such as sound, editing, camera work and mise-en-scene are used
effectively to serve the purpose of a music video.
 The soundtrack is always played in the background of a music video so that the audience
can identify the song through the narrative/performance/conceptual plot of the music video.
 Editing and camera work can be used to create an effect in a music video as seen in ‘You
Mean the World to Me’ by Freya Riding, a change in saturation of images supports the
storyline of the narrative music video.
 Mise-en-scene is also used to indicate the hidden meanings and morals within a music
video. Dua Lipa used this form very well in her music video through her use of colour
scheme and style in her ‘IDGAF’ music video.