1. P O P M U S I C
V I D E O
R E S E A R C H
E S T E L L A WA D H A M
2. Pop music video conventions
-fashionable outfits
-catchy beat
-around 3-4 minuets
-usually young attractive actors
- usually high budget
-theme of love is popular
-sometimes sexualizes the artists
-elements of dance
3. Lady Gaga- Bad
romance
Lady Gagas music video to the song
bad romance is a conceptual music
video. Bad Romance is a love pop
song celebrating lust and passion
found within a bad romance, shown
through manipulation and power. This
song explores her bad romances in
the past, which is a popular theme
therefore, making this song relatable.
Gaga said she wanted to project the
tough female spirit in this video,
hence adding the depiction of
kidnapping and bizarre fashion sense
helps.
-Universal Music Group
4. Concept
• The overall concept of this video objectifies women and reduces them to a sexual object
being possessed by power hungry men and the male gaze is emphasised. Gagas's
character is shown as a binary opposite, in some scenes she is extremely authoritative,
commanding while implementing her sexual manipulation ( in the opening scene is well
dressed and centre stage surrounded by others). On the other hand, she is shown to be
passive and victimised by the men in this video. This binary opposition ( a theory created
by Levi Strauss) asserts power however suffering, connoting women's power struggles in
society. In the beginning, Gaga is pulled out of the bath tub by two woman who are
performing as highly masculinized men, this shows Gaga is portrayed as desirable but
also objectifies her.
5. M I S E E N
S C E N E /
A N A L Y Z I N G
S C E N E S
L A D Y G A G A ' S
M U S I C V I D E O H A S
L O T S O F
R O B O T I C ,
F U T U R I S T I C
E L E M E N T S M I X E D
I N W I T H L U X U R Y
A N D G L A M O R .
T H E C L O T H I N G I S
W H A T M A K E S T H E
S O N G S O
M E M O R A B L E
The juxtaposition between
the eyes in these scene
also creates a
juxtaposition of emotions.
The widened "puppy
dog" eyes create a
magic, surrealistic
effect to the video,
connoting love is
magical and happy.
In contrast, when paired with
this scene, lady gaga is crying.
Connoting love is tiring and
painful, showing the harsh
reality of her "bad romances"
The floating diamonds have a
stereotypical representation of
wealth and power however
purity and clarity. The diamonds
create a wall with her and the
outside world suggesting
isolation and trouble when it
comes to romances.
Gagas opening scene of her
with many men and woman
surrounding her symbolizes
power and dominance as she is
center stage . Her bold outfit
and white background helps
Gaga be the focus.
6. Target audience
The target audience for this music video is age 16-25.
Due to swearing and use of cool tones, older teenagers (such as 16 and
above) would be more attracted to this video as usually bright colour targets
younger audiences as children prefer brighter colours from a younger ages
as their eyes aren't fully developed yet.
When referring to the psychographic profiling model, this video would target
mainstreamers as it is a pop song with the theme love (which is very
popular).
When referring to the socio-economic profiling model, group E-D would be
the most common categories
E=students and unemployed people as they listen to music in their spare
time
D=semi-skilled workers such as retailers as they could work in the music
industry as they like the song, popular to women as they could relate to the
song.
7. Taylor Swift-
shake it off
Taylor Swifts music video to
shake it off is a conceptual
video. It is a pop song referring
to shaking off hate in todays
society. In the video she
portrays a strong tone of being
true to yourself and expressing
yourself through body language
and facial expressions while,
the audience is constantly
reassured with the lyrics "its
gonna be alright".
- The universal studios
8. concept
In todays world, we rely heavily on technology and especially
younger audiences (young teens). We are so easily influenced by
trends and pop culture that is can be damaging to our mental
health. Taylor Swifts music video helps combat this hate and
decisions of what's socially acceptable through her
video. throughout the video, Taylor swift is accompanied with
professional backing dancers, however when dancing she
often falls out of synchronization and Rhym, suggesting you
don’t have to follow along with society's changing standards and
that it is perfectly okay to be yourself! The title "shake it off" also
emphasizes my point as its connoting you don’t have to conform
to others ideologies, only your own.
9. Target audience
As Taylor Swifts pop song is exciting, catchy and uplifting, it will have a
target audience of 16-21 year old's. She has been able to grasp her
audience and express her ideas that provide her target audience with
guidance on how to live their life. I believe younger teenagers would be
attracted to this video as it is a catchy tune with lots of scene changes and
different costume, it also has different sections (such as breakdancing,
contemporary dance, ballet, electronic and cheer leading) which would help
push out to a wider audience as there's more variety in the video. While this
video reaches younger audience, it also reaches older teens and young
adults as the song has a strong meaning behind it and the cool, bright lights/
costumes appeal to an older audience.
When looking at the psychographic profile model, this video would appeal to
mainstreamers and achievers as it a pop song so will have a mainstream
audience but also talks about reaching your true potential, therefore
attracting achievers.
10. Mise en scene/ costumes
Taylor Swifts
elegant balet
outfit suggests
she is feminine
and the colour
choice white
connotes purity
and light, making
the video have a
positive
atmosphere.
Taylor Swift wears this outfit
while she is surrounded by girls
twerking, the array of patterns
and jewellery adds to the busy
atmosphere.
The funky gold outfit creates
energy and chaos. This helps
add to the fun energetic
atmosphere. Gold also connotes
success, showing Taylor Swifts
journey.
The skin hugging cool toned
"undergarment" outfit suggests
Taylor Swift is happy in her own
body, she is comfortable in her
own skin and is inspiring
viewers to be too.
The cheerleading outfit
connotes confidence while also
appealing to teenage
audiences. The pom poms she
holds literally reflects the song
"shake it off" as she's shaking
the pom poms.
In this scene, Taylor Swift is surrounded
by many break-dancers and is showing
that she's "cool" by copying their moves,
the outfit mixed with the dark
background helps create this "cool"
atmosphere.
The plain black outfit
mixed with the white
background creates a
juxtaposition of tones. As
there is less going on in
this scene it forces you to
listen to the lyrics "haters
gonna hate" therefore
influencing you.
11. Girls like you – maroon 5 ft Cardi
B
Recorded by the American band Maroon 5, feat Cardi B.
Record label = InterScope records which is owned by universal
music group.
Girls like you by Maroon 5 is an upbeat love song with a
performance music video about Adam
Levine's relationship with his wife from wen he was
younger. The band also wanted to show the importance
of women around the world, hence adding lots of women
to the video to promote feminism.
12. concept
I believe this music video celebrates feminism and Adam Levine's
personal relationship. Throughout the video there are 26 different
girls who of which are different heights race and body types. This
variation evokes positivity and glorifies the fact that women are
excelling in every field.
Camera work/staging
Throughout this video, Adam Levine is the main focus of the majority of the video, he is at the
front of the stage while the other band members are behind him ( a usual band layout). Later on,
Cardi B is alo presented in the music video facing the camera. The camera rotates 360 degrees
around Adam Levine and after almost every rotation a new woman is stood behind him facing
back to back , this transition creates excitement and is done for entertainment purposes.
13. Mise en scene
For the background, there is no props and a very plain
dark background. This choice helps evert all attention
to the lead singer and other women. The dark lighting
resembles a concert like atmosphere while connoting
the dark , misjudgement women face in society and
the spot light could resemble hope for them.
As for the women in the video, they are
wearing bright coloured clothing to attract
attention to them as they are the focus in
the video. This makes the audience
focus more on the female
representations (as the band members
are also wearing black) to exhibit the
importance of women in society.
Aly
Raisman (Olympic
gymnast) wore this
top in the video. This
message could help
woman speak up
and find their voice.
14. Target audience
Girls like you is a catchy pop song celebrating girls, therefore I
believe the videos target audience will be girls aged 14-25.
Maroon 5 also invited women celebrities in this video, so people
might watch the video just to see them.
As for the psychographic profiling model, mainstreamers and
achievers would watch this song as it is catchy and has a strong
message celebrating women.