Pop is a genre of popular music that developed during the 1950s in the UK and US.
Olivia Rodrigo- good 4 u
This song was released on May 14th, 2021, it blends multiple music genres together, for example rock, pop, punk and alternative.
The music video alludes to 1990s and 2000s' films Audition, The Princess Diaries and Jennifer's Body. It has a similar plotline to other classic pop music videos, where the artist seems like a regular person at the start, but by the end the audience can see she is different than everyone else, or has changed.
At the start of the music video there are several extreme close ups of the artist's face, showing her applying makeup, hinting at consumerism so the audience sees who they're buying/ watching. There are also quick cut scenes to water beginning to flood a room and flames, which are reoccurring scenes throughout the music video.
At the end of the music video Olivia is fully submerged in water, alluding to the water at the beginning of the music video. Moreover, the audience can see her whole room in flames, drastically worse than how it appeared at the beginning.
Whilst she is submerged in the water, her eyes go red- using direct eye contact and linking back to the start where she smiled at the camera less menacingly.
Therefore, a common theme in this music video is repeated visuals which look slightly different every time.
A repeated scene in pop music videos is showing the artist being recorded, usually being through vintage cameras or phones, with a filter over the scene.
Throughout the music video, the artist is in the same few locations, being at school, the store and her bedroom. As she is at school she wears a cheerleading costume, which links to cliché American films directed towards teenagers, and this gives the artist the opportunity to dance to her song (like in other music videos under the genre of pop).
As the video progresses, it follows a small storyline where the artist appears as though she is going insane, changing costume with additional long black gloves. During this scene shown, she makes direct eye contact with the audience whilst lip-syncing, as though she is speaking to the viewers and is reapplying makeup like at the beginning of the music video.
Miley Cyrus- Malibu
This song was released on May 11th, 2017. The music video displays the artists transition from her controversial image into presenting herself as a more relaxed person, this song is Pop rock, but keeps a calm and light tone like 'Bad Liar'.
During this video, Miley makes eye contact with the camera, singing directly to the audience. Her clothing is mostly white and light colours to match with the beautiful scenery and weather in her locations.
The artist is shown only in a few locations, all outside in nature. She is presented as being a lively and cheerful person, making the music video performative and highlights how the artist has changed from her previous songs.
There are extreme close ups of flowers, relating the beauty of nature to the appeal of the artist.
A convention of pop music videos include layering of videos, for example in this
music video the artist is being layered
over the environment, which linking to my previous idea emphasises how the artist and nature are now one.
Taylor Swift- Blank Space
This song was released on November 10th, 2014, flawing her previous image as 'the girl next door' (like in 'You belong with me'). It is an electropop song which is slightly influenced by hip-hop.
This music video, similarly to 'good 4 u' by Olivia Rodrigo, presents the progression of the artist from being content and living a pleasant life to them being perceived as maniacal and their life
being shown as not as perfect as it
seems.
Many pop music videos show the artist doing an activity/ hobby, in this case it is painting.
Mise En Scene: Taylor changes from
looking composed to having her makeup ruined and wearing a long dress, running in slow motion away from her supposed boyfriend, the shift in outfit' appearance creates a turn in the music video,
becoming more of a storyline.
An item or building going up in flames is a common convention in music videos, which represents change and renewal- hinting at audiences that the music video going to be darker for the remaining minutes/ seconds.
The artist looks into the camera several times, connecting with her audience and in this scene the background is blurred so the audience can detect the darker tones of the music video and her makeup.
Melanie Martinez- Tag you're it
This alternative pop song was released on September 15th, 2019, it is the same music genre as 'Bad Liar', however the music videos seem drastically different in style, this being because of the artist's own personality and aesthetic, it being more alternative than pop but the opposite for Selena Gomez.
Melanie Martinez is an abstract artist when it comes to mise en scene and her songs.
There are close ups of her face to show her expressions, it gives the sense that the music video is performative but also has the aspect of a narrative. She looks at the camera to make eye contact with the audience, connecting with them to express the emotion of her words/ lyrics.
The artist uses unusual props and backgrounds, which bring out the more alternative genre of her music. Like in the music video 'good 4 u', Melanie uses the store as a setting.
The colour blue is used in alternative pop music videos, as it brings calming tones to the video. The colour palette in pop music videos usually revolve around the same colour throughout the video, or use a main filter.
Katy Perry- Firework
This dance-pop song was released on October 26th, 2010, it is one of Katy Perry's greatest hits and has influenced the pop genre in the 2010's.
In this music video it shows multiple shots of landscapes, being wide shot or from a birds eye view, accentuating the golden lights in the buildings. At the end of the video a significant camera shot is a low angle of the artist (representing strength).
The artist makes eye contact with the camera, singing to the audience (to communicate the importance of her lyrics which are intended to be a message).
There are scenes taking place at a party, which makes use of LED lights, the colour red emphasising the passion and desire the characters feel in the video.
Special effects are used to emphasise the message of the video and its lyrics, the lighting is mostly dark in all of the scenes but the use of the fireworks effect lights up the scene.
The video is quite fast paced due to the tempo of the song.
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