Genre Research- Pop

Pop

Background to the genre

Pop music is short for 'popular' music, as it is the music that is the most popular and produces the most hits, more often than not reaching the charts. For this to happen,  a song must be released as a single. These songs often share the 'pop music formula' which allows these songs to become successful. This formula consists of a good rhythm, a catchy melody which is easy to remember. They usually have a chorus that is repeated several times and two or more verses. The duration of pop songs are usually between 2-5 minutes long. A current example of a new pop music video is Calvin Harris ft Rihanna 'This Is What You Came For'. This video is fast tempo, with lots of different shots and effects, filmed in a studio environment. It doesn't really contain a narrative.

Conventions of a pop music and pop music videos

 

Many pop music videos are filmed in a studio environment, and so do not contain a clear narrative. However, if the video does contain a narrative, they are usually about relationships, breakups or partying, all of which tend to be a common theme and considering teenagers are the target audience, they production team attempt to relate to these teens on a personal level. Therefore, the artists will usually be the focal character, wearing modern clothing with nothing that is too over the top. There is also often a link between lyrics and video, often the image will portray what the singer is singing about. As well as this, high key lighting is often used, with vibrant colours again to appeal to the target audience. As well as this, the artist will often wear heavier makeup to create a 'flawless' and 'airbrushed' look. The camera shots are often a mix of close up shots and long shots, often with scenes of the artist partying, as shown in this screenshot below.

At the very beginning of the video, bright colours have already been used.



Here, a typical convention of a pop music video, a long shot has been used.

 

Here Rihanna can be seen partying.
The video revolves around her and partying which is a typical convention
of a pop music video.



The use of performance

Pop music videos usually focus on performance from the artist, rather than a meaningful narrative that many indie bands will often portray. However, sometimes a narrative is used, but this will focus on the artist and not usually anyone else. The main focus is the artist in pop music videos. The performance is usually sexual or portraying a image. This controversy allows for many views on YouTube and for the artist to be successful, creating huge fan bases which determine their success. In contrast, Indie- Rock bands will portray a narrative as the lyrics often have more meaning behind them.

The main focus in this video is the singer, Rihanna.

 

What I have learnt:

 

After researching into the pop genre, I don't think that this is a genre I would like my music video to revolve around. This is because it would be studio based, therefore I wouldn't be able to be as creative compared to if I was filming for an indie-rock band. I believe that indie rock bands allow for a deeper meaning to be conveyed, and I will look into that genre further on my next post.