focus group

Focus group

For the location of our music video the focus group had mentioned that a party would be a good place as it fits in with the lyrics and the song, they also mentioned a dance studio. There favourite music videos were, Katy Perry because her music videos are fun, which is something we can take into consideration while recording our music video. Jessie J "Who's Laughing Now" a reason she liked this music video was because of the bright colours which we have previously found out our target audience like so it is important that we do involve this aspect in our music video. Beyonce's music video's because she always have a strong dance routine also Michael Jackson's music videos also because of the dance routines. There were certain elements of pop music videos that they hated we asked them what they were and why, One was having only one shot she said she liked it when there are loads of shot changes and different angles, in different locations. Another member of the focus group also mentioned about having boring shots where the artist will just stand in front of the camera have long shots. It was also mentioned that they hated having random music videos that have no relation to they song at all so we will need to make sure that although we wont necessarily have a narrative, we will have the performance relating to the song. Our focus group decided that performance base is the preferred especially for this certain music video as a story line would not go with the lyrics in this video. The most important aspect of the performance was having a group dance routine, one member of the focus group mentioned how they do not like it when one person in the group takes centre stage and that she would prefer it if every member of the group has an equal role in the video so we will make sure that we involve all the dancers in the group. Another member of the focus group said that performance would be best for this song because it is very up beat and how the lyrics are not very deep there for it would be hard to bring a narrative out of the song.

We have learnt from this focus group that we will be doing a performance based music video with a group dance routine where all dancers are in the video equally, we will also need to use a green screen in able to create the bright colours that the focus group had said they liked to see in music videos, although we are using a green screen we will still need to keep in mind that we will need lots of different camera shots and angles and keep changing the background so that it doesn't get boring, also making sure that the video relates to the song and lyrics.

Conventional music video analysis

Embedded below is the music video of "Wrecking ball" by Miley cyrus and I have analysed 6 shots of Mileys music video that are typical conventions for pop music videos.

A typical convention in pop music videos is having their actions relate to their lyrics,

you can see in this screen shot from Miley’s music video that she is surrounded by lots of rubble which represents the destruction, and this video is based on how she feels after breaking up with her boyfriend, so with her using a sledge hammer to smash down the walls around her connotes her trying to break free out of the box she has been trapped in from being upset and hurt from her boyfriend leaving her, so she is finally building up courage to break out of that.

 “I never meant to start a war” these lyrics show that what she is going through she would compare to war which is a very touchy topic. Which again shows how she is hurt and sad with her saying that she “never meant to” makes us think she had made mistakes that she does regret.

A typical convention in pop music videos are close ups, Miley uses this typical convention of close ups with this close up of her face, she also has bright red lip stick on and her skin is flawless with mascara on and her eyes are bright blue  This “perfect appearance” is typical in pop music, this is because they are in the lime light and very often worldwide so the pop industry have to be body and beauty conscious. This screen shot from wrecking ball shows how Miley has had her make up done professionally.

A typical convention in the pop music industry is that beauty will sell your product, Miley reinforces this typical convention from being naked which is seen as sexy and will help her sell her song. In the pop industry the beauty is the most important aspect. In a lot of pop music video it is a typical convention for the artist to look sexy, whether that is being naked or just in sexy clothing, either way in order to sell there music they need to use there bodies to help sell there products.

Another typical convention of pop music is doing something that will stand out from everyone else, because being in the popular media you need to be outstanding so you are known for your differences, and Miley does this a lot in her videos as shown in this shot she is licking the sledge hammer to show she likes the taste of pain, this is strange and people will remember this and talk about it.

She is not wearing a lot of clothing just a small white crop top with no bra and small white knickers, this represents her being stripped down to nothing and feeling naked without her boyfriend this shows vulnerability almost as though she needs a man in her life. This is shown a lot in typical pop music videos, being in love is a common situation that comes up regularly in pop music video. Also this camera shot is a typical convention to pop music videos, it shows off her whole figure and the outfit she is wearing, both these things are important aspects to typical conventions in pop music videos.

Another typical convention in pop music videos, is bright lighting and Miley uses a bright white light in a lot of her music video wrecking ball, this connotes that she is exposed which is expected in pop music videos as the artist is always the main focus in their music videos and in this shot there is no other focus but Miley Cyrus.

A Star Motif of Miley's music videos is that she will always do something weird and outrageous in order to standout in the pop music industry, here are some examples from her music videos.

This screen shot is from her music video, "Decisions" in this shot she is be promiscuous with a horse which is definitely a weird action that will be talked about and remember by people who watch it.

In this screen shot from the music video"23" Miley is sitting on top of a basketball ring wearing very sparkly and minimal clothing, another action that will be remembered.

This screenshot from "Wrecking ball" Miley is licking a sledge hammer which was a very talked about which seems to be what she wants.

In "We can't stop" Miley is wearing a white leotard and has a huge teddy bear attached to her back, this is something that you would imagine to be in your imagination not something someone would actually do.