Conventions of Form and Genre

Conventions of Form and Genre

Music videos all have the same conventions that we see throughout all of them. Therefore as an audience we know what the media product is. We do this without even realising.

Specific genres within music videos have ideology that as an audience we recognise without realising. Therefore, these ideologies (mise-en-scene, props, costume, etc.) help us to categorize the music video and make us decide whether we wish to consume or not. This links to Blumer and Katz uses and gratification theory.

Conventions of form and genre


Below are the two music videos that I will be comparing and analysing.

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift 

Katy Perry - Roar 

Cinematography 

Extreme long shot of jungle

Medium shot to medium close up shot of male character

Medium shot of Katy Perry to show emotion as she is scared

Two shot of Katy Perry and male traveller

Extreme long shot to show day to night

Close up of Katy Perry to show emotion - she is scared still and confused.

Medium shot of male character being attacked by the tiger

Slow zoom in on Katy Perry

Medium close up of Katy Perry getting water as the crocodile pops up

Medium close up as tarantula crawls on Katy Perry's body

Long shot of eyes in the dark then floating lights

Camera pans up to the sun which fills the screen white as it changes to a new location

Medium shot of monkey holding a shoe

Long shot behind a bush/tree

Long shot of Katy Perry on crocodile - She is becoming more comfortable with the animals in the jungle and is no longer scared.

Fast zoom in on Katy, which demonstrates her showing off her muscles.

Long shot of elephant

Two shot of Katy Perry and tiger, were she is trying to scare him off

Long shot of Katy Perry 'roaring' and the lion is defeated as it sits down proving that Katy Perry has won

Long shot of Katy Perry on a chair which is designed like a throne and with a flower crown on implying she is a winner.

Close up shot of her face to show that she is happy now and no longer scared. She has made friends with the animals.

Mise-En- Scene

- Costume:

- Leopard print scarf, grey ripped clothing, brown belt (Colours to camouflage in with the jungle)

-Changes to leopard print top, grass skirt with flowers with bare feet and a flower headband.

Minimal make up as they are within a jungle.

Jungle: Trees, animals (Lions, monkeys, elephant, tigers, spiders, crocodile)

Editing 

Continuity editing

Use of animation to open the music video

Changes to real life through peek hole

Fades to dark to show night time

Special Effect as Katy Perry runs away to add to the fact that she is scared

Reflection of tiger in the water instead of Katy Perry which indicates she is becoming more confident.

Animation on the wall - The animation shows a tiger scaring off people which results in Katy Perry becoming more determined and stronger.

The real life turns to animation again to end the music video.

Sound 

Diegetic sound of the roar of the tiger

Diegetic sound of Katy Perry's scream as she runs away

Diegetic sound of crocodile and water splashing

Textual Analysis of 'Bad Blood' by Taylor Swift and 'Roar' by Katy Perry 

The two music videos that I have chosen to analyse are Roar by Katy Perry and Bad Blood by Taylor Swift. These two music videos are both within the same genre of pop and have a narrative structure to demonstrate the genre. Both of the music videos use typical conventions to demonstrate the genre however, it also uses untypical conventions that you don't normally see within this genre. 

The music video ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry is within the genre of pop and this is shown through the use of the micro conventions, these are cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene and sound. Within editing, the use of animation opens the music video and sets the scene, this change to a real life image through an opening in the screen. The extreme long shot of the jungle also helps to set the scene. The medium shot demonstrates the main male character. This then changes to a medium shot of Katy Perry to convey her emotion, as she is scared. The mise-en-scene of the jungle includes Katy Perry’s costume. She is wearing a leopard print scarf, grey ripped clothing and a brown belt. Therefore, she will be able to camouflage in with the jungle. She is wearing minimal make up and this is unusual for this type of genre. The male character is also wearing similar colours to demonstrate this. Trees and animals such as lions, monkeys, elephants, tigers, etc surround them.

The two shot of Katy Perry and the male character signify that they are working together. An extreme long shot is shown to demonstrate day turning into night.  As the night continues on a close up shot of Katy Perry’s face is shown to indicate that she is scared and confused. This cut to a medium shot of the male character being attacked by a tiger and you hear the diegetic sound of the roar of the tiger. A special effect is used as Katy Perry runs away which makes the screen disorientated that again implies that she is scared and you hear the diegetic sound of her screaming.

A medium close up of Katy Perry getting the water as the crocodile pops up shows that she is scared of being alone in the jungle and the medium close up of the spider on her shoulder emphasises this to the audience. However, she is becoming stronger in the jungle by herself as when she looks into the water, the refection shows a tiger instead of her. The camera pan up to the sun and this fills the screen and changes the location. The long shot of Katy Perry with the crocodile demonstrates to the audience that she is becoming more comfortable with the animals and that she doesn’t need a man to look after her. This relates to the Laura Mulvey’s male gaze as it connotes that women aren’t just there to be looked at and they do have a purpose within the narrative.

The long shot of Katy Perry on a throne with a flower crown on her hair indicates that she is a winner. She is now wearing a leopard print top, a grass skirt with flowers. This complies with Laura Mulvey’s male gaze as it suggests that women are only part of the narrative to be looked at.

The music video ends with the real life turning into animation, just like it did at the beginning of the music video. This implies that it is not real life.

The music video ‘Bad Blood’ by Taylor Swift has a genre of pop, yet it challenges some of the typical conventions and at the same time adheres to them as well. It does this through the use of cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. This is compared to ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry, which adheres to most of the typical conventions within the pop genre.

The establishing shot of the city opens the music video and sets the scene. At this point there is no music and the faint atmospheric diegetic sound of traffic. A long shot of within the office is shown which again sets the scene. Similarly, ‘Roar’ sets the scene with an establishing shot of the jungle. These are two contrasting places and therefore, do not adhere to the typical conventions of a pop music video. Bold text is used to show different people for example: ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Produced by Taylor Swift'.

Continuity editing is used to make the music video seem real and add verisimilitude. Taylor Swift is fighting with the men and this is not a typical feature within the genre of pop. A close up shot of the female character shows her anger and emotions and she is winning over the male character, which is unusual to see. Taylor Swift is pushed out of the window as we see a point of view shot of her falling. Also, the diegetic sound of the window smashing is heard.

A split screen of Kendrick Lamar and Taylor swift is shown with half her face and half his face. The music video seems to have a theme of sci-fi, which again is unusual for pop music videos. Taylor Swift is dressed all in black, whereas in ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry she wears bright colours. This is a typical convention of this genre, therefore Taylor Swift is flouting the typical conventions throughout the music video. All the other female characters are wearing similar to the protagonist in the music video. Close up shots are shown of all the different characters to demonstrate who is involved.

The shots jump cut from one to another to speed up the pace of the music video as the women are fighting each other. However, later on we see a long shot of the seven female characters walking together with an explosion going off behind them. This implies that the women are now united and a team.

Both music videos have characteristics and typical conventions that apply to the genre of pop. However, they both have a lot of contrasting elements to the genre. The music video ‘Roar’ uses bright colours, which are typically used within the pop genre. However, the music video ‘Bad Blood’ juxtaposes this as it uses lots of dark colours such as black and this is demonstrated in the mise-en-scene (the characters costume).