Genre Analysis

As I am currently unsure of what genre I am going to use, I am going to analyse 3 different genres that interest me. These are; Pop, R&B and Dance. When I make my music video I will need to target my audience with the use of generic conventions of that genre, e.g. fashionable clothing. As the type of music video I intend to make will involve a large proportion being lip synced, it will make it more difficult to include all generic conventions associated with the genre, so I will need to be creative in the ways that I involve them, e.g. the clothing and the make up.

An initial genre that I am interested in and that is very popular, given that it is played on the radio is Pop.
Pop: Jess Glynne- Don't Be So Hard On Yourself



Conventions of pop music videos:
- The artist is dressed in fashionable clothing.
- The artists are happy in video.
- The songs are based around love or uplifting type lyrics.
- Follow current trends in what is seen in the video.
- Dance type beats.
- Catchy type lyrics.
- Imagery of sex and dance (expected as what teens are involved in).
- Females especially dress in a seductive way to get attention from the audience.

These conventions are used in almost every scene as the song is uplifting and Jess Glynne is wearing fashionable clothing throughout, that is assumed to be what teens are wearing at the time. The story line follows a young boy, who we assume is the age of Jess's target audience, as he struggles with loss but rises above it when he joins the marching band (also assumed to be an uplifting activity). She features predominantly in the music video in a variety of different areas which are assumed to be where teens would go to. There is a building dance beat which is equally uplifting as the whole song but this makes the song likeable and the type of song which can be played on the radio repeatedly. It does not dress Jess too provocatively as it does not fit with the story of the music video, however, she is seen to be wearing a see-through top in the last 2 minutes of the video once the boy begins to have success.

My second choice of genre is R&B/ Soul, however, this type of music makes me lean towards older music e.g. Luther Vandross which is not contemporary enough for my music video.
R&B/ Soul: Beyonce- Drunk in Love



Conventions of R&B/soul music videos:
- Men tend to be topless, with tattoos and wearing jeans.
- In fast R&B, women tend to wear minimal clothing, wear hoop earrings/ big jewellery, wear heels and have their hair and make up in a dramatic way.
- Slow R&B songs tend to follow a story line.
- There is a high use of white and grey backgrounds.
- Male songs tend to be about sex.
- Female songs tend to have an element of love involved.
- They involve fast cars, bright colours and party scenes.
- Challenge stereotypes i.e. women do as men typically do e.g. Beyonce and Ciara.
- Attempts to target 13-25 year old.

The music video does not actually begin until 1 minute in, as the scene is set as being dark and a horror type tone. Once it begins there are many slow moving shots of Beyonce in the sea whilst she wears a bikini and sea-through cover up, which follows with the conventions of women wearing minimal clothing and being provocative. Although the majority of the song is slow moving shots of different parts of Beyonce's body, it manages to keep our attention with the lighting and special effects used, e.g. the smoke machine at 2:33 whilst Beyonce dances. This may also be due to the artist's themselves keeping our attention, as we know Beyonce and Jay Z as a couple so their laughter or each other singing the others lines makes the connection seem better some how (4:37). Beyonce's dark eye make up follows the zombie theme that flows through the video but also follows the convention of dramatic make up. Jay Z only appears with a chain on and a drink in his hand which portrays him as a typical rapper involved in the party scene, even though there is only two people on the beach/ in the music video. In the Jay Z rapping part of the video, sex is mentioned as well as being a feature of this part of the video in the movements from Beyonce, which is a generic convention of male R&B/ rap.

My final possible choice for genre is Dance. This will fit with my ideas to have a large proportion of the video involving different people lip syncing.
Dance: Calvin Harris & Disciples- How Deep Is Your Love



Conventions of dance music videos:
- Fast cut shots to maintain the beat.
- Mid-angle shots of dancing to give a sense of realism.
- High-angle shots to give a sense of the environment a track of this type would be played in.
- Locations e.g. clubs, parties and busy crowds of friends.
- Bright lighting and lots of colour is used.
- Often uses of slow motion to contrast with the environment of filming.

The music video does not actually feature the artists; Calvin Harris or Disciples, instead it features supermodel Gigi Hadid which would have got a lot of attention for the video (197, 729, 725 views on YouTube). It follows the generic conventions of dance music in the sense that the different locations she travels to are parties on yacht's, busy crowds of friends (drug warehouse) and the bonfire party towards the end. The opening shot once Gigi awakens involves flashing images of different colours with a fast editing pace which follows the generic conventions of this genre. It is noticeable that this video focuses on the locations and Gigi rather than the actual music and it's lyrics, i.e. there are not actions to do with 'love' although there is use of a pool which would show denotations of deepness. The music video ends in a similar way that it begins in that it has slow moving shots of Gigi in a fast pace editing style. This editing style is popular amongst the dance music genre.