Using, developing and challenging forms and conventions - Music Video

Our music video was based on the conventions of Pop/Rock music. But there are instances where we have challenged these forms, as well as developing them in our own production.

Used Conventions
Our song "Superman" used conventions of a pop/rock music video. Firstly our video is mainly a narrative, which is based on love. This theme is popular and most common is Pop videos. We used archetypes/sterotypes of different types of characters, that have been exaggerated for humour and recognisability. These were the Hunk, the Punk and the Geek. As Pop/Rock is mainly aimed at a younger, youthful audience, over exaggeration is common in the music videos of this genre to make them more humourous. Lip synchronisation is a traditonal convention and we incorporated this into our own, having the female protagonist sing along to the chorus, dominantly shown in Pop videos like Pink's "So What". Furthermore, it is traditional for these types of videos to use an illustrative narrative where the lyrics are accompanied by an illustration. We used scenes that literally followed the lyrics such as "the devil did him a deal". Two shots emphasised the theme of love and the relationship between the characters, something that is employed in other Pop/Rock videos.

Developed Conventions
A number of conventions were developed in our music video since the genre was a mix of pop and rock and so we used conventions from both genres, carefully mixing them together in our production. We made use of special effect editing techniques, such as the cartoon effect, which are present in Pop videos. And we used the speeding up technique, creating short quick transitions between scenes, seen in Rock videos.

Challenged Conventions
The group challenged the conventions of Pop/Rock a lot throughout our production. Watching 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P" video, although not of the same genre but a predominant theme seen in a lot of other music videos, allowed us to the challenge the conventions of the role of a female in a music video, where she is portrayed as weak and an object of the male gaze. However in our own video we used the female as our protagonist and showed her in control of her male counterparts as she made her choice in who to date. We emphasised this by using close up's of her face to show the emotion in her decisions. Also the urban setting of the video, with flats in the background appeal to an audience of a middle class background living in an urban environment.