MUSIC VIDEO CODES & CONVENTIONS

After an in depth analysis of music videos by Pop/R&B artists, I have drawn to some conclusions about the codes and conventions of this genre.

All the music videos that I analysed followed the generic conventions by the portrayal of women in the work. They are presented as sexual icons from the revealing clothing to the way they perform in a suggestive manner. Noticeably in all the videos women are involved in a situation with a man most of the time, their actions are centred around a man. Whether it may be from Britney's quest for revenge on a man or Madonna's saving the world in four minutes with Justin. Then there is the vulnerable state of the female lead in the 'What Goes Around' video how she may be painted out as the villain but she is still very much seen as scared and nervous almost like a child. What I aim to achieve in my music video is to break this convention by presenting the woman as strong and bold to the point where she is on the same level as the man.

When it came to the portrayal of men within the music videos that I analysed, in every single one they were seen chatting up women, undressing women and getting involved with women. A very traditional representation of men, most of the time they are completely in control of the situation and even when they aren't they're rarely phased by it at all.

The range of shot types that have been used in the majority of the music videos that I've analysed consisted of mid-shots and close up shots of the artist, especially in performance. This backs up Goodwin's theory about music videos. There's also a large amount of performance in each video, it's sort of the structure of the video the base and everything after comes together. For example in 'Womanizer' the scenes with Britney performing in the sauna can be seen throughout the whole video, the same goes for '4 Minutes' and the scenes in front of the counter. The videos are edited and cut from scene to scene at a very fast pace, especially within the videos that feature heavy amounts of performance. The lighting in each video obviously is catered to fit the mood of the actual song, however, in each video everything's glossy bright and bold when it comes to the portrayal of the artist.

The location in each of the music videos changes in each one. For instance in 'The Way You Make Me Feel' it is set in a street, a very urban setting. I believe this is meant to add some level of credibility to the artist, for them to appeal to their audience more. Then in other cases like in 'What Goes Around' you've Timberlake in a lavish apartment, a big club, driving expensive cars. When it comes to our music video I think it will be easier and better if we focus the location in a urban area, simply because we have easier access.