Research - codes and conventions

So for project we looked into the codes and conventions of the bands music videos and the genres music video and wanted to see what we should do the same and maybe what we disagreed with about the certain codes and conventions that could come with the product. we made note of these certain things

• Egotistic band members - all ways self indulgent, always about me, me, me, in their eyes and the whole motion is that you are experiencing how they feel. they either want your sympathy or they are showing off what money power and women they have (not being sexiest, just simply all of the bands are men)
• style required - these guys are icons and they have a style which everyone is looking up to and watching. it is essential they move and look a certain way. often the front men are the key role.
• Performance - as previously discussed the performance base is everything. we hear them on the radio, we want to see them live. that is the main aim. performance allows the fans to get a close up view of them performing. puts them in an extra ordinary world and this makes them more desired. Narrative parts of the music video can be the only chance we get to see into the bands lifestyle off stage. often this is their own perception of their lives and they want it to look as good as possible.often including parties, sex and rebellion.
• weird locations - Pop rock music videos love a weird location. why? i guess its to put them apart from the norm. in unsettled territory where there are no distractions, only there thoughts. many bands use deserts or mountain tops or just a hanger that's empty with some fans. Or it can be used as the place to be free, an area which reflects their lifestyle and image where they would practice. often set in like a garage or a room with lots of props which represent them.
• sex focus - these bands can be 18 years old or 40, but they all focus on the sexual advantages that is stereotypically thrust onto pop stars. something that should be considered when making a music video in this culture as many of the songs are about girls and the issues or good things that have happened due to chasing that girl. But the main focus is always sex.
• Pace of editing - Quick cuts. one of the main conventions is quick editing with lots of shots varying their shot types to speed up the excitement of the song. to generate a performance with lots of movement, energy and extreme nature that seems to come with being a pop/rock star.
• lighting - lighting is a massive thing in these. as this is such a umbrella term in the pop rock genre i will go through a couple to give you a feel. indie pop rock always has a sort of well light scene but they use a hazey filter over the top. this gives it an old feel which often goes within the context of their clothing and feel for the song. fun pop rock boy bands are often lots of flashing and darkness with single lights on them so they are the focus with bright powerful lights in their performance. alternative bands have the biggest range. can be literally anything. as a relatively new genre there are not many regulations to bide by. they always go for clear definition on the singers and involve experimental lighting on the rest of the band to give a careless vibe.
• meaning - these songs have a deep meaning behind them and they often reflect at the younger generations problems or the lifestyle which appeals to them. the complexities must reach out to the young adults and teenagers who are going to be the massive market for their music. so often even if the band are older they will be reflecting the younger generations.The Conventions of what they are wearing and their songs meaning must be in tune with what the youth would experience.

So for our music video. we wanted to keep some but also challenge others. so we set out a few things we wanted to include:

1. our music video wanted to challenge the wild crazy rock star appeal that we get from majority of these bands and single this person out. they appear to have everything, yet in our song he sounds lonely and desperate. During the Video we hope to challenge this convention of being egotistic because they have everything and want to show that off and show them with nothing. to do this we will have them performing to nobody. this will resemble the fact that they cannot even get a audience to perform to. also we will have the main singer only suffering through the pain of the break up that the song describes. our analysis of the songs lyrics will give you more of an insight. so we will break down this image by making it appear he has everything until later on in the song when everything is torn away, we will then reveal there is no crowd. coming together to show how really this set of rock stars have nothing.
2. we wanted to stick to the style convention in the performance based scenes before we reveal that there is nobody there, this will allow us to show how maybe the performance is all just a cover up for what they're lifes are really like. so we are going to keep them in alot of the same style as the genre would expect
3. we wanted to keep with the conventions of the strange locations. for that we have them in a location where you cannot see anything other than the band. there will be tape on the floor to give it that amateur look which comes with being a pop rock band in a live performance. also we will have a completely white room with black floors to show the seclusion that the lead singer has. also the straight jacket will make the whole situation alittle bit strange. again a convention we want to stick to.
4. the Sex focus will be used also by us. we will have a scene which has the complexities of the relationship which involves the sex obsession but almost against the normal convention. so we are going to adapt this convention in the way that it will not be the band who are having sex and its they're fascination, but we will use the jealousy of the song to show the girlfriend of the singer having some kind of physical interaction with another person, when really there is nothing there.
5. We will stick to the convention of fast pace editing and lots of camera angles. this will allow us to build energy at points we want to. to represent the complexities of their life and the multi personality disorder that this singer appears to have.
6. lighting is still being looked at, yet we look to adapt the convention and mix a few of the conventions of the types of the genres within pop rock music.

Hopefully with this we can create something that breaks a few rules but is still something you would look at and think yes that a pop rock music video. Challenging to make it original and exciting and then also a good structure which matches the style of the pop rock music video. 

by Josh Graham