Throughout the construction and editing process there were many conventions that I decided to challenge.
CHALLENGED
A convention of the pop genre that I decided to challenge was the way females are represented in the music video. Commonly in music videos from both female and male artists, females are represented as being provocatively, wearing minimalist clothing and tend to wear heavy make-up. This is done to attract a male audience and engage the ‘male gaze’, this as suggested by THEORIST portrays women as being objects to be seen as the property of men. I challenged this convention as I wanted to create a brand identity for my artist that makes her stand out from the other artists in the same genre.
The second convention that I challenged is the popular use of graphics in pop music videos, this is common in pop music videos at it helps the music video stand out from the others from the same genre. I decided not to adhere to this convention as it didn't fit in with the narrative or performance elements of my music video.
Another convention that I challenged follows Andrew Goodwin's theory that there must be a link between the visuals and lyrics. This is done to create a sense of synergy between the lyrics and footage and it also allows the audience to follow the narrative more easily. I didn't follow the literal meaning of the lyrics but created a narrative that emphasises the lyrics as then there is still a sense of synergy between the lyrics and visuals which will allow the audience to be able to easily follow the story.
A convention that I challenged was the use of a love interest or a relationship which is common in Pop music videos. Many Pop music videos feature a relationship and tend to be centred around that theme such as Toothbrush- DNCE, Hair- Little Mix, Closer- Halsey and The Chainsmokers, etc. I decided to not adhere to this convention as I wanted my artist to be represented as strong and independent. Not including a relationship theme also keeps the focus on the artist which builds a strong brand identity. The lack of a love interest helps the music video stand out from other Pop music videos that focus around a relationship within the music video.
The majority of music videos feature other actors as part of the narrative this is done to portray the artist as being popular to the audience. I decided to challenge this convention as the narrative of my music video is centred around the artist and how she changes her identity and personality.
I also challenged the convention of using expensive locations which are commonly used in Pop music videos and using party based settings. I challenged this convention because I didn't feel that using party settings would fit the narrative of my music video. Another reason I didn't use expensive or party locations is because of large budget that would be required and the large amount of extras that would be required, therefore I felt it would be too difficult to arrange to film when everyone would be available and to find extras that would appear natural on camera.
The final convention that I decided to challenge was the elements of the performance side of my music video. I decided against using dance routines that are commonly seen in Pop music videos. I didn't use dance routines as I thought that it wouldn't look professional without a trained dancer, which my actor was not and therefore I felt that if I included one it would reduce the overall quality of my music video.
