Codes and Conventions for Alternative Pop/Pop

Both analyzing alternative pop music videos myself and researching genre characteristics, I found that there were several conventions or characteristics that came up several times.

Though dance routines are more associated with the pop genre, the element of performance is also demonstrated in alternative pop music videos. In all of the music videos I have analysed, the female artists have been dancing yet their movements seems more spontaneous than choreographed. The general focus of the music video is on both the artist's performance and appearance.

Fast cuts and fast editing in general is also common, yet in alternative pop music videos, it is used to disorient or distort the image which is something that I plan to keep in mind when we edit our music video.

Fashion is a huge factor in our genre. It is used to create an artist's image and sometimes reflect the song. What is important to note is that the fashion in pop music is more current trends and very colourful whilst the clothes in alternative pop music videos have more of a edge and are more unusual. For example, if we compare Marina's outfit in 'Hollywood' to Lykke Li's in 'Get Some'.

Similar to pop music videos, alternative pop music videos are more focused on the visuals than any kind of narrative or concept. What differs between the genre and sub-genres is that pop music seems to focus just on the element of performance, where is in alternative pop music videos, whilst the focus is always on the artist, there is something slightly artistic in the background, for example in Oh Land's 'Sun of a Gun', there is the lights and in Lykke Li's 'Get Some', there is the projections behind her. The editing in these videos also help to give some depth within the music videos and adjust the focus from solely the performance.

'Sun of a Gun' - Oh Land

I would certainly say that-- because of the use/appeal of fashion in these music videos and the gender of the artist herself - that the target audience is more female for alternative pop, specifically a target audience of young females. Here is where I found alternative pop and pop music to differ; pop music is either quite a broad audience or, for a female pop artist like Katy Perry, younger teenage girls where is alternative pop tends to have more depth, so their music videos are aimed at a more mature audience, such as 16-20.

Other characteristics we were present in these music videos and that we will have to consider for our music videos are that of Goodwin's, so several close-ups in order to market out artists, references to the notion of looking, and a relationship between the music and/or lyrics and visuals.