Inspiring Photos

I have been looking at lots of existing pop rocks music videos that are based on relationships, in order to gain ideas. I found that Lawson in particular have really inspired me with the creation of our music video. I have got some still shots below which I really like and may consider doing something similar when we come to shotting our video. The still shots are from their music videos, 'When She Was Mine' and 'Taking Over Me'.

This shot is a close-up of a couples faces, the girl is cuddled up to the boyfriend. I really like how this shot emphasises the closeness of the couple, it helps to show the love they share for each other. The fact that the guy has his head titled down looking at the girl, connotes that he cares for her and protects her.

This shot is a close up of the couples hands, the girl is stroking the guys hand. Again, I think this shot really helps to show the closeness of the couple. I think that hands are a good way in displaying peoples love other than having their faces. I would like to include a close up of the couples hands in my video.

In this shot, the boyfriend and girlfriend are looking into eachothers eyes, with their faces being quite close. It looks as if they are about to kiss, and we can tell by their facial expression that they are in love with eachother. I like how their faces fill the whole shot and think that if it wasn't as close-up the effect of the images will be totally different.

This is a wide shot, showing the couple walking along a path. We can see the backs of them, with their arms around each other. This shot helps to give a sense of location and is also helping to connote their closeness. The girl is holding some yellow flowers in this shot, which also could be seen as a symbol of love. In our video, we may consider using flowers as a prop to connote love.

In this shot, the guy is looking through old pictures, remembering 'when she was mine'. I really like the use of having images as a prop and think it helps to show just how much she meant to him. In my video, I am going to consider having the ex boyfriend looking back through old pictures from when he was with his girlfriend.


This shot is of the couple travelling in a car, the girl has her arms wrapped around the boyfriend and is kissing him on the cheek. In this shot, I like the lighting shinning through the car windows and also like the fact that it is a close up shot which just shows their faces.

This is a shot of the couple holding hands, you can see a bit of their bodies from the back and their hands joined together. In the background, it gives you a sense of location, in this particular shot they are walking along the sand in a dessert. I would like to possibly have the couple in our video walking along the beach holding hands.

Lastly, this shot is a close up of the couples faces. I like how the shot is sightly looking up at them so you can see the sky and sun in the background. In this shot, they are looking at eachother smiling. I really like this shot and think it emphasises thier love well. I might consider doing a similar shot for the music video we are creating.

Finally, I really like all of the above still shots and think that their connotations are all very strong. The images have all inspired me and in our video, I plan on having similar shots to really emphasise certain emotions/feelings.

Conventions of Pop Rock

Conventions of pop rock from Kaylee1234

In the above slideshare presentation, I have explored the conventions of pop rock/alternative rock. This is the genre that I have decided to focus my music video upon. By looking at the conventions, it helps to get an idea as to what people would expect from a music video in this genre. I looked at several different videos and decided on the common features that they each had in common. I am now going to be exploring which conventions I will use and which I will subvert.

Codes and Conventions

Below I have created a mind map of the codes and conventions of music videos, which I plan to use. By using the codes and conventions that existing music videos have, it will help to make my music video be successful, and will help it to be able to attract its audience.

Wordle of Genre Conventions

Music video deconstruction...

Music Video Deconstruction... on Prezi

Above is my deconstruction on 'When She Was Mine' by Lawson. I have explored representation, media language, narrative, genre and audience for the video. After doing this deconstruction, I researched further to find out what genre the band are categorized as and they are alternative rock/ pop rock.

Deconstructing existing music videos

We decided to deconstruct All Time Low's video for their popular song 'Time-Bomb' from their album 'Dirty Work'.

As shown in this screenshot to the left, a large proportion of the video is focused on telling a story, from this I can see that the story which is presented within the video I make will need to relate to the lyrics of the song and show the characters thoughts and feelings. Within this video the story contains clips of action, this makes it gripping and allows the audience to consider what the outcome will be, this fits well with the song title 'Time-Bomb' as it has an element of danger, therefore making it exciting and eye catching, therefore I know that I need to make my video eye catching and interesting even if it is a calm song that does not contain action; I need to get my audiences attention and keep them interested. 

Within this video they have used some of the conventions of modern rock music; particularly the clips of the band playing on a rooftop, the dark clothing and the natural lighting. The setting of a rooftop is a popular choice of location within the genre of rock because, as shown in the picture to the right, it is urban, could represent rebellion and has masculine connotations. As the rooftop is outdoors it also allows for lots of natural light which is common within the genre of Pop Rock as the sky shows simplicity, beauty and strips the video back to basics; this is very different to a lot of pop videos which use bright artificial lighting and bright colours. Although the band itself are in a setting with natural light, the story within the video is quite often dark; this creates a sense of mystery and danger which draws the audience in and connects with the title of the song. The clothes which the band are wearing are black; this is a popular choice for clothing within pop rock videos because it reiterates the idea of being natural as they do not draw attention to themselves; they look like they belong within the scene, it's also simple and the band members look good together because they're all wearing similar clothing.

Within the video there are scenes of a man using tools which create sparks and also many men carrying guns, this again re-emphasizes the masculinity and suggests danger as the sparks and weapons relate to the song title 'Time-Bomb'. This is a convention for the genre of Rock but is not used commonly for Pop Rock, this is probably because the song lyrics relate to danger, however as I plan on using a slightly softer song I do not plan on including any action within my music video.

Another convention which this video uses is the focus on instruments; throughout the video (especially at the beginning) the camera is zoomed in on the instruments, the screenshot to the right is an example of this. Close ups of instruments are often used to show that most bands write and produce their own music and put a lot of effort into not only the lyrics but also the music behind it; it is also a chance to show off the skills of the other band members as well as the frontman.

The camera regularly focuses on Alex (lead singer) when he is singing; during a lot of these moments he looks directly into the camera which grabs peoples attention (particularly the female audience) and allows the viewers to feel a connection with Alex. During all the clips of the band the other band members are always moving around, this shows that they are enjoying themselves and suggests that they're getting lost in the music, this encourages the audience to enjoy the video as much as the band are.

Overall the video does use some of the conventions of modern Pop Rock videos, however it includes some aspects which convert some stereotypes such as the a typical romance story line which is common within this genre of music, this subversion helps to make the video more unique and keeps the audiences attention.

Deconstructing music videos

In the presentation below, I have deconstructed The Scripts music video, 'If you ever come back'. I have explored the genre, audience, representation, media language and narrative. By doing deconstructions on existing music videos, it helps me to gain ideas as to what people are already expecting to see from a music video. It also gives me more of an idea as to what shots, colours and lighting I may consider using in my video.

the script deconstruction from Kaylee1234