A pop princess can be seen in this day and age as any popular female artist but they have certain stereotypes. Artists such as Mariah Carey are know for being a 'diva' and the 'queen of pop' Kylie epitomizes the idea of a pop princess with her catchy pop songs and glamorous image.
On an album cover, the usual for a pop princess is a close head shot with glamorous hair and make up.
These pictures are examples of pop princesses and CD covers including pop princess songs. Popular, young and beautiful singers are classes as 'pop princesses'. The style of music, is evidently pop although some of these girls have been known to have an alternative theme to their songs/albums. Pop princesses are popular, as boys fancy them, and girls want to be them. This means they have appeal for both male and female. Pop princesses often have very girly pictures in their albums and on the cover, this keeps up the 'role model' look causing people to look up to them, and like them.
As you can see from the Pop princesses CD cover, girly colours such as pink, purples and yellows are used. This indicates that the main target audience is girls, probably younger girls that would listen to a lot of pop princess music.
This video features the artist playing a keyboard in what appears to be a child's bedroom. He is bringing the toys and gadgets around him to life which builds up until the song comes to an end. The music video is indie style as it is an independent record label but it also features synthpop and an 80s style.
The target audience of this video would be 16-30 although it would be based on a teenage audience.
The video uses cuts between mid shots of the artist, and close ups of the toys in the bedroom. This makes the audience focus on this as it is all you can see. The toys move in time with the music.
Artist image - The artist looks very 'normal' in this video with a relaxed casual costume of jeans and a t-shirt. There is a close up shot of his socks which relates to the child like theme and makes it look like he is the child in the bedroom. The artist is portrayed as innocent and childish as all the toys are around him and he is in a child's bedroom.
Mis-en-scene - The toys in the video are 70's/80's style which gives the audience a sense of nostalgia as they are the toys they would have played with when they were younger.
This video, similarly to Rihanna's other videos portrays a very attractive fun view of the artist. She appears to be in a place like paradise which links to the 'only girl in the world' theme as she is shown as the only girl in this place. The nature of the video is like a fairytale make believe place full of flowers and balloons, these objects are typically feminine. In this video Rihanna wears girly, floaty pink and white clothes, although they are skimpy and show a lot of flesh, this keeps up her 'sexy' reputation. Although this video is different from her others such as 'Rude boy' as she has gone for a more natural, pretty, girly look and theme, whereas in the Rude boy video she looks more raunchy with computer generated images around her. This shows how an artist can re-create their look through a music video. Pastel colours are used in this video, again referring back to the girly side of the video.
The first shot shows her silhouette wearing flowy white clothes, you can instantly recognise her red hair, this introduces the viewer straight away to who the artist is, and what the style of the video is. Throughout this video Rihanna is smiling, and dancing, this contrasts to her other videos such as 'Russian roulette' where the video has a much more serious nature, again linking to the song that is chosen.
Throughout Rihannas videos, they are mostly linked to her lyrics and the sound of the song. This represents the versatility of an artist being able to adapt other styles. Rihanna is clearly the main focus of this video, as she is in every shot, wearing different costumes. This video does tell a mild story, but only the fact that she is the only girl in this world.
In the 'Only girl in the world' video, Rihanna makes a lot of eye contact with the viewer, this is done in both a seductive way, but also an attention grabbing way as it appears she is looking at you.
The edits of this video is purposefully jumpy to go in time with the music, this also makes the video more interesting and although the video is an experience of a 'trippy dream'.
This is a quick post comparing two different videos I have been looking at.
I watched two contrasting music videos and made notes on the differences and similarities. The two videos i watched were:
Carly Rae Jephson- Call me maybe V's Lost Prophets- Rooftops
This is what i found:
CRJ- Target audience is younger girls whereas Lost Prophets is more aimed at boys. Although they are both aimed at a young audience which is a similarity about the two videos.
CRJ- Is a mainstream, pop video which has a typical boy meets girl storyline. The video is played out like a fairytale as it is cliche but has a twist at the end which adds humour to the video as the 'prince charming' character turns out to be gay. This video is superficial and fun, whereas the Lost Prophets video is very indie and alternative with an emo style. It features people with piercings, with an 'emo' look. This video represents teenagers going through a hard time which the viewers can relate too.
Carly Rae Jephson is a pop princess, and has key conventions of the pop genre in her video and other texts such as the 'boy meets girl' story line. The girly costumes she wears, along with her hair and makeup. The lyrics alone are in the typical style of a pop song with 'I threw a wish in the well' which gives the idea of a fairytale.
On the other hand, The Lost Prophets are a huge contrast to CRJ as they are a completely different genre. They are indie/rock and the video aims at 'the outsiders' and people who don't fit into the pop genre. This band are very alternative and this is represented through their costumes, and the characters in the video, with piercings, tattoos, long hair and dark clothes.
Justin Biebers target audience is clearly young girls as they would fancy him. This is played upon in his videos as he is shown living the 'teenage dream' and having fun. Young girls would want to be the girls in his videos. The target audience would be able to see him in his videos easily, as they would fancy him the visual aspect of music videos is appealing. Some of Justin Biebers songs could relate to older girls, although boys would not be as interested in this artist.
At the beginning of the video you can see Justin straight away, which automatically shows the audience who sings the song if they didn't already know. You also see him singing, which represents his talent although its not actually him singing live. In this particular video there are a group of young boys and girls at a bowling alley having fun, which younger teenagers would relate too and want to do this too. The whole video is represented as fun and bubbly like he is living the dream teenage life. The fact that Ludacris features in this video shows that Justin is trying to reach out to other audiences by bringing the rap genre into his song.
Camera
The first shot of Justin is a low angle shot of him, which makes him look powerful, but in the shot he is wrapping his coat around himself as if he is cold, giving off a sense of vulnerability, which makes a contrast with the powerful low shot. There are then lots of cuts between him, with his friends entering the bowling alley, and a group of girls that are already there. This gives a sense of boys v's girls in a playful way, this relates to the competition in the game of bowling they are playing, adding to the fun aspect of the video, attracting the younger audience as it is desirable. There are shots of Justin standing, and the camera pans around him in a circle, this is quite a typical shot that is often used in boy band videos, showing lots of angles of the artist. Throughout the video, there are cuts between the performance, of him singing on his own, and the storyline with the girl and his friends. This again is a typical way music videos are filmed, giving the artist a persona with the story line, but singling them out at the same time. The shots of Ludacris the rapper are slightly low shots, again portraying power, which is common in the rap genre, there are also close ups of his face which is to help the audience quickly identify who the rapper is. The close ups are also for appearance, giving the audience visuals, for those who fancy him, or aspire to be like him. (examples shown below)
Mis-en-scene
Considering this was released in 2010, the characters in the video are wearing clothes that would have been fashionable then. This attracts their target audience, as teenage girls are very conscious about how they look, and will look up to girls in Justin Beibers music videos as fashion icons as they are seen as 'cool' at the age of 12/13. Justin and the others in the video look very casual, in jeans, hoodies and normal tops which brings the video down to earth and fits in with the theme of them being in a bowling alley. You can see examples of this in screen shots of the video shown above.
Editing
There are quick cuts in this video, which go in time with the music, meaning that the video backs up the sound that is going on. Justin is also lip syncing with the song, giving the appearance he is singing it there and then to the girl. This makes the lyrics more personal, as in some points of the video he is directly addressing the audience, singing to them and making hand gestures.
The purpose of a media video is to make the song visual, meaning that the audience can identify the song with an artist, and a storyline that's going on in the video. The video also introduces the genre of the song if it is not already obvious. Sales of the song are drastically changed and helped by the music video, as it spreads the word of the song from being on youtube and music channels. Videos also make the songs and artists more memorable especially if they have some kind of dramatic plot or storyline. Another reason media videos are produced is for pure entertainment, fun or humour. They could also be used to build up a new image for the artist.
The structure of the music video is to tell a story that the audience can identify the song with and make it more interesting as the lyrics often link to what is taking place in the video and make the songs meaning more clear. Also, for the audience, being able to see the artist is a benefit as you can see them singing and gives a sense of their ability although its not real.
Richard Dyer "Star theory" a star is constructed/manufactured.
Dyers Theory applied to a media text.
These two pictures from Beyonce's If I were a boy album show her looking very natural with no makeup and looking very clean and innocent. Due to the look Beyonce was trying to create for this album, she has gone for a subtle look in the pictures. Although in the top picture she appears to be naked with her arms covering herself which is a provocative image to portray therefore she is still trying to appear 'sexy' as it is one of her selling points. The pictures are both in black and white, which makes the pictures look natural, the image of the ocean in the background adds to the beautiful natural feel of the pictures. In both pictures, she is making eye contact with the audience, this could be seen as challenging, although in this circumstance I believe it is to attract attention and enhance the focus to her face. In both pictures she is placed pretty much in the middle, meaning she is the focal point and the font of her name and the album title is very subtle and doesn't overpower the picture of her. The fact that her name is small may portray that her name isn't important, as people will recognise who the artist is by seeing her face.
These two pictures of Beyonce's Single Ladies album are also in black and white, but they differ from the first two pictures. These two pictures of her album covers are much more provocative and sexy as in the first one you can clearly see a silhouette of her body looking very curvy and although she could be naked. This would have been done to create a sense of unknown and mystery to the cover as the audience do not know what she is/isn't wearing. The second picture, again is Beyonce wearing very little clothes, she is showing bum and boobs, meaning the male audience would instantly be attracted. The pose she is doing is also provocative as she looks sultry laying on top of her own name. Differing from the first two pictures, her name stands out more in these two as it is bigger, in the first one it is behind her but still coherent, and the second one she is laying on top of the name, drawing the eye to this. She is clearly wearing a lot more bling and makeup in the second picture here, showing this album is giving off a much more powerful, feminine vibe.
These two examples of two of Beyonce's albums show her versitility and how an artist can completely reform their look/style from one album to another as Beyonce clearly has between these two. The theme is also followed through on the music that is on the album.
As a person, an artist is not a text, however in his or her complete media product: the image, language of songs and the sound all combine to form 'texts'.
How this appears in the videos, posters, adverts and appearances is just as important- if not more so- than the music.
Artists use the whole digi pack to form a 'text' meaning the layout and design of the front and back of the CD case.
For example, Pinks album cover has a picture of her on the front, which is clearly shown in a fun, quirky way. She is on a rocking horse with her legs in the air which could portray a child like image. This very much links with the albums name 'funhouse'. The style of her album digi pack relates to the style of her videos. The bar code which is on the back of the album is a standard part of any album that is to be sold, which asserts the autnenticity of the album, and also makes it easy for selling purposes. On the back of this album you can also see the use of quirky style fonts and different sizes for the songs. This, again relates to her overall theme of fun along with the pink and yellow colour scheme. The picture used on the front of the album is lighter than the one on the back, this would be to draw the audience to the CD in the first place, and not distract the eye from the writing on the back page. Also the layout of the back page shows that the picture of her is positioned off centre, again ensuring the reader doesn't get distracted from the text. This album cover is portrayed as girly, due to the pinks and the fun, bubbly style to it, the target audience of this album would be mostly female.
I have analysed this photo album, as Pink is a Pop Princess, the research will be helpful towards the planning of my own pop princess we are starting to do in lessons. Analysing her CD covers give me inspiration towards ours, such as the girly images, and pretty colours used. This is a good example of a pop princess album, although Pink does break the rules of a typical 'Pop Princess' as she does not look very innocent in the first picture, she shows her tattoos and a lot of skin, which is unusual for a Pop Princess.
These two pictures of Beyonce's Single Ladies album are also in black and white, but they differ from the first two pictures. These two pictures of her album covers are much more provocative and sexy as in the first one you can clearly see a silhouette of her body looking very curvy and although she could be naked. This would have been done to create a sense of unknown and mystery to the cover as the audience do not know what she is/isn't wearing. The second picture, again is Beyonce wearing very little clothes, she is showing bum and boobs, meaning the male audience would instantly be attracted. The pose she is doing is also provocative as she looks sultry laying on top of her own name. Differing from the first two pictures, her name stands out more in these two as it is bigger, in the first one it is behind her but still coherent, and the second one she is laying on top of the name, drawing the eye to this. She is clearly wearing a lot more bling and makeup in the second picture here, showing this album is giving off a much more powerful, feminine vibe.
For example, Pinks album cover has a picture of her on the front, which is clearly shown in a fun, quirky way. She is on a rocking horse with her legs in the air which could portray a child like image. This very much links with the albums name 'funhouse'. The style of her album digi pack relates to the style of her videos. The bar code which is on the back of the album is a standard part of any album that is to be sold, which asserts the autnenticity of the album, and also makes it easy for selling purposes. On the back of this album you can also see the use of quirky style fonts and different sizes for the songs. This, again relates to her overall theme of fun along with the pink and yellow colour scheme. The picture used on the front of the album is lighter than the one on the back, this would be to draw the audience to the CD in the first place, and not distract the eye from the writing on the back page. Also the layout of the back page shows that the picture of her is positioned off centre, again ensuring the reader doesn't get distracted from the text. This album cover is portrayed as girly, due to the pinks and the fun, bubbly style to it, the target audience of this album would be mostly female.