Representations of a female pop artist

Artists are always represented in certain ways, creating a certain image, to attract a certain audience. In generic pop videos there are different representations for each gender. For a male they are portrayed as brave, sometimes mean, and rarely smile. They are shown as the tough guy. For females they are portrayed sexually, flaunting their figures and showing what they have to offer, an example of this is on the right where Christina Aguilera is wearing little clothing and posing sexually. This creates a fan base of certain groups of people. General target audiences for pop videos for female solo artists would be teenage girls and boys as the girls would want to be like them and the boys would be attracted to their image as they are shown to be conventionally attractive.

These artists represent the glamorous lifestyle of a celebrity. Everything they do in their video is glamorised creating a positive image to have a pop star lifestyle. Females use seductive poses which adds to their image of a pop star. Usually the location would either be a party to show the fun carefree lifestyle or a deserted location for example a beach which is shown as glamorous and usually a female would be in her bikini, creating a sexual image. This is used because revealing outfits are one of the main aspects of a female pop artist’s image. They are showing off what they have in order to have a successful pop video attracting many different target audiences of both males and females. Voyeurism is a recurring theme in a pop video, it is used to attract audiences, usually males, and it also keeps to the genre of the music. Dancing is a key theme in a pop music video as the music is upbeat and fast paced, the location is usually suitable for people to be dancing, creating this fun positive image.

All of these representations are used to entertain and attract audiences. They usually have a positive happy tone to them, creating more popularity. They use all of these representations to meet the needs of the audiences and giving them what they want to see.

The female representation is contrasted with the representations of a male pop artist as they are shown completly different. They are shown in a more positive point of view, showing them to be brave and the 'cool guy', they are not oppressed negatively like women are. They are not just shown for their looks.

Conventions of a pop video.

In generic pop videos, many conventions are used to create the stereotypical video. For example editing is very significant in the making of a pop video as it has to reflect the pace of the music, usually fast-paced, special effects are also applied at this stage in the pop video (e.g lighting effects, colour effects). Bright lighting and lighting effects are used significantly in pop videos. Lots of cutting is used throughout the video, mainly straight cuts, to emphasise the fast pace of the video. Usually bright colours are used in the video, and they are very effective against a white or black background to emphasise the colours. Many different camera angles are used in pop videos, just like in any video, one of the most important camera shot in a pop video is close ups, it is used the most throughout the video following the artist closely, which can also be shown through panning. Low and high angle shots are used also. It is very important to make sure that in a pop band there is equal division of shots between the band members and whole band shots to emphasise who is in the band, if it is a solo artist in the video then the main focus would be on them. The mise-en scene has to reflect the atmosphere so that it relates to the video making it successful. Shadows and animation are also sometimes used in generic pop videos.

In our video we will make sure that we use many conventions so that we stick to the genre of our song. We will use a white background to emphasise the colours of the artist and the outfits that she wears so that she stands out, as she is the main focus in the video. This also adds to the lighting as it makes the video brighter. We will use lots of lights to keep the shots looking professional. We will also mix different camera angles and shots throughout the video to keep viewers interested, to do this we have to use a lot of straight cuts keeping to the fast pace of the video. This is done through editing. As we have decided to use a solo artist she is shown constantly throughout the video in many different angles. We will create the mise-en scene so that it reflects the lyrics of the song and the image of the artist.

Artist Research – Britney Spears

Britney Spears was born in 1981, and released her first single and album in 1999. She is signed to Jive Records which are owned by Sony Music Entertainment, one of the four largest record labels. Her first single ‘Hit me baby one more time’ was a massive hit as it sold over 25million copies worldwide. In this video she is represented as an innocent school girl, as she was exactly that in 1999, this video turned out to be a perfect male fantasy. She was perceived as innocent, yet sexy which all male viewers loved. She was and still is an idol for young teenage girls. Automatically in her first video her image was created, a young successful girl, conventionally attractive, everything that all males wanted. ‘Hit me baby one more time’ topped the chart for 2 weeks in the U.S billboard hot 100 in 1999. It also came in at number one in the UK singles chart; it was the top selling single in 1999 and was the 25^th most successful song in British charts history, a record for a female act at the time. She was a positive representation of women in the 1990’s as well.

Britney Spears released a single called ‘oops I did it again’ in 2000; this established her as a pop icon. She influenced teenagers massively. "Oops I Did It Again" had sold 20 million copies worldwide since 2002 including club sales. Her songs were memorable which made her such a massive success; she was just 16 when she began as an artist. She is a multi talented famous pop star, she had a major role in the 2002 film ‘crossroads’ as well. She gave the viewers what they wanted, keeping to her target audience of young teenage girls looking up to her, as an idol, she influenced them massively, as well as being idolized by the male population as well through her videos and image.

Britney’s image has been compared to her pop rival Christina Aguilera by her vocal ability as well as her image. She has an increasingly revealing choice of outfits, her first single ‘hit me baby one more time’ being memorable for not only the song, but for her choice of a school girl outfit as well. It has been recognized that the difference between the two is that Christina Aguilera is a good girl pretending to be bad, where as Britney spears is seen as the bad rebellious girl acting good and innocent, through her music.

Britney Spears began in 1999 and has continually been a success in the music business; she has the typical blonde hair, conventionally beautiful, meets her target audience every time and continues to surprise her audiences. She is multi talented, a singer, dancer, actress and songwriter. She has similarities in many different artists like Madonna, Christina Aguilera, which shows where her inspiration comes from.

Although the media have shown her in a negative ways in the past, this proves that nobody is perfect. She has managed to pull through and release more albums that have also been a huge success. She released a song called ‘piece of me’ defending herself about recent media articles about her. she continuously repeats ‘you want a piece of me’, ‘ I’m Mrs. she’s too big now she’s too thin’, this line shows how the media portrays her to be negative with the idea that women should be a certain size, no more or no less, she is defending that, representing women of today.

In Britney Spears’ recent single ‘if you seek Amy’ her lyrics say ‘love me hate me, say what you want about me’ show her rebellious side is coming out, she’s defending herself through her music from recent articles from the media and things that she has done. Britney’s Fans still love her music and she still is so famous today, still releasing music even 10years on from her first single.

She also starred in the disney channel programme the new mickey mouse club with Justin Timberlake, which is the artist we are doing our music video on.

my job role as a producer

My role as a music producer means I have to make my vision a reality. In my case my main job roles will include bring fresh idea to the track, being involved with the time keeping and scheduling of the production. As well as making any decisions about changes being made the music video the producer keeps an eye on the overall projects marketability meaning that the producer has to make sure the artist has to appeal to it target audiences.

The producer has to encourage the best performance from the artist and directing the backing actors to perform to the best of their abilities. The producer may even help the artist to promote your music and advice on publishing, royalties and other aspects of the music industry.

As a producer I am going to be earnest and take control of the music video. When making decisions I am going to take into account what my other team member think but if I don’t like something I will demand that it will not be done again. While I’m producing I am going to shoot in a documentary style of the music video and film what’s happened during a performance.

I am also the second camera assistant and as the camera assistant I will also be in charge of keeping a notebook that I will document every time we film and for how long, so when it comes down to editing it will make the whole process easier . I will also have to take responsibility of the camera equipment and transport of the equipment from one shooting location to another.

Character Development - Making of

Here is a video of a part of the photo shoot of our artist:

Artist Research - Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga rose to fame during 2008 with her singles ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Poker Face’ She has developed a colossal fan base, climbed up the music charts, and done everything within her power to promote herself and turn heads.

The most obvious analysis of a pop star would have to start with their music and choice of lyrics. Her debut album, ‘The Fame’ (first released 2008), represents only a few simple themes: sex, money, and fame. Even the album's title ‘The Fame’ further reinforces these principles. If you try to look for any deeper connotations within the album you will be found wanting. Gaga’s song lyrics bottle down to dancing with someone you haven’t long met then having sexual intercourse straight afterwards, partying and spending your parents or lover’s money, also how you miss your ex's eyes, body or touch, and giving the false impression you're into the guy your having sex with when he cannot pleasure you in the right way. Even some tracks on the album, which are thought of as the mellow songs such as ‘Eh Eh’ provide subtle lyrics, loaded with innuendos such as ‘cherry cherry boom boom’. She seems to posses some vocal ability but utilizes it rarely as seen by the tedious vocals and generic-like sound to Just Dance. This song was clearly released to appeal to the masses, and to keep the musical hold on young female teenagers that other pop-stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have done before Gaga. Madonna held the chokehold on young female teenagers with her individuality leading to many young women imitating her sense of power and control over men. It seems clear Gaga wishes to further reiterate this ongoing trend with female artists.

Another aspect of Lady Gaga is her created or commonly referred to as manipulated image. She has created an appearance of being high class, a fashion innovative, and androgynous. Her way of being high class is seen through her ornaments and fashion accessories, her teacup as seen in her videos reflects stereotypical upper class British women. In reality she has serious money issues and has gone bankrupt more than just the once. Thus she is sticking to the typical conventions of a pop/rock star (off stage) of spending all their money and partying. Presumably a lot of Gaga’s money is lost because of her fashion and show effects budget. Her clothing, which she makes, has also been praised as original although in reality her clothing are imitations of high fashion.

Lady Gaga also embraces her androgyny to a point where she is trying to follow in the footsteps of David Bowe. Gaga flaunts her bisexuality around to gain more attention as seen in her videos especially ‘Lovegame’. She is seen kissing a man in uniform and further on in the video kissing a woman in the same uniform in the same place. By doing that she reinforces negative stereotypes such as rampant promiscuity and little devotion when it comes to love as seen by the song title referring to ‘Love’ as indeed a game. Her whole image also reinforces gender stereotypes of uncontrollable shopping sprees, nymphomania, money problems, and limited intelligence. A clear irony of Gaga is that she's been praised for breaking down barriers of gender and sexual orientation when she has actually been the stereotype that holds those minorities back. Gaga has in turn succeeded in acting as multiple stereotypes and gaining great support for this. One clear case of the sexist ideas she upholds is in her music video for ‘Paparazzi’. All the way through the video we are viewing stereotypical beautiful women that are dead (or have been killed) which brings the connotations that women are victims. There is even a shot of Gaga falling and cracking her head and she is shown richly clothed with pearls left in her mouth, no cuts or bruises on her body, and clean. The only indication we are given that she fell is a small pool of blood by her head and the way her limbs are positioned. By the end of the video Gaga kills the man (her lover) that hurt her, this may be to make up for all the female victims she is aiming to appeal to with this video, but this portrays her as fabulous and charming not as desperate and destructive which is the logical representation most likely assumed in this situation. The way Gaga kills him is seen as feminine as she poisons his drink and as he looks at her realising what she has done she drinks her tea. Gaga is sipping tea next to him as he dies, as opposed to attacking him with a weapon, which would have been the expected outcome.

Gaga’s relation to Post-feminism becomes evident in her tracks and music videos where she finds herself in situations where a man is typically in control but she is in control, adding to the thought that women are equal and can do anything a man can do. Gaga is constantly searching for that one man she can be in control of and assert her authority on, in her video Paparazzi you see her change between the men she is close with, resulting in the further support of finding the right man, but there is something different with Gaga because of her sexuality. She changes between men and women of all different types which adds to the enigma of what does Gaga want?

Although Gaga has come up with her own unique personality to reach her target audience, she has still followed along the paths set before her by other stereotypical female pop stars. A running trend seems to be the typical beautiful, slim, blonde, vocally gifted, somewhat sexy but generally lyrically limited. All the other features make up for the lack of substance in the lyrics it seems. Many other female pop star artists before Gaga have had their time in the spotlight, some more than others like Madonna. This may indeed be Gaga’s time with what seems to be innocent pop songs that’s deep meanings generally go unnoticed. This is much like Britney Spears first hit ‘Hit me baby one more time’ – referring to sex, where in the video she is dressed in school uniform which is a common male fantasy. A play on sexuality seems to gain female pop stars fame, this trait has run since Madonna brought a great deal of sexuality to the front of female pop in the 80’s. Many others continued this to the present day including Madonna herself and I’m sure many more female pop stars will carry this on for years to come especially Lady Gaga.

Job Roles for the Camera Person

My job role is camera person and i am responsible to operate the video camera. I am responsible to take the shots requested by the director but also adding creative and practical input as well. I am also responsible for physically operating the camera and maintaining composition throughout the shot. I'm in charge of maintaining the required action is filmed properly in the frame, and need to react instinctively as the filming takes place. I have to set up the camera and sometimes be responsible for lighting as well.

To be a camera person you have to be patient and have team working skills, have a deep understanding of the photographic principles and an instinct for picture composition. A camera person is part of a camera crew consisting of director of photography (director of photography regulates the lighting for every scene, is also responsible for framing some shots, chooses the lenses to be used, decides on film stock and guarantees that the visual appearance of the project follows to the directors original idea) and other camera assistants. They will collaborate with the director, actors and the rest of the crew.

Artist Research - Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, who is better known by her stage name, Katy Perry was born on the 25th of October 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. Katy began singing at an early age and after trying for years she has finally made it big in 2007 when capitol music group and virgin records signed her.

Katy Perry released her first album “one of the boys” on June the 17th 2008 where the song “I kissed a girl” was a massive hit in America and the UK. The album was a great success selling over 800,000 copies just alone in America and many more thousands world wide. Her name is now recognised all over Europe and America.

Among Perry's musical influences are Alanis Morissette, pop rockers Cyndi Lauper, Pat Bentnar, Joan Jett, Shirley Manson, and Freddie Mercury. Growing up listening to gospel music, Perry had few references when she began recording songs. It wasn’t until she went home and watched the television channel VH1 that she got her influence and ideas for her own songs. Katy Perry is known for her unconventional dress style. She is often seen wearing humorous and bright coloured clothing making her stand out from the crowd. However her outfits are also based on the fashion from different decades. Featuring different fruit shapes, she gives life to her outfits, by wearing watermelons and other vibrant fruit. Her dark hair is part of her look, but, as the music video to "Ur So Gay" shows, her hair is naturally blonde and she dyed her hair and eyebrows a darker color.

Katy learnt to dance at an early age after having lessons. It was because of these lessons that she became interested in creating her own style and image. Perry's transformation into an artist began with fashion, inspired by American film actress Dominique Swain's portrayal in 1997 film adaptation of the novel Lolita. She describes her fashion as "a bit of a concoction of different things". Johnny Wujek, who is Katy Perry's stylist, described her style, when meeting her for the first time, as "very colorful and vintage". Her new image caught the eye of a lot of designers and lots of attention was drawn to her. In fact, designers were giving her nearly as much attention as fans did for her music.In June 2008, a publicity photo that showed Perry posing with a switchblade was criticized by the media. However, the picture was defended by Katy Perry’s agent as only an effort to give her a "sexy, harder edge". An artist released an image to mock Katy’s photo by posing with a spoon instead of a switchblade to criticize her.

Lyric timings

Verse 1 0:00 - 0:32

Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy (Hey, what up girl?)

0:00 – 0:03

Put my glasses on, I’m out the door - I’m gonna hit this city (Let’s go)

0:03 – 0:07

Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack

0:07 – 0:11

Cause when I leave for the night, I ain’t coming back

0:11 – 0:15

I’m talking - pedicure on our toes, toes

0:15 – 0:18

Trying on all our clothes, clothes

0:18 – 0:20

Boys blowing up our phones, phones

0:20 – 0:23

Drop-toping, playing our favorite cds

0:23 – 0:26

Pulling up to the parties

0:26 – 0:28

Trying to get a little bit tips

0:28 – 0:32

Chorus 1 00:32 - 1:04

Don’t stop, make it pop

0:32 – 0:33

DJ, blow my speakers up

0:33 – 0:36

Tonight, I’mma fight

0:36 – 0:37

‘Til we see the sunlight

0:37 – 0:39

Tick tock, on the clock

0:39 – 0:41

But the party don’t stop no

0:41 – 0:44

Woah-oh oh oh

0:44 – 0:46

Woah-oh oh oh

0:46 – 0:48

Don’t stop, make it pop

0:48 – 0:49

DJ, blow my speakers up

0:49 – 0:52

Tonight, I’mma fight

0:52 – 0:53

‘Til we see the sunlight

0:53 – 0:55

Tick tock, on the clock

0:55 – 0:57

But the party don’t stop no

0:57 – 1:00

Woah-oh oh oh

1:00 – 1:02

Woah-oh oh oh

1:02 – 1:04

Verse 2 1:04 - 1:36

Ain’t got a care in world, but got plenty of beer

1:04 – 1:07

Ain’t got no money in my pocket, but I’m already here

1:07 – 1:11

Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger

1:11 – 1:15

But we kick ‘em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger

1:15 – 1:19

I’m talking about - everybody getting crunk, crunk

1:19 – 1:22

Boys trying to touch my junk, junk

1:22 – 1:24

Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk

1:24 – 1:26

No lyrics here

1:26 – 1:27

Now, now - we goin’ til they kick us out, out

1:27 – 1:30

Or the police shut us down, down

1:30 – 1:32

Police shut us down, down

1:32 – 1:34

Po-po shut us -

1:34 – 1:35

Chorus 2 1:36 - 2:07

Don’t stop, make it pop

1:35 – 1:36

DJ, blow my speakers up

1:36 – 1:39

Tonight, I’mma fight

1:39 – 1:40

‘Til we see the sunlight

1:40 – 1:43

Tick tock, on the clock

1:43 – 1:44

But the party don’t stop no

1:44 – 1:47

Woah-oh oh oh

1:47 – 1:49

Woah-oh oh oh

1:49 – 1:51

Don’t stop, make it pop

1:51 – 1:52

DJ, blow my speakers up

1:52 – 1:55

Tonight, I’mma fight

1:55 – 1:56

‘Til we see the sunlight

1:56 – 1:58

Tick tock, on the clock

1:58 – 2:00

But the party don’t stop no

2:00 – 2:03

Woah-oh oh oh

2:03 – 2:05

Woah-oh oh oh

2:05 – 2:07

Interlude 2:08 - 2:43

DJ, you build me up

2:07 – 2:10

You break me down

2:10 – 2:12

My heart, it pounds

2:12 – 2:14

Yeah, you got me

2:14 – 2:16

With my hands up

2:16 – 2:18

You got me now

2:18 – 2:20

You got that sound

2:20 – 2:22

Yea, you got me

2:22 – 2:24

DJ, you build me up

2:24 – 2:26

You break me down

2:26 – 2:28

My heart, it pounds

2:28 – 2:30

Yeah, you got me

2:30 – 2:32

With my hands up

2:32 – 2:34

Get your hands up

2:34 – 2:36

Put your hands up

2:36 – 2:38

No lyrics here

2:38 – 2:40

No, the party don’t start til I walk in

2:40 – 2:43

No lyrics here

2:43 – 2:44

Chorus 3 2:43 - 3:20

Don’t stop, make it pop

2:44 – 2:45

DJ, blow my speakers up

2:45 – 2:48

Tonight, I’mma fight

2:48 – 2:49

‘Til we see the sunlight

2:49 – 2:51

Tick tock, on the clock

2:51 – 2:52

But the party don’t stop no

2:52 – 2:55

Woah-oh oh oh

2:55 – 2:57

Woah-oh oh oh

2:57 – 2:59

Don’t stop, make it pop

2:59 – 3:00

DJ, blow my speakers up

3:00 – 3:03

Tonight, I’mma fight

3:03 – 3:04

‘Til we see the sunlight

3:04 – 3:06

Tick tock, on the clock

3:06 – 3:07

But the party don’t stop no

3:07 – 3:10

Woah-oh oh oh

3:10 – 3:12

Woah-oh oh oh

3:12 – 3:15

Giggles

3:15 – 3:20

Character Development - Costume 6

For the sixth costume the choice was to go all out purple so therefore the costume consisted of a pruple vest top and a short purple skirt. The purple being relatively dark contrasts with the background making the audience more drawn to the artist and her costume.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Costume 5

With this costume it was decided to go for something not seen everyday. Our artist is seen here wearing a leopard print loose vest with a light blue vest underneath which adds a bit of attitude to her costume which may be key in the music promo video.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Costume 4

A checkered shirt with a barely visible light blue vest underneath and a dark blue short skirt was used for the fourth costume design, this costume has two very dominant colours in it; red and blue, resulting in great contrast and making the costume stand out.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Costume 3

The choice of costume for costume number three was a short blue skirt and a patterned loose vest with a light blue vest top underneath. This costume has many colours in it so therefore it brings more attention to itself which ties in well with the pop star look we are aiming to create.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Costume 2

For the second costume a white party dress was the costume of choice with a blue vest top underneath. This costume goes well with a white background adding to our artist's purity and innocence which we could use to create a contrast in the music promo video by the way she acts on screen.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Costume 1

After having a look of what items of clothing pop stars wear it was clear we needed a costume that was distinctive and made our artist stand out. The first costume was a light blue vest top with an aqua short skirt. The same high heels were used for each costume as they go with most costumes. This costume is very bright and vibrant adding to the appeal of our artist within the Pop Genre.
Here is the costume:

Character Development - Hair and make up

We knew what our artist needed to look like and this is the development of her hair and make-up. This video shows the different stages starting with no make-up, through powder and fountation up until fake eyelashes bronzer and eyeliner.
Here is the stages of our artist's make-up:

KE$HA - Tik Tok Lyrics

Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy (Hey, what up girl?)
Put my glasses on, I’m out the door - I’m gonna hit this city (Let’s go)
Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack
Cause when I leave for the night, I ain’t coming back
I’m talking - pedicure on our toes, toes
Trying on all our clothes, clothes
Boys blowing up our phones, phones
Drop-toping, playing our favorite cds
Pulling up to the parties
Trying to get a little bit tips

Don’t stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I’mma fight
‘Til we see the sunlight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don’t stop no
Woah-oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh

Ain’t got a care in world, but got plenty of beer
Ain’t got no money in my pocket, but I’m already here
Now, the dudes are lining up cause they hear we got swagger
But we kick ‘em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger
I’m talking about - everybody getting crunk, crunk
Boys trying to touch my junk, junk
Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk
Now, now - we goin’ til they kick us out, out
Or the police shut us down, down
Police shut us down, down
Po-po shut us -
Don’t stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I’mma fight
‘Til we see the sunlight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don’t stop no
Woah-oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh

Don’t stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I’mma fight
‘Til we see the sunlight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don’t stop no
Woah-oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh

DJ, you build me up
You break me down
My heart, it pounds
Yeah, you got me
With my hands up
You got me now
You got that sound
Yea, you got me
DJ, you build me up
You break me down
My heart, it pounds
Yeah, you got me
With my hands up
Get your hands up
Put your hands up

No, the party don’t start til I walk in

Don’t stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I’mma fight
‘Til we see the sunlight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don’t stop no
Woah-oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh

Don’t stop, make it pop
DJ, blow my speakers up
Tonight, I’mma fight
‘Til we see the sunlight
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don’t stop no
Woah-oh oh oh
Woah-oh oh oh

Introduction

Studying A2 media required us to make a promotional package for the release of a new album, and within this we had to create a music promo video. We also needed to create a cover for the album’s release as part of a digipak CD package. Another way of reaching our target audience will be to create a magazine advert for the digipak.

After much discussion and debate we came to a conclusion on what are chosen track will be for our music video promo. We had to look through many music genres and a variety of music videos to reach our verdict. We decided that the track had deep connotations and be very versatile thus allowing us to brainstorm and bring our ideas to the surface. The chosen track is ‘Tik Tok’ by an upcoming artist by the name of ‘KE$HA’, although we will be creating an artist of own with a new image, identity and message for the target audience.