Analysis of Genres (Pop, Rap and Dance)

The role of a target audience is to be entertained and hopefully buy into the package of a stars image, production, videos and material which displays their interest in support. Target audiences are approached by manipulating and shaping the potential star to appeal to their audience via their music style, conventions in other materials such as music videos and their overall image and how they present themselves to the public.
There are a lot of variables within a target audience which can change accordingly to create a new group of fans, for instance an example of a target audience is "males and females who're into Pop and are between the age of 18-25", automatically, stars that form to this image are more modern and popular artists such as Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Rihanna.
 However, if we were to change the age group to 35+ then the stars automatically change and we think of more dated R&B stars such as Brandi, R.Kelly, LL Cool J and Soul to Soul. All in all, specific audiences are attracted and more likely to buy into certain things.

POP - RITA ORA (HOW WE DO) 

The first shot we see of Rita Ora in the music video is a mid-shot of her entering the scene which is set up to look like some kind of house party - the typical "chilled" vibes that R&B music video settings have. 
The fact that she enters with a mid-shot at the beginning of the video gives the audience a good introduction to her image and persona since she's a newer artist and this is one of her first three releases in the early stages of her career. Once again the close-ups and mid-shots support Rita's target audience in being able to familiarize themselves with her since she won't be a recognizable face and if this video had little presentation of the artist then it'd disable the audience from establishing that first initial connection with Rita which is vital to stars and getting their audiences to buy into their image. A lot of Pop artists established or not use close-ups and other frames of themselves as there's a demand from their audience and the industry to see their presence in their videos and other materials (i.e. their digipaks) which conforms back to the idea of Richard Dyers paradox about stars being "present and absent simultaneously". 

"How We Do" also closely follows Goodwins' Theory of the lyrics and visuals having a relationship and amplifying one another. The obvious correlation is the lyrics in the chorus that sing "I wanna party and b*llshit & party bull, cos when the sun sets baby on the avenue" meanwhile the music video visuals continue to show Rita Ora at different locations in the party scene and in one of the jump cuts, Rita's sitting outside and it's clearly night-time. Pop lyrics are conventionally light hearted and feel good - this song and music video of Rita Ora is following this convention once again making "How We Do" more of her more Pop genre songs rather than R&B which is expected as she's technically considered a cross-over artist. 
This ensures that the target audience is seeing both sides of Rita's music as her previous releases "Hot Right Now" and "R.I.P" are more on the mainstream R&B/Dance genre of her album. "How We Do" allows her to broaden her target audience into Pop fans who may not have heard or took notice of her earlier releases. The frames allow her audience to become familiar with her image as well as form to the typical conventions of 'Pop' with jump cuts allowing her to show different parts of her image throughout one single video which is good as the more she exposes, the more her target audience will understand and be persuaded into buying into the versatility which is vital for a cross-over artist like Rita Ora.

Another shot that’s used quite often in ‘How We Do’ is the low-angled long shot. An example of when this is used is when Rita’s surrounded by actors at the party and she’s dancing with them while singing to the camera which is a form of voyeurism as she's making direct eye contact with the camera imitating eye-contact with her viewers, once again this helps to make her emotions and expressions more apparent to the audience again which is vital in the genre of Pop especially as the audience expects to have familiarity with the artist. 
The low angles place the audience below Rita and are looking up to her which could emphasise the mood of the song which is about having a good time or ‘being on a high’ and it could also place Rita in a place of authority making a metaphor of her 'rising star' status. 

Various angles are usually shown in Pop videos whilst featuring the artist as it matches the lively beats of usual Pop songs and gives multiple perspectives of the star. 
 The low angle shot also relates to the target audience of young adults around the age of 16-19 as it’s almost inviting the audience to join the party and get a feel for the mood of the song. It's important for the micro-elements of Pop to translate its 'feel good' sounds to the audience as it is very conventional and is what most of its fans look for when they buy into the Pop genre.

Towards the end of the video there are a series of shots that have been filmed in a neon, UV paint effect. They show the party at it’s liveliest with people dancing and continuing to crowd Rita Ora or make sure that she remains in the center of the majority of the frames. This way the audience can still identify which figure is Rita and continue to familiarize and observe her image and USP which in this particular music video is her unique fashion sense and trademark blonde hair and red lipstick, still noticeable in UV mode.
The colours used in the neon edited shots consist of pinks, greens, blues and oranges with a contrasting base colour of black. These are typical colours of neon, which is frequently associated with raves and parties keeping in theme with the song and the feel good atmosphere of pop music. Connotations of the selected colours could be as followed: 

• Pink - Girly and feminine, this could represent Rita Ora being an independent female artist in the music industry and being proud of her achievements as a cross-over artist, especially being partially of the R&B genre which stereo-typically is dominated by men. Also, the girly and feminine themes are typical of the 'Pop' genre as the majority of the stereo-typical artists (i.e. Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry) give off some sort of girly persona. Therefore, Pink is conventional to the pop genre.
• Green - Green has connotations of freshness and growth which represents Rita Ora being fresh on the music scene as a new artist hoping to becoming established as quick as she can and earn the loyalty of fans who'll happily buy into her. Green also supports the energy behind the track of "How We Do" and the Pop genre in general. 
• Blue - Blue has associations with freedom and strength which again reinforces the connotations of "pink" but could also highlight how as a crossover artist Rita's happy with the freedom she has to create her own style of music for her audience to indulge in. Also, it highlights the usual Pop convention of how women in Pop are usually shown as strong and dominant - especially in their own videos. This is how Rita is shown in "How We Do". 
• Orange - Orange has the connotations of fire and flare, which once again like the other three colours connote the power and independence behind Rita Ora's star persona which her audience and gradually becoming familiarized with as the video progresses. 

At times the camera pans onto other party-goers in the music video which imitates the level of activeness in the music as well as the first-hand action within each frame - once again going back to Goodwin's Theory of visuals amplifying the artists music, in this case both are upbeat and energetic.
‘How We Do’ is clearly a song that suits the partying and celebratory atmosphere as it's catchy lyrics and rhythm can be quickly translated onto it's viewer and audience. Therefore, having such memorable but at the same time conventional visuals to run alongside this work well as the audience may feel comfortable with the relation the video has to the actual track as oppose to "How We Do" possibly being a deep conceptual video which could possibly take away from the free-spirited atmosphere we traditionally love about Pop music in general. 

A second editing technique used in the video are consistent jump cuts which lead the audience from one scene of the party to the next whilst all still centering Rita as the main attraction for each location. For example one is in a room where the rest of the dancers are - this room could be considered the "climax" of the party where most of the energy and movement is, as well as styles from various extras. This could probably be a good explanation as to why jump cuts are used to refer back to this scene frequently at the choruses of "How We Do", along with the other parts of the track that're high climax with possibly a faster tempo and quicker hook. 
The second scene is out in the garden in a bed of flowers and another is in a bedroom (both relaxed settings which is convention of the genre R&B - one of Rita's main crossover genres). Showing different scenes of the party brings more variety to the video and shows Rita Ora modeling different fashions and looks which indicates to her fans that she's versatile and connects to many different audiences that're broadly into mainstream, commercial music as well as the fact that being fashion conscious is usually considered "girly" which is one of the big themes in the conventions of Pop.
This is relevant to the audience and fans of the song "How We Do" because it brings more diversity and fun to the video, changing her image up and showing different sides to her - all in which the viewer wants to buy into and learn about as they're introduced, helping establish Rita's overall star image while she's rising to fame and becoming an established artist. 

Throughout the music video a variety of iconography is used by Rita herself as well as the extras in the video which all link to the overall feel-good theme of the song and video which is created when they're put together as one piece of material.

One of the main features that stood out were the varieties of costume worn by her extras which creates the feeling of diversity as well as unity. I think the purpose of dressing everybody in this video so different but statemental represents how Rita wants a lot of people to be able to relate to the video by feeling like they can connect with any individual used in the video. For instance, just from the screenshot above we can see Rita in herself fashioning an outfit which could be considered "hispter" or "street", while there's a flamingo to her left and a guy dressed in a typical "R&B", "Urban" style to her right. Since "How We Do" is generic of Pops enthusiastic and happy vibes and the visuals of the extra's and the star herself mimicking this vibe, it shows the ideology of Rita as a star in being that anybody of any gender, race and age can enjoy her music and material in hope that it may encourage them to unite as one fan-base for her hoped future success.

This relates to the target audience because as young adults a lot of people want to feel as though they can be different and develop their own style but still fit in and have a good time with people, which is the message that Rita is pushing and encouraging her fans to fulfill in their own morals and day-to-day life. 

RAP - DRAKE (OVER)

The first camera shot we get of Drake in his music video 'Over' is a low angled, long shot of him sitting on a bed in a room lit with low key lighting. The fact that a low angled shot with Drake in the center places the audience in a position where they are looking up at him, this could stand for a visual metaphor of how his fans look up to him as an established star. However, it could also play emphasis on the fact that Drake is alone in the room as this is an establishing shot which could metaphorically show how Drake is alone and reflecting on his thoughts which is conventional of Rap as it's traditionally a genre about expression and personal experiences of the artist producing and performing it.
Also the fact that the camera shot is a long shot is fitting for the first frame since it helps the audience get an overall feel for Drake and his image as a star. This relates to his target audience of young adult rap fans around 18+  as they can get to know who Drake is as an artist which is vital if his music is going to give him such an insight into his personal opinions, thoughts and experiences as the first establishing shot suggests. In addition to this, as the mainstream rap market is a very busy one with many similar artists to Drake such as Lil Wayne, Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Big Sean and Wiz Khalifia all producing music and playing an active part in the commercial part of the rap genre, it's important for fans of Drake to be able to differentiate him from other rap artists out there.

Another camera shot of Drake is a close-up of him near the beginning of the video whilst his sitting on the bed that the audience were originally introduced to him on when the music video first started, however this is just one example of where a close-up is used, frequent use of this shot appears all the way through the "Over" music video. A good reason for using close-ups is so that viewers and audience can experience a more intimate way of processing the music while watching the music video which places emphasis on the lyrics of the actual song. Seeing Drake's close-ups frequently constantly give the viewer an update on how Drake's state is while his rapping and whether his perspective has changed throughout his lyrical journey. (E.G. If he were to start the video content and ending it angry)

The only times we really see Drake before his first close up is in a low-key lighting with long shot frames which only gives us the basic outline of what his wearing, his expressions, overall image and everything else which audiences rely on to be able to relate to an artist. However, while this could be expressed as a bad thing the genre of rap is usually quite dark and cynical in the way it presents the journeys in its music hence the long shot representing Drakes isolation from other people and maybe even society as he clearly raps about issues with sentimental value to him. Having this deliberate isolation shown metaphorically through his music video could encourage his audience to anticipate his appearance and connection even further, wanting to uncover more about the "real" image of Drake. 

An interesting editing technique in 'Over' is the cutting out of his body's silhouette and overlaying it with a fire like visual. This editing technique could be a way of demonstrating Drake's inner emotions while presenting his music to his audience, slowly and gradually fulfilling their need to know more about his image and story as a star - something that's almost expected in the genre of rap.

In this case I think the fire inside of Drake is a way of showing the audience his emotions clearly and possibly amplifying underlying meanings, stories and perspectives in the lyrics that his rapping. Fire has connotations of both passion and anger which could both be related to Drake (Passion = The way he loves to express himself and give it everything his got while Anger = The more personal side of Drake which he perhaps hasn't completely surfaced in his music at this point in his career).
Again, this is relevant to his target audience because it gives a further insight to how he's actually feeling and displaying raw emotion which is what rap fans demand in order to feel a connection to the artists music and begin to be satisfied enough to buy into his image and material more and more in order to feel as though they've discovered other sides to the artist himself.

The second music video 'Over' has text overlaying the actual frames for the lines of the song:
 "One thing 'bout music when it hits you feel no pain"

I think this is done in the editing because on a contextual level it's actually quoted for Bob Marley, a Reggae/Rap music star. In emphasizing these lyrics it shows that Drake hasn't actually wrote these lyrics himself and has in fact quoted them from a star who completely changed the ideology of the music world when it came to presenting black music artists into commercial and mass audience mediums. This is convention of "Rap" as the genre is all about inspiration and staying true to thinks that have influenced the song-writer/artist - in this case for Drake it was Bob Marley and the presence of these words in his music video could suggest that the quote even sticks with him today in helping develop his own culture and ideology as a star.

Even if this lines doesn't have any sentimental or higher importance, it naturally draws attention to them as they flash up on screen at such speed regaining the viewers attention to the forefront of the frame where Drake can be seen in the distance once again helping them engage in his emotions during this part of the song. This is relevant to Drakes target audience because it'll place more emphasis and importance on the lyrics which rap fans like as it brings back that emotional impact yet again which arguably is what the genre's all about.

Although there's not a lot of mise-en-scene and iconography involved with Drakes video 'Over', it does feature other actors and more stereo-typical females standing in as the 'sex symbol' or provocative figure that almost always appears in R&B videos and commonly appears within the Rap genre which can be known as a practice of voyeurism.
This video of Drake doesn't really exploit the females in an obvious or sexual way but the second women (in the bottom image) is provocatively dressed whilst the first women (in the top image) gets a lot more of the close-up shots and at one point even shares a frame with Drake, bringing the intimacy to the video and balances the dominance of each gender for that section of the video - once again giving an inside view to Drake's views and morals in a way opposed to his lyrics which again stays true and conventional to the rap genre.
 The women could be typical features put into Drake's video by a director or someone in charge of casting to meet the expectations of a video that's of the Rap genre or the women could be metaphorical for Drakes ideology of rap; close to home and personal as well as baring all and letting down their barriers. This engages the target audience because it's almost typical and generic for females to be found in the video of rap male artists these days and it seems to be a present feature that actually works and has attracted attention from the various audiences of the stars in the same genre.

One item that is a constant piece of iconography in Drakes music video is the bed. It appears at the beginning of the video when the audience are first introduced to Drake in the bedroom setting. The idea of him sitting down on a bed and rapping to his audience within the music video gives the idea that the star feels he doesn't need any expensive cars or luxury lifestyles to get the message in his lyrics across.
 Also this could show how he doesn't want to distract the audience watching his video away from the narrative of the song with any detailed  story lines or sets. It could also be a metaphor for how Drake feels comfortable in expressing himself to his audience through his lyrics and feeling protected by the genre of rap music as it's one of the mediums that helps him express himself.
This relates but isn't limited to the target audience of dedicated rap fans because they're music fans who still want to appreciate the meaning and motives behind writing the song even though they have visual entertainment also to amplify and illustrate the lyrics that they are appreciating. 

DANCE - FLO-RIDA (CLUB CAN'T HANDLE ME)

One of the first camera shots we see from 'Club Can't Handle Me' (Flo Ridas' music video) is a long shot establishing the setting of a nightclub with a line of people queuing to get inside. Two luxury cars take the forefront of the frame along with lights giving the scene high-key lighting. A nightclub and expensive lifestyle is generic of the Dance genre as most Dance music is played in clubs and therefore keeps in with the atmosphere that this song is setting, fans of the genre appreciate this as the catchy beats and hooks (much like Pop) are translated to them and give them the rush and put them in the mood for partying which maintains the genres main purpose in some senses.

Also it highlights some of the generic themes within dance videos that are usually glamorized and expected to be seen by the Dance artists fans (i.e. Nightclubs, dancing, alcohol) - it's also relevant as these are the usual main factors that realistically make up the night for an average clubber. It's very rare a someone who is used to the clubbing scene would go to a nightclub and not see dance and alcohol, therefore I think making the music video as real for the audience as possible helps them relate more to Flo-Ridas performance in the video.
Plus, before we even hear the lyrics of the song we can already establish the type of atmosphere that we'll be seeing the star of the video in due to visuals and the opening instrumental which has the usual up tempo and catchy beat of a Dance song. This is relevant to the target audience of a younger audience once again around the age of 18+ (since this is the age people begin to go to clubs and proper parties) because it shows a place that most young adults that listen to Flo Rida and other Dance artists are probably quite familiar with which makes them feel as though they'll be able to enjoy the song as well as relate and appreciate the visuals that run long with it.

Another camera shot used in 'Club Can't Handle Me' is a long shot with Flo Rida, the star placed in the centre of a crowd of clubbers who all seem to be enjoying themselves and dancing throughout the course of the music videos in various shots sequenced together to create a more lively and intense atmosphere.

Since the audience can see Flo Rida himself standing in the club, it helps them feel as though they identify him as the "star" and admire the way he's the more dominant and flash (due to iconography) over the other clubbers which could make some viewers feel more intrigued by him as some clubbers find perks in showing off and standing out from the crowd with all eyes on them - especially those that take on the culture of music videos such as "Club Can't Handle Me" and strive to live the luxury clubbing lifestyle as oppose to the average one which is on offer to the majority of people wanting a night out.
Also, the fact that Flo-Rida is literally in the club himself and interacting directly with the camera through a variety of shots helps his audience to believe that they can relate to the situation in his music video as people who love the night-life and dance themselves, making Flo-Rida's star image more appealing for their own selves.This stimulates the target audience because a generic aim of  Dance is for its audience to be able to relate the music and sometimes its visuals to have a good and similar experience they've had themselves at a club or party. In addition, this genre usually involve much emotional meaning therefore the target audience don't ave to emphasize with the actual lyrics as such and can find entertainment into the relatable visuals as well as enjoying the beat - the fact that "The Club Can't Handle Me" is the majority performance based also helps this.

Throughout the music video a series of jump cuts are used to take the viewer from one part of the club where Flo Rida is to a different part where there are other various, anonymous clubbers - at times also accomplished by a pan.

These jump cuts and pans enable the cutting pace to be quick and on time with the quick, significant and reoccurring beats in the music which makes the video relevant to Goodwins' Theory, but also it helps the video capture the atmosphere of a real club better as the moves and actions of real club-goers usually mimic that of the music, especially when they're dancing.
For instance, if throughout the whole thing Flo Rida performed from one angle to the camera in one location, it'd make the whole video a bit tedious and not really capture the attention of the target audience since it'd be lacking the relevant and conventional liveliness and recreated atmosphere to do so. The audience which are people who want to get club vibes from music videos as they are regular club-goers enjoy the buzz and recreation of nightlife because it helps stimulate good memories from their own personal experiences in clubs which allows them to apply good feelings to the song and music video in general, making it more likely for them to want to listen to it. Also, catchy hook-lines and beats make Dance music accessible to DJ's to play in clubs where they're appearing which is a good way of promoting an artists music and vital in expanding their fan-bases.

The image to the left  is an example of a split screen, this point in the music video show two scenes in the same frame. In this case, they're showing the inside of the club where people are dancing as well as the street assumable outside the venue.
The club looks crammed and there are a lot of people in the frame all dancing, however none of them are the actual star which allows the audience to not get to hung up on watching Flo Rida which may divert them from getting the impact from the use of a split screen by the editor of the video. On the right hand side is what appears to be outside of the club which looks like the centre of a busy city, shown by the blur in neon blue and orange lights.
The fact that there are more lights in the clip of the city could metaphorically show how the party's atmosphere that's being generated from where Flo Rida is, is being spread everywhere and isn't just limited to that club. We can see this from the numerous lights coming from the street in general, buildings and reflections on the road. This is relative to the target audience because it helps them get in the mood for dancing and a feel from the genre even though it's unlikely that they're watching it from a club first hand. It helps them to get the kick from the music that they crave without actually being in the scene of a club by seeing the metaphor for the club "vibe" spreading across vast cities, making them feel a part of the effect.

Throughout the 'Club Can't Handle Me' video, Flo Rida fashions a gold chain along with other gold jewelry that's constantly in view of the audience throughout the video. The point of this iconography is to show the lifestyle of a star and glamorizes the idea of clubbing and partying. This is conventional of Dance as the genre is closely related to parties and the target audience are of course people who're more into dance music - which is usually a younger audience. It relates to the target audience as it makes the clubbing lifestyle more desired and more people want to experience it the way it's shown through Flo Rida's video, despite how realistic or unrealistic that may be. 

From this activity, I've noticed how different micro-elements vary depending on genre which is probably because like the target audience, factors change to suit certain stars. For instance, when looking at Rita Ora and her Pop video, I noticed a lot of "feel good" elements along with frames of the star herself - this tells us that conventionally, fans of Pop are used to up-beat music with catchy beats and light-hearted lyrics contrasting with the lyrics you'd find in Soul or Blues.
Following this, with the Drake video, I found a lot of close-ups of Drake which displayed how to compliment the meaningful and emotional lyrics that rap posses, its listeners like to be able to connect and visually see how the artist feels, building up a closer relationship with them.
In contrast Dance has an extreme feel good factor, more so than Pop. Of course for obvious reasons Dance relies on its catchy and memorable beats which stick within peoples heads but the music videos also consist of a lot of iconography such as fancy cars, jewelry and designer clothes, promoting the luxury and high speed lifestyle that appeals to Dance fans.
Overall this has shown me that micro-elements vary as to what is seen as "conventional" to the genres target audience in order to fulfill their needs and wants which encourages them to remain a fan of whatever artist from whatever genre and invest more into taking the time out to watch music videos as they continue to live up to their purpose of entertainment as well as literal and metaphorical visual aid.