Codes and Conventions of Pop Punk

Pop punk has two types of video:

1. Dark, emotional ballads.
2. Upbeat, fun tunes.

The type of music video differs between these two videos however there are some common features exclusive to the pop punk genre:

1. Shots of the band performing in a room alone or in front of an audience.
2. An accompanying storyline related to the theme of the song.
3. Colourful dress and punk style hair and piercings.

The Two Types of Pop Punk Video:

1. Ballads:

• Dark colours, in dark green, black, grey and the use of white to give brightness yet make the overall appearance of being colourless and bland.
  
  
  
• Dark clothing and surroundings with hazy effect creating a veil over the video.
  
  
  
• Use of effects to create unsettling images.
  
  
  
• use of strange unusual images to add to the uneasiness.
  
  
  
  
• Images of the band playing in dark coloured surroundings wear dark clothes.
  
  
  
  
• Frequent close up in strange angles of performers faces and artists playing instruments.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Skateboarding is a prominent theme for most pop punk videos.
  

2. Upbeat, fun songs.

• Bright colours, well lit surroundings.
  
• Fun, often humerous scenes and storyline.
  
  
• Close ups of band members playing instruments.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Shots of the band performing at the scene of their story.
  
  
  
  
• Creative, fun effects.
  

One important aspect of all pop punk videos is the use of young adult and teenage actors to appeal to a specific target audience.

After watching through various different pop punk music videos, codes that are used in the videos would be that the camera always uses a mid shot of the main artist, whilst performing, to show the audience who the main singer is, and who is providing the most powerful lyrics. Mostly the video is about the narrative/concept trying to be portrayed, usually this has a serious meaning, for example fall out boy’s – sugar were going down shows the hypocrisy of society by trying to show this though a light hearted way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhG-vLZrb-g

Usually if the speed of the song is sped up the editing and scenes of the video become faster to fit the pace of the video to fit in with the songs pace. Usually a punk pop video starts with a medium/slow-paced mood, with the chorus becoming faster as the lyrics talk about the main message of the song. This is seen in Sum 41's 'With Me.' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8z-qP34-1Y

General observations from all punk pop videos show that the main costume/dress worn by the bands are usually darker colours for example; black, grey, red, blue. The usual clothing types are a casual t-shirt, with jeans and trainers, which suit the genre; in this case you could say the brands vans or converse. However the main singer of the band usually wears a lighter colour, this is used to make him/her stand out to the audience, again to represent that he/she is the most powerful. The use of clothing in the music video also reflect the mood of the song, so for example, if the song was about a relationship break up, the colours would be darker to represent the melochany tone within the lyrics that is trying to be portrayed. Clothing would then be shown as for example; a hoody and darker coloured jeans, again trying to portray the depression within the song. When the band is playing their name is usually seen somewhere on the screen on that time also, usually either on the drum or behind the band, this is used to make the viewer subconsciously remember who the band is, and entice them into buying into the bands brand image. This can be seen in Fall Out Boy’s ‘thnks fr th mmrs’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onzL0EM1pKY

Lighting within the video highly depends on what the video is trying to portray, again for example a break up, then the lighting would be darker, to represent the depressing tone within the video, as the narrative develops, the lighting would change, varying on what was happening with in the frame, if the band was performing the lighting will be focused on the band, with the lead vocalist being in the spot light, with the rest of the band positioned behind the lead, also being in light, but not spot lights. The props obviously if the band is performing will be their instruments, and then also anything else, for example the background – depending on what the background and foreground is it would vary. For example an arena, the background would possibly show some wiring that connect to the lights etc, where as the foreground would just be the microphones and stands and possibly any stands they may be on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8OOWcsFj0U

For example, in Muse’s ‘undisclosed desires’ the foreground does not vary greatly, and where as the background does, this contradicts the usual codes and conventions of a music video.

From the research we have gathered from this, we will be able to use these codes and conventions to our advantage in our music video. For example, when the song speeds up we will be able to make much quicker paced edits, to relate to the ‘craziness’ of the song.

From the videos we have examined and analysed in great detail numerous aspects remained fairly common throughout, as a result these alter the perception and exceptions to which the audience approach other videos from the same genre with. These ranged from the following.

• Clothing typically dark (emphasises the dark narrative/mood present and further expresses the emotions that the band intends to convey) as evident by Greenday in the likes of American Idiot and Blink-182 in I Miss You.
• Clothing also can be vibrant (this is to create a more humorous atmosphere and similarly to the use of dark clothing can be used to express the various emotions that the song wishes to portray) as shown in Basket case and All the small things.
• Cultural interests are often expressed in great and explicit detail through lyrics and set design such as the burning flag in American Idiot.
• Eccentric or hard hitting narratives are fairly common, from toilet humour parody videos to videos about bullying, drug addiction and social problems, these wish to attract the attention of social groups who typically experience these problems.
• Strong emotions are also shown by the band members in various ways from their choice of close ups to over-exaggerated facial expressions combined typically with a close up of various band members faces.
• Both live performances in derelict environments and narrative stories are fairly common and are typically used together to further emphasise the meaning and emotive nature of the song.
• Make-up and tattoos are usually on display by the band, this is to further express the bands uniqueness in terms of aesthetic style (their look) in hopes to attract an audience or to capture ones attention.