Research blog: Music Video Conventions

The genre of the song I choose is called Alternative Pop. It opposes what mainstream pop sounds like but uses the elements of a pop song like singing instead of rapping. However, it's not conventional and it doesn't adhere to any audience like a regular pop song would. Melanie Martinez's music is very experimental, she uses hip-hop trap beats, electric guitar riffs, and upbeat sound effects in her songs.     Although Melanie uses these elements that are derived from different music genres, the music overlayed with her knockout voice guides more to the pop genre. The music is considered "alternative" because it's distinctive. In general alternative pop music videos are usually really creative and don't follow a certain protocol. Every individual artist that sticks to this genre has their own personal theme. So with that, her music videos are subjective. She and a couple more alternative pop artists like to use a persona in their music videos. This featured persona creates that sense of engagement with the audience. Having someone new introduced can be entertaining and exciting. The audience will be intrigued with not only the song but the development of the music video's plot, as well.`

 The point of Melanie Martinez's childish like themes adheres to her concepts because most of her songs discuss serious adult topics. These topics are, for example, depression and family issues. And keep in mind that most issues like this start during our childhood. Her pastel aesthetic can blind her audience into thinking the video is cute and fun with the magical powers the characters of the music video has or the fictional wonderland setting the music video takes place in but the underlying theme is serious and dark. Just like a naive ignorant child, the audience won't suspect a thing, that's why the aesthetic is childlike.

This article has examples of conventions used in Melanie Martinez's music videos. I used this site as a resource for some of my points in this blog and the rest is what I gathered up from watching her music videos.  http://windsorgirls.weebly.com/group-four/codes-and-conventions-of-alternative-pop-styled-music-videos

Take note of the pastel colors in the music video.