MTV Task

After watching the five nominees videos we feel as if the winner should have been Katy Perry with her song ‘firework’. This is for many reasons.

For example the genre characteristics are shown through the dance routine at the end of the video. The Mise-en-scene reflects the genre of pop due to the bright colours shown and the carefully chosen outfits. The lighting is always bright so this shows the genre because it helps to emphasise the positive connotations. Also the pace of the song highlights the pop genre as it’s quite upbeat. There are special effects within this video when the fireworks are shown. This shows the pop genre as bright colours are shown to light up the sky.

There is a strong link between the lyrics and the visuals. For example when the lyrics ‘there’s a chance for you’ are sung you see a boy suffering from cancer, so it’s as if she’s singing to him to give him self-confidence. Another strong example was when the lyrics ‘come on show ‘em what your worth’ this is when you see a boy trying to stop the violent argument between his parents so it’s as if she’s telling him to stand up for what he feels.

The music pace always matches the visuals. Within the verses the pace is much slower so it puts the point of the lyrics across which is emphasised because the chorus of the ‘fireworks’ is uplifting.

There are quite a few close ups to put across Katy Perry’s facial expression as that portrays the mood of the lyrics.

There is a vague amount of Intertextuality when the dance routine is shown at the end as it crosslink’s to the film Fame.

Overall we thought this video was the best because it had a meaning to it. Compared to the other videos, which were just natural or voyeurism to the females’ body.

By Nicola Gutteridge and

Abi Gourlay