1980's POP Presentation

8/11/2019 1980's POP Presentation

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/1980s-pop-presentation 1/16

1980’s POP

Elan Crocker



Defining POP – The Musical Genre

• The emergence of MTV helped make people suchas Michael Jackson and Madonna more popularand vice-versa. They were the main icons that

heavily influenced the 1980’s pop culture.Derived from rock’n’roll

• Noun 1. pop music - music of general appeal to

teenagers; a bland watered-down version ofrock’n’roll with more rhythm and harmony andan emphasis on romantic love



• Musicologists often identify the followingcharacteristics as typical of the pop music genre: – An aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than

to a particular sub-culture or ideology

– An emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal"artistic" qualities

– An emphasis on recording, production, andtechnology, over live performance

–A tendency to reflect existing trends rather thanprogressive developments

– Much pop music is intended to encourage dancing, orit uses dance-oriented beats or rhythms



MTV

• Music Television (MTV) was launched in 1981

• Aimed towards younger adults during launch, howevernot it targets teenagers

• Purpose was to play music videos 24 hours a day, 7

days a week• It was one of the first main television channels to break

the ‘colour barrier’ by airing African American artists

• It started the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) due to

its unrivaled success• As of 2013, MTV is being received in around

98,000,000 American households



Music Videos

• 1) Michael Jackson – Beat Ithttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0

• GOOD

• 2) Madonna – Like A Prayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ • OKAY

• 3) Hall & Oates – You Make My Dreams Come Truehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz2W3QfXnHc

• BAD

• 4) Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Funhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

• GOOD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz2W3QfXnHc




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A

















Michael Jackson – Beat It (1982)

• Camera Angles: eye-level, hand-help shot at the beginning before music starts. Panning camerazooming in and out of cut shots. Zoom in on one scene (CUT) then zoom out of other. Eye levelshots with gang members to distinguish different characters/rivals. High angle on Michael Jacksonlying down to show weakness. Eyeline when he stands up. Long shot, quick pan to show two rivalgroups in numbers and emerging. Swipe out right (CUT) swipe in left. Close up equals blurriness.Low angles on gangs to increase height and anxiousness. High angle to show the dancechoreography. Zoom out to show dancing.

• Editing: fast editing with no lags or transitions, fad ins or fad outs. Camera does opposite on wither

side of cuts.• Representation: Like story… in beginning Michael Jackson shown as small and cowardly, then when

he stands up camera become eye level. When he enters the fight, camera at a low angle to show hisimproved status, ends up uniting everyone in dance.

• Mise en Scene: Gangs in bars, dark alleyways and generally populated place, one bright and emptywhile the other one dark and populated. Jackson in a dimly lit room representing both bright anddarkness. Group one wearing open jackets with bandanas and hats, group 2 wearing open jacketsand no hats. Jackson wearing pyjamas in bed. Later alone and dancing in recently abandoned pubs.

Leaders wearing opposite clothing (either bright and with glasses or stripped shirt and no hat),Jackson wearing bright orange jacket. Dancing takes place in dimly lit alleyways, open space, lots ofdifferent lights around (yellow, blue) with a mist.

• Audience: Teenagers, MTV premiered the video which established Jackson as a pop icon andbecame popular with kids as well as gangs and street performers and most notably African-Americans.





Madonna – Like A Prayer (1989)

• Camera Angles: High to eyeline angle at beginning to show her fall. Handheld camera as she iswalking in church to possibly represent another person (a spirit). Birds eye view as she drifts into adream – fading transition to dream. Quick zoom ins and outs during fight scene. High angle to showdance. Point of view shot during fight/flashback scene, also referred to as eye-line match.

• Editing: Quick transitions with following scenes have an added filter and slow motion. Fadingtransition into different cuts when music slow, sharp and quick when music has a beat. Animation.

• Representation: Madonna wears black clothing, man and chorus in Church wear red and whiteclothes, other thugs wearing stereotypical dark jeans with black jacket and white shirt.

• Mise en Scene: Outside is bleak, dark and barren with nothing noticeable around. In ChurchMadonna is glowing and has many bright objects around her. Dark outside however sunlight shinesthrough one of the windows. There is an obvious animation scene where she is flying. Dark,moonlit alleyway where a murder takes place. ‘Stunning imagery’ when Madonna starts dancing inempty pit of crosses. Bright jail to represent a dream-like scenario to replicate that of the Church.

• Audience: Madonna has directed this towards (most probably) Christians due to the constant use ofcross symbol, she wears it on her neck, displays it in the church and also shows it being burnt in afield. Also symbolic towards racism and especially mixed relationships. MTV also premiered this

video, which was part of raising its profile and the global reach of this video.





Hall & Oates – You Make My Dreams

Come True (1981)• Camera Angles: Angled camera zoomed in of peoples limbs playing

instruments. Eye-line shot, then same shot but cut to be zoomed out.Birds eye view of piano. Constant filming with same depth of field – nozooms in or out, only cuts to different camera positions. 9 differentpositions used. Slight tilt in the middle of the video.

• Editing: Quick cuts to different shots. 3 shots collaborated to merge on top

of each other. You can see strong lighting on back/side of band memberwhen they come forward and turn. Title comes in on the bottom left atthe beginning and end of the clips.

• Representation: Dressed as they are on the album cover to signifyconsistency.

• Mise en Scene: Completely black background with strong lighting on band

and instruments• Audience: Not meant to be made as a music video but rather a great song

that has been used for many events and occasions such as in films,industry commercials and in the 2010 Winter Olympics.





Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have

Fun (1983)• Camera Angles: Medium shot at intro (before music comes in). Zooming in establishing shot which

is handheld after the establishing shot. Zooms in, close up, then close up. Pan across in betweencuts with other shots. Handheld camera in front of girls marching through streets, leading them,also camera goes down the line of people. Long shot of family back in kitchen. Long shot in smallroom to show all the people, then goes back to handheld through crowd. Point of view/eye-linematch through keyhole (also shaped like a keyhole)

• Editing: Animation to represent piano keys when music first comes on. Quick cuts. Animation ofsame oval picture in 9 separate shots/cuts. More confusing and complex editing and animation with

colourful and abstract shot. Animation with swirling shot. Includes black and white film clip fromwhat looks like a long time ago.

• Representation: Cydni Lauper wears bright red dress (to match her hair) and makes her adistinguishable figure. Red is also a passionate colour that represents the lyrics to the song well.Most girls are wearing dresses and glasses to stand out.

• Mise en Scene: Bright kitchen which is almost yellow contrasts dull, grey and wet outside. Shot inLower East side, Manhattan. Girls together in secluded room. Marching through streets surroundedby men on either side, also marching outside a collesuem looking building (most likely a library or

something of high power and respect). Finally, in large and pink room to show feminism.• Audience: Once again aired on MTV and received ‘MTV video music award to best female video’.

Gained recognition as a feminist anthem





Conventions of Music Videos

• Story before music starts

• Story continued after

• Dance/Flashmob

•Party/celebrations

• Quick cuts

• Zooming in and out

• Animation, both simple and chaotic, but not

common• Music video made with meaning and with a

message





Documents

1980's POP Presentation