RESEARCH INTO GENERIC

CONVENTIONS
made by Nadezda Bayduzhaya
 The genre of a song “No
Hesitation” by Marian Hill
and the album “Unusual” is
electronic and dance
 Though my group and me were not able
to find similar artists who make music
of both these genres we still managed
to find similar female artists who have
elements of either electronic or dance
genres in their music
 Similar artists: KIIARA
 American singer
 Age 23
 Star image: young, beautiful,
“sassy,” rebellious, “cool”
 Target audience: girls 11-16
As I didn’t know the following artists before making the
research my understanding of their star image and
target audience is based only on a single video from one
album, digipak and website

“Gold” (2015) is a single

from her debut extended play
“Low Kii Savage”
BILLIE EILISH
 American singer
 Age 16
 Star image: she is represented trendy, tasteful,
mysterious, unusual, advanced, having an inner
conflict
• Values of her music stardom – creativity and
originality
The fact that Billie Eilish is so good-looking
however she is shown suffering for some reason
represents the incoherence of the star image which,
according to Richard Dyer, positively influences her
music sales
 Target audience: girls 13-17

“idontwannabeyouanymore" (2018) from

the artists debut extended play ‘dont smile
at me’
INNA
 Romanian singer
 Age 31
 Star image: a beautiful mature woman (in the
video the star is represented ordinary and
extraordinary at the same time (Dyer’s
theory): she is shown having a baby and facing
typical “adult” issues such as her husband
cheating on her and at the same time she is
shown being attractive in a sexual way)
 Target audience: women 24-29

“Hot” (2009) is a song

from her debut album of
the same name
 HALSEY
 American singer
 Age 24
 Star image:
• Youthfulness is the main value
• In the video the artist is
represented open-minded
(appeals to young audience) as
she is shown kissing a girl and
having a tattoo
 Target audience: females 18-23

“Ghost” (2014) is a song from her

debut studio album “Badlands”
TECHNICAL CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
 Close-ups and extreme close-ups of the star
TECHNICAL CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
 Loose frame + composition with a star in the centre
SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
Mise-en-scene: costumes
 In Kiiara “Gold”, Billie Eylish
“idontwannabeyouanymore” and
Halsey “Ghost” the artists are wearing
quite different costumes, however the
similarity is that they represent a
typical outfit for a particular group of
teenagers, often subcultures, e.g Kiiara
is wearing a leather jacket with spikes
which is often associated with punks
and rockers and therefore this look
appeals to girls who like the
“dangerous” and “cheeky”
representation of Kiiara
SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
Mise-en-scene: costumes
In her video Billie Eylish is
represented as a stylish “tomboy” by
wearing loose and shapeless overalls
and several chains on her neck. This
is what appeals to teenage girls who
rebel against traditional
representation of a young woman as
of a one wearing a dress and heels.

In contrast to Billie Eylish Halsey is

dressed in a very “girlish” way: a
white sweater and a skirt which
appeals to the females who like this
simple and conventional
representation.
SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO

Mise-en-scene: costumes
 In 2 out of 4 music videos the
representation of the artist is
sexualised (both Halsey and Inna
target audience is females older that
the TA of Billie Eyelish and Kiiara)
 SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
 Mise-en-scene:
reflection
All the videos show the artist’s
face reflection, in 3 out of 4 its in a
mirror. The point of it is different in
each video: in Billie Eyelish and
Kiiara videos the scene with a
mirror signifies an inner conflict,
Halsey is shown missing someone
by looking through a window and
seeing herself, Inna is represented
self-confident through looking in a
mirror while putting make-up on.
SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
 Mise-en-scene: a rose
In 3 out of 4 music videos a rose appears at
one moment as it’s a clichéd symbol of love and
passion, and sometimes danger
SYMBOLIC CONVENTIONS IN A MUSIC
VIDEO
 Mise-en-scene: location
In 3 out of 4 music videos its night time. In Halsey music video the big and colourful
skyscrapers are juxtaposed with the artist feeling lonely, opposite to Inna’s and
Kiiara’s videos where there are shown to be the stars of the party.
 WEBSITE COMPARISON

 http://www.atlanticrecords.co
m/artists/kiiara Kiiara is the
only one who doesn’t have her
own website, instead she has a
page at atlantic records (her
record label) website
 http://www.billieeilish.com/
 https://innaofficial.com/
 http://www.iamhalsey.com/
WEBSITE COMPARISON
Though the styles of the websites
are quite different, there are a few
similarities:
 Plain black/white background
and big letters of opposite
colour
WEBSITE COMPARISON
The websites have a lot in common in terms
of content:
 When you visit a website the first thing
you see is the artists latest product (new
single/album/music video) and a button which
says “get it now”/”listen”/”buy”
WEBSITE COMPARISON
 Each website except Kiiara’s
has a link to the store where
its possible to buy their
music/merch
DIGIPAK COMPARISON