Researching Genre

My chosen genre is ‘Pop-Punk’

Definition Of Genre

Genre is the style of a Art, Music or any other form of art or entertainment. Genres are formed by convention. These can be changed over time as new Genres are created and the use of old ones are stopped.

Definition Of Chosen GenrePop punk is a fusion music genre that combines

elements of punk rock with pop music to a varying degree. The music typically combines fast punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars with pop influenced melodies and lyrical themes. Some examples of Pop punk bands are- Paramore, Panic At The Disco and Fall Out Boy.

Stock CharactersThe artists within the pop punk genre usually dress differently to what some people might view as ‘cool’ or ‘normal’. For example Hayley Williams of ‘Paramore’ recently got criticized in a magazine about the clothes she was wearing saying that they didn’t look good. This also makes them different from other artists like boy bands because artists like ‘one direction’ make sure that their appearance is always at its best when in public and don’t wear scruffy clothes where as pop punk artists often do. Their music is also very different to other genres of music. Although it is called ‘pop punk’ it is very different to pop music as it isn’t usually as catchy and the style of it is much more grown up. The messages/words that are used in pop punk music are often much more meaningful and convey a better message. For example in ‘Ain’t It Fun’ by Paramore some of the lyrics are ‘Don’t go crying to your mama cause you’re on your own in the real world.’

Stock locations and backdropsLocations that pop punk artists use in photoshoot’s that they do for things like magazines are usually very different to locations that an artist like a boy band would use. If it was an indoors location it would usually be a dark maybe black room with little lighting. This presents them differently to how they would be presented if they used light locations because it suggests that they are darker and maybe that their music is also much darker then other genres. However if it was an outside location it wood often be somewhere that mainstream artists wouldn’t use like the forest. The clothes that pop punk bands would wear in a photoshoot are also usually very different to what some people might think are normal and stereotypically think should be worn. The themes that are used during photoshoot’s are also usually quite different, for example You Me At Six used pictures that looked like they were being arrested to promote their album ‘Sinners Never Sleep’

Music and sounds‘Pop punk’ music can be very different to other genres of music. However it can also be quite similar to them as well. For example Panic At The Disco’s song ‘This Is Gospel’ is very different to music you would find in the charts however Paramore’s son ‘Still Into You’ isn’t and actually went into the charts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE381tbQa8 (This Is Gospel)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblL026SvD4 (Still Into You)

This shows how much music genre is changing because a few years ago ‘pop punk’ music sounded nothing like ‘pop’ music. This can be proven by listening to older albums/songs from artists and seeing how different they are to the albums that are being released by the same artists nowadays. For example ‘Let The Flames Begin’ which is from Paramore’s second album Riot sounds very different from ‘(One Of Those) Crazy Girls’ which is from their fourth and most recent album. Although they do have some similarities (Big guitar solos and powerful vocals) they are very different.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AP11h6c-A4 - Let The Flames Begin- 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZbKPERsjQs - (One Of Those) Crazy Girls- 2013

Stereotypically pop punk music is usually seen as being quite heavy, rough and loud which can be why some people don’t like it. However a lot of their music isn’t people just assume that it is. Pop punk music does usually however feature a lot of guitars and drums and the artists are usually bands and not very often solo singers.

Generic conventions The generic conventions of a pop punk music magazine are music artists that aren’t normally in the charts or have their songs played on radio stations like ‘Capital’. The clothes/hair that the people who feature in/on the magazines usually have aren’t the kind of clothes that would be considered ‘cool’ or ‘trendy’ by some people. The colors are usually red or black and the fonts are clear and bold.

What my work will includeBy doing this genre research I have learnt that my magazine must include a colour scheme that is no more then 3 colours. The colours that I will use are Red, Black and Yellow. This will make the magazine fit into the genre because they are the colours that are used most on ‘pop punk’ magazines. I will be using no more then 5 models for my magazine as most artists that feature in ‘pop punk’ magazines don’t have more then 5 members in their group. The models I use will be dressed in clothes that fit into the pop punk genre. They will be dark clothes and the lead singer in the group will be wearing something that makes her stand out e.g. A colourful t-shirt or bright trousers. I will use several different locations for my photo shoot. These will be a photography studio for the pictures that will feature on the front cover and the contents page. For the photos on the double page spread I will use some woods and a dark backdrop so that the pictures used are taken in different environments. I have chosen these locations because they are different to what other genres would use. They also fit into the ‘pop punk’ genre because they are the kind of locations that artists featuring in a ‘pop punk’ magazine would use.