a2 media evaluation

A2 Media EvaluationJack Humpherson

Question OneIn what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?

I believe that the use of conventions and forms is important since it creates a sense of familiarity with audiences. This helps build a better bond between the individual and the

product and so will make the audience more likely to engage in with the product and seek out similar products.

Following the idea of the importance of conventions and forms, I intend on following many conventions during the

development of my own music video, this will not only create the important sense of familiarity in audiences but also to

make my media products seem more appealing and a majority of the more popular media products rarely develop

or subvert from convention.


One common music video convention I have noticed during my research is the convention of having the singers sing directly into camera. This became prevalent during the analysis of the three music videos using screenshots.

As these three images show, singing toward the audience is a common convention this is because the use of direct address toward s the audience give the audience a higher sense of involvement toward the piece of media, often resulting in them finding it more appealing. This use of this convention was partially high In the Marylyn Manson cover of sweet dreams as almost every shot was of direct address however, ironically this was the only music video which often did not use a close up shot during use of direct address whereas the other two did.

I may develop this convention by covering the face of the singer despite them looking at the camera, this will not be subverting from the convention though would be challenging it as it would remove the eye contact which some may argue is an important aspect of direct address.

The Music video for sweet dreams can be found here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUvVdTlA23w


During the analysis of the three examples I found that a common convention of digipaks is the inclusion of an insert. During my research I found that this could either be a single piece of paper such as promotional offer or a small booklet often containing lyrics or information and images of the band.

I assume that digipak designers will often include pieces of promotional material, merchandise of booklets with the digipaks so that there is an incentive to purchase the digipak for a reason other than just to own the album. Though from my questionnaire analysis told me that some of the reasons that why they would like to see an insert in their digipaks includes ‘I like free things’ or ‘I like the song lyrics’ from these answers I have been able to get ideas of how I can develop this convention. My voxpop analysis also showed people enjoyed inserts inside of digipaks

Since a common answer from the audience questionnaire was ‘I like free things’, I believe that a piece of merchandise or and offer relating to merchandise would anchorage people to purchase the digipak. For example a prize to a competition could be a band T-shirt. A for the ‘I like the song lyrics’ answer I could simply include a lyric book as an insert. Since my chosen song is Halloween themed I could make the promotional material or merchandise Halloween themed or a limited time offer for the season of Halloween.


During the research for my digipak advertisement where I analysed I noticed a convention only used on one of the advertisements which was to include reviews and praise which the album has received. This was featured on the Metallica album which was one of the advertisements in my analysis.

When an advertisement has reviews and praise shown, it is usually to get the audiences attention as it means the audience is being encouraged to purchase the album in order to discover what is worthy of the praise and positive reviews. I will use this convention on my own piece of advertisement since I believe that it is an effective way to boost interest in the album since the Metallica advertisement consists of little else, yet Metallica has proven to be successful band.

In addition, I will develop this own convention in my own advertisement by mixing both review and other conventions such as images of the band in order to maximise the effect of the advertisement. I will also develop this convention by having feedback and reviews given from social media sites since music albums are discussed more on social media sites than in forms of journalism.


Although I have been conforming with a majority of conventions which I have been researching, there is once convention which I have noticed when analysing examples of both advertisements and digipaks. The convention is that the fonts used on the band’s names and the names of the album are often smooth and regular.

This is often used because it makes the text easier to read meaning there is no difficulty in remembering what is written, particularly the band’s and album's name. The use of a standard font also means that during the creating of the digipaks and advertisement, they can by easily typed so that it can be made quickly.

However, in my own advertisement and digipak, I would like to use a more jagged and handwritten-esque styled font. As I believe that a more scratchy style of writing would be better suited to the codes associated with the metal genre (and possibly the Halloween theme if I choose to use it). I also believe that subverting from the standard fonts would make my own advertisement and digipaks stand out giving them a unique style and developing an identity.


Another contention which I would like to subvert from is the conventional use of colours in pieces of media of the metal genre since while analysing music videos, digipaks and advertisements, I can see that colours such as black and grey are a common code of the metal genre.

The main reason I want to subvert from the usual code of colours used in pieces of metal is because of the results of my questionnaire. When analysing the results from my questionnaire I found that black was the colour that people most accosted with the metal genre which was no surprise however, I also found that the colours red and grey were also quite high as well as equal which suggests that I should include these colours in my development in order for fans of the metal genre to find my work appealing.

I will develop this convention by including the colours black, grey and red into my house style for my music video, advertisement and digipak. I will need to keep the house style for all the media I develop so that the house style is consistent as a consistent house style is more appealing for audiences.

Black

Grey

Red

Green

Yellow

Blue

Other

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

What colour do you most associate with the metal genre?

Tally


There are also conventions that I wish to subvert from in my music video is the convention of the music video often showing the musician’s face. I often noticed this when analysing the screenshots of the three music videos.

I believe that music videos, specifically performance music videos, will often show the musician’s face often emphasising it using close up shots. This builds connections to the audience through direct address as well as creating an identity which people will remember for future album releases. I plan to subvert and challenge this convention by often having the performer’s face obscured. If I use scary items to obscure the performer’s faces then it will give the music video the nihilist style I want in my music video.

I will develop this convention by obscuring the performer’s face with items of clothing and props such as gas masks. However, the use of props to hide the performer’s face may hinder the performers from forming an identity. On the other hand, I am aware of metal bands such as Slipknot which in a way have made an identity of the masks themselves, keeping their own identity mainly hidden.