Q1. In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

CostumeTo some extent I have developed the traditional costume for an artist of the acoustic genre as I have chosen to dress my performer in some forms of androgynous clothing. For example my performers coat and jumper are unisex items and therefore do not hold any specifically female connotations. This is not usually the case when looking at pop culture, female artists are often overly represented as female through the focus on their bodies and small, tight items of clothing. Although this is not necessarily applicable to female artists of the acoustic genre they still somewhat define their femininity through their costume choices of feminine colours and cuts without being too revealing.

Furthermore my performer being in high street fashion allows the audience to more easily identify with her. The artists following of fashion can also make the audience look up to her a style icon. Hairstyle is also important when looking at costume in the video Billie’s hair is styled naturally which reflects the tone and setting of the music video.

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Examples of the difference between

costumes in the acoustic genre and those of

artists in the pop genre. Also

supports how natural hair

styling is used in acoustic genre video appose to

pop videos

Acoustic/singer/songwriter genre Pop genre

Beyoncé – Naughty Girl

Beyoncé – Naughty Girl

Katy Perry – California Girls

Lucy Rose – Middle of the Bed

Lucy Rose – Middle of the Bed

Gabrielle Aplin – Panic Cord

LocationA generic convention of the acoustic genre when it comes to location is filming outside. This is not the case for all music videos of this genre however there are many which do follow this convention. I have chosen the plantation gardens as my location for it’s magical and dream like feel which is what I wanted to be associate with Kal as an artist. Locations such as fields and the countryside in general are often used in these types of music video. Also the natural greens and browns of the location fits with the organic colours I have used throughout my productions both music video and ancillary.

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Examples of outdoor locations in acoustic genre music videos

Ben Howard – Keep Your Head Up Ben Howard – Old Pine

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Shine

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EditingThis quote taken from Wikipedia is an example of how I have used conventions when editing in my music video. Through editing my footage I created a music video with a non-narrative, this is because I chose to create a performance based video rather than tell a story to the song. Furthermore I have interpreted the song’s lyrics to create a music video that reflects the meaning behind the lyrics, this links to Goodwin’s theory as I have created a loose link between the lyrics and visuals in my production. In order to make it personal for the audience to watch I decided to include mainly close up shots of my performer as this creates an intimate video where the audience feels the performer is speaking directly to them and this enables them to empathise with her more easily.

As my song is very slow paced I edited my music video smoothly to have a large proportion of slow transitions and slow fades to keep with the tone and pace of the track. Because my video is slow paced I edited in a way which provides the audience with a variety of shots of my performer to bring energy to the video and track.

‘Music videos use a wide range of styles and use a non-narrative approach. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the song's lyrics.’

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Editing

Gabrielle Aplin - Home Gabrielle Aplin - Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pLsb1YMsKE

This music video has many similarities to mine, the slow pace of this song is given life through the editing of a variety of shots of the artist. It is also a non-narrative production based on the artist performing and directly singing to the audience, a

convention I used in my music video. Furthermore the many close up shots of the female artist face is a strong link between my music video and this one as I have

included many close up’s of Billie.

Props

I used the convention of an acoustic guitar in my music video. This kind of guitar is used in a large proportion of music videos of the same genre. With the focus of the genre being on talented musicians it is a basic convention to have an acoustic guitar featured in the video, failing that a piano is often used however I chose not to use a piano as from seeing Kal perform live I know her strength is playing the guitar.

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Example of acoustic guitar prop use in music videos of the same genre as Kal

Lucy Rose - Place

Ben Howard – Only Love

PerformerIn my music video I am using the generic convention of having the production based on the artist performing. This is common in a large proportion of music videos of the acoustic/singer songwriter genre. As they are often talented musicians as well as singers they showcase this through a performance based video.

My music video challenges the traditional representation of women in the music industry. Rather than presenting my artist as a sexual object I have presented her in a respectable manor. This is common within the acoustic genre however when looking at pop culture it is clear that women are often objectified in music videos and are often seen to sell their body rather than their talent.

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Screenshots examples of performance based music videos

Lucy Rose - Place Lucy Rose – Night Bus

Lucy Rose – All I’ve Got

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Examples of pop performance videos supporting the sexual representations of women

Beyoncé – Naughty Girl Nicki Minaj - Starships

Rihanna – Rude Boy Jessie J - Domino

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Representation of Women in the Music Industry

Women are represented differently in all genres however the Hip Hop has the seemingly universal element through the majority of lyrics and videos is the objectification of women. They are treated as lesser than men through having them featured in music videos dancing around the male artists whilst they drool over them and the camera shoots the men from low angles empowering them and portraying their control over women. This is event in many Lil Wayne and Chris Brown music videos.

This way in which they perceive women is not only controlling but also degrading. This representation of women as objects is not solely a trait of the hip hop genre but other genres too such as rock and pop. These representations warp audiences views about gender roles and the worth of women. This can me linked to the idea of the ‘Male Gaze.’ This explores the idea of women being shot as objects to be looked at. It argues that audiences are put in the viewing position of a heterosexual male and just accept the portrayal of women they are shown.

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“Shawty wanna humpYou know I like to touch your lovely lady lumps” Lil Wayne -

Lollipop

Examples in Hip Hop

Low angle shot of male artist portraying him as powerful

High angle shot of female extras suggesting they are powerless

Shots from Kanye West – Gold Digger

Shows the objectification of female extras

Shots from 50 Cent – Candy Shop

Shows the difference between the portrayal of male and female characters

Example of objectifying lyrics

Extremely sexual and objectifying shot of female’s breasts. Her face is

hardly even shown

Another shot of the female body, minimal clothing highlighting ‘assets’

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Examples in RockShots from Marilyn Manson – Tainted Love

These shots show the difference between men and women in this rock music video. These images can be linked to the theory of the ‘Male Gaze’ – also links to feminist view of Laura Mulvey

Woman is shown as an object to be looked at

Low angle shot portraying the power of the male artist

Example of objectification, showing woman as a toy which males can

control and ‘play’ with

Showing the wrong message, especially to children as the objectifying of women is

linked into children's stuffed animals

Shots from two Pussy Cat Dollz videos.

These demonstrate representations of females to please a heterosexual male audience and also how young boys view the women and how this could effect them

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Examples in Pop

Showing women as objects/toys for men to control in Justin Bieber - Baby

Example of how the provocative dancing of a Pussy Cat Dollz video can effect

children's perception

Taken from ‘I Don't Need a Man' video yet presenting themselves as sexual

objects for men

Representation of Rihanna as a sexual object in ‘Umbrella’ video

Pussy Cat Dollz – When I Grow Up

“When I was young I wanted attention And I promised myself that I'd do

anything”

Self objectification through the lyrics

Ancillary product - LayoutI have developed the conventional layout used in digipaks. Rather than create a 4 panel pack I chose to create my digipak with 6 panels. The 6 panel structure is used in the industry however the more conventional and widely used method is 4 panels.

I have used the generic convention in panel 1 by having the artists name and face on the front. This is mostly done in debut albums as they are used to establish the artist and introduce them to audiences.

Panel 1 Front panel real example

6 panel digipak template

4 panel digipak template

18Panel 6

The panels 2,4 and 5 of my ancillary product are in some ways develops generic conventions of digipaks. This is due to the ‘notion of looking’ a theory constructed by Goodwin. This can also be linked to the concept of Narcissism as through editing I have created the illusion that Billie is looking at herself and therefore this relates to the story of Narcissus drowning from being obsessed by his own reflection.

I have used the generic convention of a barcode and track-list on my back panel (panel 6). This is used in albums from various genres as it is an ideal form of layout and allows audiences to easily locate the information they are looking for.

Ancillary product- Layout

Middle panels 2,4&5

Narcissus – looking at own reflection

Back panel real example

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Ancillary product- Layout of Magazine Advert

Magazine advert

I have used the generic conventions of magazine adverts. I have achieved this by having the artists name and album title at the top of the advert. Another convention I have used is to include text explaining the release date of the album. I have stuck to using the generic conventions of layout and content of magazine adverts as I am marketing a new artist meaning a simple yet informative advert is best to establish the album.

A further convention I have used is the image of my performer. These are often used so audiences can immediately identify who the advert is marketing and again it is important for the success and recognition of my new artist that audience can easily identify her and understand that the advert is advertising her debut album.

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Ancillary product- Layout of Magazine Advert

Real examples of magazine adverts