IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

Before the construction process I investigated the

forms and conventions of existing products to apply

to my own. I investigated this by researching

theorists and the genre ‘indie’, which required

studying music videos belonging within this

particular genre. This broaden my knowledge and

understanding, making sure my media product more

successful.

Narrative structureMusic video

Joan lynch stated that there are three basic video structures;

performance, narrative and concept. I felt that a narrative

structure would suit the song best and capture the

emotion/friendship that I planned on creating. A narrative

structure is also very conventional for the indie genre, it’s left up

to the audiences imagination.

A relationship between the lyrics and visuals-

Goodwin

A relationship between the music and visuals

I decided to be conventional and pair the music with the

visuals. I did this by editing the visuals in time with the beat

of the music, adjusting its speed. I mainly stuck to

decreasing the speed of shots to match the calmness of the

song, especially towards the end.

I opted to be conventional and follow Goodwins

theory, by relating the visuals to the lyrics. The main

way I did this was the storyline, the song is called

‘Tonight’ so I based my idea around the transition

between day and night. My music video is all about

friendship, I showed this by fitting the group in the

same frame when the lyric ‘Together’ was sung,

portraying the importance of. ‘You bring me to life’, I

reflected this with the use of sparklers, which have

been lit and brought to life, just like each person in the

group in affected by one another; light is also symbolic

of life. Reflecting the lyrics and visuals together was a

frequent point that was said during my focus group,

they said that it added a heart warming feeling.

Andrew Goodwin

To the left are some

examples of the shots I

have edited to fit the music.

GenreMusic video

Editing

Most indie genre videos would incorporate

special effects to either make it run

smoothly or to create an effect that makes

the audience feel engaged and part of

the music video. Shots are usually cut fast

or slow to reflect the pace/beat of the

song, which links to Goodwin's theory.

Effects are commonly added over the top

of the video to create an old and worn out

look. I have gone against this popular

convention as I haven’t used any effects,

only natural lighting. I felt that my music

video didn’t need added effects as the

lighting was warming and created a retro

look already.

Particular music genres have their own music video style and

iconography- Andrew Goodwin

The home video style in which my video is

filmed is commonly used within the ‘indie’

genre. I tried to portray my video in a way

that documents friendship, keeping the

filming as natural as possible and not

staging anything.

Throughout my research I investigated the

conventional ways to make my music video fit

within the correct genre. To follow this

convention I collated information from mise en

scene to editing.

Mise en scene

Throughout my research I looked at

costumes that were conventional to

the genre. Stereotypical costume for

indie music tend to be smart casual,

generally involving clothing such as

jeans and shirts. The clothing reflects

the artist giving them a relaxed

carefree look; indie artists are not

all about appearance unlike

somebody such as Lady Gaga, who

is known for the way she looks. This

is convention I have followed by

getting my cast to wear casual and

denim clothing. When the audience

see the clothing they are

immediately aware of the genre of

music the video belongs to.

An example of this convention

conforming this convention is the

band kooks; their clothing

matches the genre of music.

Location

Indie music videos are known

to be quite low budget, using

locations which can be

accessed easily. The settings

are kept simple because it is

typical of indie music videos

to focus more on the

artist/performance. It is key to

chose the right location, this

will create an atmosphere and

feeling that is enhanced by

the music. I think I have done

this successfully as I have

followed the conventions of an

‘indie’ location which creates

a relaxing, calming mood just

like the song.

A real media example

of this convention

(location) is Ben Howards

song ‘Keep your head

up’. The location reflects

the genre and calming

atmosphere of the song.

RepresentationMusic video

Teenage stereotypes

After gender and ethnicity, age is the most obvious category

under which we file people, and there are a whole range of

instant judgements which go along with that categorisation;

violent, careless, hoodies etc. I have challenged the convention

of the portrayal of youths as I have reflected them in a

positive light, although some aspects of my music video some

might say follow this convention. The male actors appear to

be wearing hoodies towards the end of the video and some

of their actions can be seen as dangerous, such as walking of

bridges and using sparklers and fire. However this convention

is portrayed differently in my music video, as these actions

are hidden behind the enjoyment and friendship that is shown.

The youths featuring in my music video are not doing any

harm, or showing a negative attitude, instead they are

creating a warming video and behaving in a good manner.

‘Running’ by Lust for youths, is an example

of a real media product reflecting and

living up to the negative representation of

youths in society; drinking, smoking,

hoodies, going out at night etc.

Enjoyment

My music video is aimed at 17-19

year olds, by casting people of a

similar age I have created a

connection between them and my

demographic. This then becomes more

personal to my target audience as

they will be experiencing similar

situations in life as my cast. The

timeline of friendship shown throughout

my video depicts the ‘perfect’ fun

day/night out, which my demographic

will be inspired by and possibly want

to re create, they will then feel similar

emotions shown in this group of

friends.

Conventions of layoutAncillary products

For an upcoming artist you would except

to see alot of information displayed on

the advert and digipak, due to the fact

that their fan base would be small and

in need of expanding, so giving more

information to possible fans is important.

However I have not included a vast

amount of information, only what I think

are the main points. The reason for me

doing this is because I wanted to follow

the convention of a minimalist design

within the ‘indie’ genre. I have created a

level of mystery, attracting my audience

mainly with the image.

Integration of text and image

Font

During my research I found that the use of fonts was basic and the variety

was limited. Often the artists name would appear in their own typography

and the rest in sans serif so that it doesn’t take away the power of the artists

name and to prevent distraction from the visuals. I have followed this

convention as I have used the bands current logo found on Google and only

used one other font style for the rest of the information, so decreasing the

chance of the product becoming chaotic.

Conventions of panels

The front cover of digipaks tend to have a large eye

catching picture, something that portrays the artist and has

relevance to the song, I have conformed with this in my

design. Again, I kept the layout of the back panel

conventional by having a track list, image, record label

and copyright logo. Also social networking logos as in

todays society social media is very popular and the

majority of my target audience use it, therefore I included

social networking sites such as Facebook to make them

aware of sites the artists are active on. Lastly, including the

obvious conventional feature, a barcode so that my

digipak can be purchased.

This is an example of one of

the real media products I

studied that influenced my

digipak design. This album

follows the code and

conventions, however I have

challenged this because I have

not include a thank you note

from the artist.

Like my digipak I chose to follow all

conventions strictly, by including release date,

album title, artist name and record label. I

also included the place of purchase, iTunes,

due to this being the popular music site as my

demographic have more and are closer to

technology. During my research I found that

it’s conventional for the album and advert

image to be the same, as you can see I have

complied with this too. I felt it was important

to show a connection between the two

products.

Conventions of a Magazine advert

Blue is the colour of the sky and sea.

It is often associated with depth and

stability, symbolising trust and

loyalty. I chose to photograph my

image during dusk to capture the

different shades of blues which

reflect the calmness and relaxation of

the song. Three of the panels on my

digipak include black, which is

associated with night.

Colour

My advert design was heavily influenced by this Kings of Leon magazine advert. Its clear

and gets straight to the point of what its advertising, without a large amount of text. I like

how its structured; artist name then album title with information below. I think this

composition works well due to the fact that the text doesn’t take the distraction away from

the image and vice versa; they balance/contrast with each other.