EvaluationQ1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

How does my music video conform to form conventions?

Editing  

I have used fast paced editing which is parallel to the fast beat of the song. The transitions I have used also match the song, for example I have used a fade to colour at the beginning before the beat kicks in and in the final shot I used a

cross dissolve when the tempo slows down again. In the middle section I have used straight cuts which are sharper and fiercer to match the violent narrative. Examples of existing products which use fast-paced editing to match the beat of

the song are: Otto Knows – Million Voices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8jhXmfdRFY)

and Martin Garrix – Animals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCYcHz2k5x0). As the song in my music video is a remix, it has a similar dance beat to the ones above and I have imitated a flicker effect they both use which also matches the

beat.

Mise-en-scene The lighting is reflective of the mood, for example, The house shots are darkly lit which portrays the idea that the female protagonist is a silent victim and is abused in the dark where the abuser is less likely to be seen and caught.

In the alleyway shot, the victim is in the light and the abuser is in the dark - this relates to Strauss' theory on binary opposites in which there are contrasting values and ideologies within a media text. Through the use of lighting and semiotics, I have shown good vs evil by contrasting light and dark.

I shot this clip (far left) in Spiders night club which had red lighting in - this reflects the mood and themes of the narrative as red has connotations of anger, passion and danger linking to the domestic violence theme. In TheWombats’ music video Greek Tragedy they use red lighting for some performance shots which matches the narrative as it re-enacts a Greek Tragedy i.e. everybody dies and it features graphic, bloody and violent scenes – iconographic of the rock genre.

I have used a variety of locations e.g. river front, living room, rooftops, bedroom, pub, gym, scale lane bridge, alleyway, littered streets, Spiders night club, garden.

Mise-en-scene 

I have used the technique of depicting the lyrics through the mise-en-scene at the time they are sung, for example the spinning motif showing the ballerina music box and the beer bottle spinning. Also, when the lyrics say "takes me back to when it first started" I have reversed the clips and when the lyrics say "broken bottles" the shot is of a bottle smashing.

An example of this technique is in Vance Joy’s music video Riptide - fades out on “taken away to the dark side” (left), ice lollies being pulled apart on line “come unstuck”, shot of the tide on line “Riptide”.

Mise-en-scene 

The bottle of wine is in focus as well as the alcoholic whilst on the left, the victim is blurred - this was done in post-production to highlight how the male prioritises alcohol over his relationship. In relation to the rule of thirds, alcohol takes up two-thirds of the frame on either side.

The bottle of gin dominates the shot in the foreground whilst the couple are out of focus in the background - even though the couple are in a seemingly healthy relationship it gives a false sense of hope for the female as alcohol is still more significant than the relationship. It also shows a domino effect of power i.e. alcohol dominates the male and the male dominates the female (shown by his arms locked around her). This could then conform to Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory whereby the female is portrayed as a possession.  

Mise-en-scene 

The bedroom and roof top shots with the sun-setting are cliché love scene locations which we as an active audience understand from existing media texts such as romance films. This relates to Michael Shores recycled styles theory meaning that no media text is original anymore, it is all borrowed and re-used in different ways from existing texts. In this post-modern era we are an active audience rather than passive so the larger our cultural capital, the more we will understand semiotics in media texts. A bedroom has connotations of love, sex and passion which we understand from romance films and likewise the sun setting has connotations of romance and love. These themes and emotions are present in my narrative.

The inspiration behind the rooftop shots came from the Prayer In C music video ( right). The locations match the narrative because in the end the victim escapes the abusive relationship - the song is about having ‘high hopes’, hence the high up mise-en-scene and the sun-setting acts as a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mise-en-scene 

SemioticsThe shot syntax I have chosen helps communicate meaning for example, in the shadow fight sequence, I have interspersed the boxing shots as this shows that the abuser cannot tell an object from a human highlighting the idea the psychological aspect of domestic violence and that it dehumanising.I have used a fire motif in my music video as it has connotations of being destructive which is iconographic of the indie rock genre and ties in with the narrative. The front cover of the album also has a smoky effect so this shows continuity. There are examples of fire in existing music videos within the same genre.

Kids In Glass Houses – Peace (left)

The Front Bottoms – Flashlight (right)

Within the mise-en-scene, I have taken shots of barbed wire as this connotes entrapment thus mirroring how the female protagonist feels trapped in the relationship. The broken glass is metaphorical of the fragmented relationship and also the broken victim after being abused.

The burning roses are symbolic of the destroyed romance – roses are iconographic signifiers of romance in a media construct, thus burning them communicates to the audience that the romance in the narrative is not healthy or whole. It is also a positive signifier that the for the victim the relationship and therefore the abuse has finally come to an end – the roses burn away the tragic past.

Semiotics

 Cinematography 

I have used variety of shot types and angles which is conventional of the form as it makes it more engaging for the audience and also helps to communicate meaning.

Wide shots/long shots

I have chosen to use a wide shot for the first and last shot of my music video as it shows how vulnerable the victim is and also as it captures the horizon it is a sign of hope – which reflects the lyrics in the song. The long shot of the couple (bottom left) highlights the power the abuser has as you can see his full body towering over her

and also his menacing expression.

Mid shots

Close ups/extreme close ups

I have used close ups of the female protagonist as it exaggerates her emotions more than if I were to have used a long/mid shot. She is smiling whilst playing the piano exemplifying that it is her escapism. I have used a close up of her again to show her bruises after being abused –

the idea that the piano shots are black and white show that they are a memory and the colour shot is her reality.

 Cinematography 

I have used a cantered angle which reflects the narrative as it shows something is unnatural/distorted as the male character would be when under the influence and also their unstable relationship. There are examples of existing products within the indie rock genre that use cantered angles (Eagulls-Tough Luck (middle) and Kasabian-Days are Forgotten (right)).

I have used low angles of the male abuser as this shows that he is dominant especially with the added props e.g. the gin bottle and pint of beer as alcohol gives him even more power over his girlfriend because it distorts his mind and makes him less aware of his actions.

 Cinematography 

I have used point of view shots which relate to Baudrillard's hyperrealism theory as the audience then become the character thus blurring reality and fiction. As there are only point of view shots from the male’s perspective this shows his power in the narrative as the abuser.

 Cinematography 

The male character is shown wearing a flannel shirt, paisley shirt and other black/dark clothing which conforms to indie rock style. Violence among youths is a prominent theme across media texts within the indie rock genre. Below are examples of violence in my music video and existing ones.

How does my music video conform to genre conventions?

Mallory Knox – Beggars (left).

Kids In Glass Houses – Peace

(right).

The locations I have chosen are reflective of genre as they conform to Tessa Perkins stereotypes theory as youth within in the rock genre are often portrayed as reckless, rebellious and having lifestyles filled with violence and debauchery. Hence why I have shot scenes in a pub, a party, a night club, on the streets and alleyways. The run down/abandoned locations and mise-en-scene highlight the grim aesthetic and dark theme of the narrative e.g. alleyway, littered street, barbed wire, graffiti, broken glass windows.In the Beggars music video (Mallory Knox) the band members appear as silhouettes making them unrecognisable and in my music video the couple appear as silhouettes in the fight sequence to portray a the female as a silent victim and the male as an unidentifiable abuser, as often abusers get away without their identity being revealed.

How does my music video conform to genre conventions?

The music video for Stone Sour’s Absolute Zero has conventional features of the rock genre which I have conformed to. For example, the use of graffiti and an abandoned location to highlight the theme of rebellion and the black and white filter is also iconographic of the genre – it communicates the idea that it is a dark-themed narrative.

At the end of the video, the male raises his fists and then it cuts to a blackout, I have used a similar technique in the boxing sequence in which the male draws back his fist then it cuts to a blackout – this is also emphasised by the loud beat synchronised with the blackout.

How does my music video conform to genre conventions?

How does my music video challenge conventions?

The band Vox Populi do not feature in the music video at all and there is no lip syncing which goes against form conventions. It is a deliberate choice so that the

focus is solely on the narrative which then raises awareness about the issue of domestic and alcohol abuse. Although they are actors, it makes the lyrics and the

message more relatable and realistic to see a visual depiction of the narrative rather than  the band just playing instruments and singing about it.

This goes against Richard Dyer's star theory which states that "music videos are post-modern texts whose main purpose is to promote a star persona". In my music video there is no star persona to promote because the significant thing is not the band themselves but the message they are trying to portray. The purpose of the

text is to raise awareness and give hope/speak up for silent victims.

Despite the band not featuring in the video going against form conventions, it can be conventional within the indie rock genre - this is perhaps because they have

different ideologies to many major pop artists who are made to sell themselves and their assets purely for financial gain and to boost consumerism - this is according to

Sven Carlsson’s theory which states that a performer is merely a “commercial exhibitionist”. Within the indie rock genre, ideologies slightly differ as it is not so

much about making money but influencing fans and making meaningful music/art.

There is a non-linear narrative in my music video meaning it is not strictly chronological and it jumps to different time frames, rewinds and fast forwards. This is a post-modern element and it goes against conventions of media texts that feature narratives. There is no strict beginning, middle or end to my music video thus showing that the chaotic structure reflects the chaos within the narrative.

The shot in which the female protagonist looks into the camera is deliberate as it highlights the fact it is a media construct and self-awareness is another post-modern element that I have incorporated into my product. This relates to Althusser’s theory which states that “we can only see the representation of reality, not reality itself” meaning we cannot escape media language and semiotics as fiction and reality are constantly overlapping and blurring into one.

How does my music video challenge conventions?

How does my digipak conform to conventions?

Key: Artist and album name; track list; artist and album name on spine in the same font as the front cover to show continuity; record label; copyright

disclaimer; barcode.

Abstract album

artwork conforming to genre conventio

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Same colour

scheme throughout

e.g. the use of

black and white in

my product

How does my digipak conform to conventions?

I have conformed to indie rock genre conventions by creating a simplistic, black disc design with white font to contrast. Within this genre it is conventional for the artist not to feature on the digipak as it usually used for abstract art related to the themes in the album as mine is.

Below is an example of what my product would look like on the iTunes new release page. As you can see by the photo on the right of albums within the rock genre, the artists rarely feature on the front cover so my album conforms to this design choice and would be successful in a real life situation.

How does my digipak challenge conventions?

My digipak goes against form conventions as the images do not feature the band at all, this could become a marketing issue as the audience may be used to associating the look of the band with their products but as they do not appear, it may be difficult for them to make the link thus leading to the album perhaps not catching their

attention straight away.This might also be an issue for other merchandise as I would have to consider whether to use images of the band for posters and clothing.

How does my magazine advert conform to conventions?

Key: selling point e.g. review from popular rock music magazine/promoting the inclusion of hit singles; artist and album name; release date, website; record label; mediums the album is available on

How does my magazine advert challenge conventions?

My magazine advert is conventional in relation to form and genre as it has a basic design, consistent house colours, bold, capitalised font and an

interesting image. It perhaps goes against conventions as I have used a long shot for the image and magazine adverts tend to have close ups or mid shots so the artist’s fans/audience can immediately recognise them. However, I have taken this into consideration as my image is not of the

band members but of the actors in the music video which again you could argue goes against form conventions but not necessarily genre

conventions.