Question 1: In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

What are the

conventions

of a music

video?Before making any decisions about my music video, I researched the conventions;• There are three types of music videos;

Amplification, Illustration and Disjuncture • In a pop video there is dancing• The video follows a verse, chorus structure• There can be effects such as; wiped, fast and

slow motion etc• A performance • Everyday locations• Good costumes • Catchy lyrics • To be entertained • You expect to see the artist/ band

I researched Jessie J’s video to ‘Domino’. Jessie follows the

conventions of a music video really well. I really liked her use

of costume and even though her video was shot in a studio the

different colored costumes and backdrops helped take the

attention away from it.

For my music video ‘Love you So’, I followed the conventions of a music video;• We followed a mostly Amplification style however did

have some bits of illustration• The artist was featured• We followed a verse chorus structure• We used everyday locations• There was a variety of good costumes• We used some effects such a fast and slow motion and

blurring• Ariella entertained and gave a good performance

I researched Katy B’s video to ‘Lights On’ as my video was in the same genre as hers; R&B and Hip Hop. Katy follows the conventions of a music video. She uses everyday locations; an ally and a club. She also used extras as dancers and has catchy lyrics etc.

The Conventions

What are the

conventions of a

DigiPak?

Inside Panels

Outside Panels

Before designing my digipak, I researched the conventions and found out;• There must be a barcode and record label• The artists name is normally bigger than the album

name• It is common to use more than one font • A lot of real artists use close ups or mid shots for

the front cover• The song list goes on the back cover• The number code goes on the spine of the cover • The inside panels have more pictures of the artist• The artists name and album name is on the CD • Synergy must be consistent through the outside

and inside panels

I looked at Nicole Scherzinger’s Digipak for her album ‘killer love’. Nicole follows the conventions for a

DigiPak and inspired me to use a close up shot of Ariella on my front cover.

I also looked at Rihanna’s DigiPak for her album ‘Loud’. Rihanna mostly follows the conventions for a DigiPak; I really like her

use of synergy through the colour red. However, Rihanna also challenges the

conventions as she has her album name in a bigger font than her name.

For my own DigiPak, I followed the conventions;• I used a close up beauty shot of Ariella’s face

on the front cover• ‘Ariella’ is in a bigger font the the album

name • I have used two font styles• I have the number code on the spine of the

cover• I have a barcode, record label and copyright

text on the back cover• A song list• On the inside panels I have more images of

the Ariella• The artists name and album name is on the

CD• Synergy is consistent throughout with the

brick wall and the colour red

What are the

conventions of an

advertisement?

Before designing my advertisement, I researched the conventions and found out;• That there is a release date • A lot of female artists have an image on

themselves on it instead of the digipak cover

• There are some reviews from magazines• There is information about where it can

be bought/downloaded• There is a website for the artist • The artists name is again, like the digipak

usually bigger than the album name • There is consistent synergy through the

DigiPak and Advertisement• There is sometimes an image of the

DigiPak cover

I researched Rihanna’s Advertisement for her DigiPak

album ‘Loud’. Rihanna followed the conventions of an Advertisement and has

consistent synergy throughout by using the

colour red.

I also researched a previous students Advertisement. The artist ‘Y. Shocker’ for his album ‘Lure of My Memories’.

‘Y. Shocker’ follows the conventions of an Advertisement and also has

consistent synergy throughout his advertisement and digipak by keeping

to the colour scheme of grey.

For my own advertisement, I both followed and challenged the conventions;• ‘Ariella’ is in a bigger font than the album

name• There are magazine reviews• I have listed the places where the

audience can buy/download the album• I have the artists website• I have consistent synergy by putting in an

image of a rose that links in with my digipak

• Unlike most female artists, I didn’t have a picture of Ariella, instead I just used the digipak front cover. I chose to do this as I wanted people to remember what the cover looks like so it would be easily recognized.

TheoriesAndrew

Goodwin

My music video followed Goodwin’s theory; • We broke the 4th wall• The artist was the narrator/participant/character• We tried to challenge the ‘male gaze’ but didn’t succeed as

much as we would have liked to as my artist was still styled accordingly.

• My music video is mostly amplification, however there is a section of illustration (when the artist smells the rose whilst we here her sing “inhaling the scent of my loves prevail”.

• I also decided to use Godwin’s theory for my Digipak; the picture I have chosen to use for my front cover follows the theory of breaking the 4th wall. I decided to do this as I thought it was more powerful and helps to connect with the audience more.

Illustration

Breaking the 4th wall

Being styled accordingly

Carol Vernallis

While we were planning our music video, Vernallis’s theory was very important to us;• We realised after lots of research that

editing to the beat is a key factor in engaging and entertaining the audience.

• As a result of this my music video has a rhythmic base closely connected to the song, and the editing to the beat is consistent throughout the verses.

• One part of the music video where we really wanted the edit to be obvious was at the end of the bridge before the last chorus.

• The firework lighting effect reflects the drum sound that is built up through the bridge of the song.

Breaking the 4th wall (DigiPak out side panels

The firework lighting effect

Laura Mulvey

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female

figure which is styled accordingly"

• Initially, we decided against the ‘male gaze’ in our music video since Ariella’s main audience are teenage girls and we wanted Ariella to be a role model for them.

• We made sure there were no shots that dismembered Ariella.

• However, we did style Ariella accordingly, which we initially didn’t want to do. This is most obvious in the skate park scene when Ariella is wearing tight clothing and high heels.

• I have learnt that it is very hard to deflect from the ‘male gaze’ in the music industry.

• We chose to use the recognisable colour red to be our motif throughout the video. This is displayed through Ariella’s red nail vanish, lipstick, the red rose and the top Ariella wears in the beginning of the video.

• I also incorporated the colour red in my DigiPak and advertisement; I had Ariella wear red lipstick and I used red roses.

The InspirationJessie J- Domino

Jessie J’s video to ‘Domino’ really inspired me and gave me some great ideas for my music video. • I liked the glamorous look Jessie portrayed in her first costume;

which gave me the idea for Ariella’s costume in the skate park.• Jessie’s only location in this video is a studio, however your

attention is taken away from this by her eye catching costumes and variety of colours; this gave me the idea to use the skate park as a location as the graffiti on the walls is very colourful and stands out.

• Lastly I really liked how Jessie layered and merged her shots together to make it look transparent; this gave me the idea to do that in our music video.

Jessie’s glamorous look also influenced the photo shoot for my DigiPak photos; I wanted Ariella to be in black as it portrays a sophisticated yet fierce look.

Rita Ora- Shine ya light

Rita Ora’s video to ‘Shine ya light’ also really inspired me;• I really liked the close up shots on Rita’s face and

gave me the the idea to do the same for Ariella, by doing this I was able to capture Ariella’s facial expressions really well.

• I liked the tracking shot used when Rita is walking down the street, this gave me the idea to track Ariella walking down the peer.

• I really like the blurred effect Rita Ora used toward the end of her video, this gave me the idea to do the same in our video at the beginning; Ariella’s feet are at first blurred and then come into focus, just like in Rita Ora’s video.

• I also liked Rita’s costumes throughout her video; I especially liked the black costume she wore, which again gave me the idea for Ariellla to wear all black in the skate park scene.

• The red lipstick as it stood out, leading me to do the same for Ariella.

The tracking shot.