Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Text form

All my media products conform to conventions of the genre and what’s expected from these particular media types. A lot of planning went into making my music video to make sure it looked professional. In order for it to look effective, I had to research into other similar videos to see how they created certain looks.

I intentionally made sure i included typical conventions in my video to make sure it would fit into the genre well and would work. This is where the task ‘similar product analysis’ was helpful as i looked at what artists such as Ellie Goulding and Lana Del Rey used in their videos and what worked well so the audience can familiarise my video with successful artists and take it seriously. Through this i noticed that artists often use a combination of performance and narrative to keep the video interesting and keep the audience interested. This is where i got inspiration for the structure of my music video as I too chose a combination of the two which is a typical stereotype for the indie rock genre. The performance links to the original meaning of the indie genre that it’s all about the music rather than the fame. Plus the narrative gives the artist a chance to be creative and do something different from the norm which is common in this genre.

Within my music video, i think the representation of the 50’s era is very clear through the use of props locations etc. This highlights how a lot of thought has gone into the pre production of the video. I also included a performance from the artist alongside the narrative which copies the traditional layout of indie videos and they generally incorporate the two together. The mix of the two worked well together as well as having two different actresses’, as it highlights how the artist is singing about a girl’s life. This links to Andrew Goodwin’s conventions of music videos where he states that the lyrics often match with the storyline and shots being shown. The title ‘Never tear us apart’ directly links to the storyline of the video as it’s about a girl writing to her lover in another country and they are emphasising how the distance won’t stop them from being together. The shots i decided to take mainly focus on this storyline of the character writing a letter. I avoided shots of the actress’ face as I wanted it to be mysterious and unknown as the indie genre often isn’t about fame, but more the music itself, therefore I wanted the audience to realise the link between the shots and the music and how the storyline is relevant. However i also challenged some of Goodwin’s theory as he believes we should ignore the common narrative and allow the audience to think of a story themselves. This links with the original attitude in the indie genre as it was thought that the focus should solely be on the artist rather than the narrative as it’s purely for selling and advertising. But i decided that a narrative was the right thing to include, as the genre has changed and this is now the norm to have a narrative, it’s what makes each video stand out. There’s only so many stories you could come up with for the particular song I chose, therefore i wanted to touch the audiences hearts with the story I decided to use to make it more personal and enjoyable.

My second product made was the Digipak for the artist’s album. To continue the story, i based the Digipak around the actress in the narrative as the songs on the album are meant to reflect different events in her life. Therefore i included numerous photos of her on the cover to highlight this. I set the scene in a woods with lots of foliage, to highlight that at the beginning of the album she feels lost, but by the end she has found her feet through these events and learnt from them. I used a very feminine font as it fits into my theme of the 50’s and represents it well as I also included this writing style on the letter in the music video. It also ties in with target audience as it’s a very neat feminine font that will attract women to the CD, thus making it fit the criteria. The inside of the CD shows a set of doors with the contents of a girl’s dressing table on the CD. This is to represent how when you open the Digipak, you are opening up to take a look inside her life and what the songs have to tell you. This fits into the genre perfectly as it’s unusual and different. It’s never been seen before so will stand out against other artists in this genre. However it still fits in the genre as its linking directly to the music video about having an insight into someone’s life and therefore is telling a story.

My final product was the magazine advert. I created this after the Digipak as the main image is of the front cover. This follows the typical conventions of magazine adverts as the CD cover is often used so there is a direct link between the two and the audience recognises what album they are promoting straight away. The swirls in the corners of the border highlight how the advert is trying to represent and continue the theme of the 50’s and give it a vintage feel. They keep it very girly and feminine and this is apparent straight away, thus attracting the target audience immediately. I used quotes from famous well known magazines and newspapers on the advert as this is commonly seen and helps to reassure the audience that the CD is of a high quality and lives up to previous albums by the artist. I also stated where the album can be bought. This is a typical convention but I believed it was very important, especially in today’s economic climate with numerous music suppliers going into administration, the audience need to know where they can now purchase the album. I changed the conventions slightly on my magazine advert by making the website very large and centred in the page, instead of being in the corner with the institutional details. This is because I think it’s important to encourage fans to use the website and reinforce technological convergence as the internet is the biggest place to pick up new fans and to reach a larger target audience.

Overall all my products show typical conventions as these are needed to make sure they still fit into the genre. However I have challenged some to make the products my own and to change with the times regarding technology today.