1.) EVALUATION: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

You need to:
4) Explain why you chose to follow/challenge conventions at certain points - what did you hope this would create?

1.)  My production brief was to choose a music artist and to pick one of their songs within my group and then to create a music video for this song in order to understand and follow the conventions of my chosen music genre and to include within my ancillary texts. I chose the indie genre because it is diverse and different which therefore meant that I could use a variety of different shots and concepts in order to make it individual and unique. My ancillary texts included a digipak and a magazine advert of my artist promoting their music. A music video is a short film or video that is used to accompany a piece of music. Music videos are primarily used to market and promote the sale of music recordings, however some bands or artists may choose to create one for purely artistic purposes. The styles of music videos consist of narrative, concept or performance based. The codes and conventions of a music video are the different techniques used to construct meaning in them. These techniques can be divided into two types; technical and symbolic. Technical being how meaning in conveyed e.g. the way the camera angles are used, different types of shots, sound either diegetic sound or non-diegetic sound, the pace and style of editing and the genre. Technical meaning is conveyed within my chosen genre- the indie genre – as different types of shots portray different individual aspects of the artist, which makes them different and unique from other artists. Symbolic techniques are ways of showing meanings beyond what you can see. For example, through facial expressions, gestures, poses,  and mise-en-scene. All of which are used within the indie genre to portray the individuality of the artist. My finished music video and ancillary texts challenges my chosen music genre as I chose to combine two music genres; indie and the dance genre as the song I chose is a remix of the song ‘Blue Jeans’ from the indie artist Lana Del Rey. This challenges both genres as I had to adapt the conventions of both music genres in order to make them compatible with one another. 


Examples of this within my music video include the use of fast pace editing in the chorus when the theme park clips are being shown with flashing lights which portrays the upbeat colourful aspect of the dance genre as well as showing the artist within these clips which portrays the individuality of the artist conveying to the indie genre. This however subverts the conventions of the indie genre as it usually has a naturalistic theme so therefore would have a more natural pace as opposed to fast pace editing which reflects the upbeat remix side to the song. I chose to challenge indie conventions as I wanted to combine two genres together and by doing this I had to show conventions of one or the other which both conforms and subverts. I also wanted to make my music video unique which makes is more memorable for the target audience which therefore promotes the artist. 

Editing is very important to make the music video interesting. Most indie genre videos would have special effect to either make it run smoothly or to create an effect that makes the audience feel as if they are in the music video. Shots are usually cut either fast or slow to reflect the pace/beat of the music, which links in well with Andrew Goodwin’s theory. It makes it much more comfortable to watch. Effects are usually added over the top of the video to create a old and worn like video. The black and white effect is also very popular as it makes the video very old fashioned giving it a classical and sad feeling. Black and white effect is used within my music video in the performance clips filmed within the bedroom to highlight the sadness the artist is experiencing after a break-up.

Also, within my ancillary texts, such as my digipak the artist is portrayed with a retro feel through the use of roses which links in to nature making it conventional to the indie genre. The magazine advert has specific colours bursting out such as blue and red which conforms to the colourful theme of the dance genre. The indie genre has a huge spectrum, from upbeat songs to slow, melancholy songs. Some indie artists use muted colours to reflect the underlying themes of depression. However, on my ancillaries I wanted to express feelings of optimism and create a retro image so we used highly pigmented colours such as blue and red. I chose to follow conventions of the indie genre through the colour scheme as I hoped it would create a relationship between my artist and target audience as my targeted audience are specifically those who enjoy the indie genre so would therefore appreciate seeing general conventions of the music genre.

Other conventions I have used include the mise-en-scence, more specifically setting in all three of my products. This includes setting of a park - Victoria park. This is conventional because indie genres are known to be quite low budget, the main settings of videos are in parks and streets. This is because these are places that can be accessed easily and they can create mysteries. The setting is kept simple in the indie genre because it focuses more on the artist or their performance. This is good for my ancillaries as it puts more focus on my artist which therefore builds a relationship between my artist and target audience. It focuses the audience more on the narrative and performance within my music video in which my target audience can relate and aspire to. Setting is also conventional due to the fact I placed my artist within the forest in the flashback scenes when her love introduced is first introduced. This creates a romantic and mystical theme, highlighting the artists feeling and emotions, which therefore causes the audience to idolise, or relate to her. This overall relates to my target audience of 16-25 year old females as females stereotypically enjoy the idea of romance or love.

I also showed conventions of the indie genre through the use of cinematography, especially close-ups. This includes close-ups of the artist singing to the camera in the scenes where she is in her bedroom. Close-up shots are conventional to the indie genre as it introduces the star and helps to advertise the star. Close-ups also follow conventions as it highlights the artists talents when they are singing and it also shows their passion and emotion. I chose to follow conventions of the indie genre through the camera shots as I hoped it would create a relationship between my artist and target audience as my targeted audience are specifically those who enjoy the indie genre so would therefore appreciate seeing general conventions of the music genre.