IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP

OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA

PRODUCTS?

Music Video for All Star by Smash Mouth

Andrew Goodwin’s dancing in distraction factory

In this book, Goodwin suggests 5 codes/conventions of music videos- some things they all have in common.

These key elements are as follows;

• Demonstrate certain genre characteristics

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

• The demands of the record label will include the needs for close up’s of the artist. This may also include motifs and iconography which reoccur across their works, building a style or an image for the artist

• Frequent reference to the notion of looking, and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

• Intertextuality/reference to other media products.

Demonstrating certain genre characteristicsThe meta genre of our music video is interpretive, but you could argue it’s also a narrative since thewhole video follows a journey which the audience can engage with. Smash Mouth’s genre of musicis pop/punk or pop/rock, which typically results in either interpretive or live performance visuals.Often, music videos will combine both, cross cutting between the two. We chose to use thenarrative/interpretive convention, but leave the simulated performance, as this allowed us toconcentrate on bringing a humorous tone to the footage that reflected the lyrics and beat of thesong.

In terms of camera work, we used a mixture of POV and long shots in order to tell the story. This ismore interesting than simply watching the story from an external point of view, as the POV shotsplace you in the video and give you a first person perspective, allowing the audience to connect tothe main character more.

The use of edits and special effects is also characteristic of this 90’s pop music phrase, where theeffects are less advanced than today and give a retro, slightly amateur feel to the video.

Relationship between lyrics and visualsAs the style of our music video is interpretive, we felt it necessary to build on this idea of lyric to visualrelationship in order to meet audience expectations and provide a successful music video that appeals toexisting fans and entices new ones. I feel our use of visuals is quite literal, but at the same time it’s a little moreabstract, building off the feel of the song rather than the lyrics. This also relates to rhythmic cutting.

For example, at a few points in the song, the visuals match the lyrics in a very literal way.

Here, the lyrics of the song are ‘Somebody once asked could I spare some changefor gas I need to get myself away from this place.’ So, this is a very illustrative useof visuals in the you can see money swapping hands, referring to the ‘sparechange’ lyrics. However, he’s not lending the money to anybody for petrol, andinstead is using it to buy flowers for this girl. So, it becomes a less literalrelationship but still builds off of the concepts within the song about beingproactive and changing what you’re unhappy with in life, since he’s proactivelychasing after the girl he wants. I think this link between lyrics and visuals isenough to give the video a clear narrative that doesn’t feel odd or contradictingwith the song, but allows the audience to have some influence over how theyinterpret it. This links with Livingstone’s theory that ‘different genres specifydifferent ‘contracts’ to be negotiated between the text and reader’.

Close ups of artistsThis is the convention which we probably challenged most, as by not including any live performance footage, close ups of the ‘artist’ aren’t possible. However, we did use a variety of shot types, including close ups, of the main character in the narrative.

This range of shots includes over the shoulder, extreme long shot and medium close up. The over the shoulder shot, lookingat his reflection in the mirror, is particularly important as it really focuses the viewers attention on how he’s dressinghimself. The extreme long shot then shows him in relation to the rest of the public, demonstrating the contrast betweenthe formal clothing he’s wearing and the more acceptable, casual attire of others. As the audience we can use ourknowledge of stereotypes to associate the 3 piece suit, glasses, and the flowers with a ‘geek’ like persona, where the boyhas gone down an old fashioned route of dressing up to impress a girl. Given the context of the video- broad daylight, and agirl who doesn’t really notice him- as a viewer this use of stereotype becomes humorous as it’s not the norm, making youfeel sorry for him but laugh at the same time. The range of camera shots reinforces this throughout the video. Again thisreinforces the interpretive style of music video, building on typical conventions to keep he audience on their toes.

The notion of looking and voyeurism

A typical convention of music videos is the inclusion of screens, and this notion of looking. This is something we included heavily, as shown in the examples below.

As well as the notion of looking, the polaroid picture of the girl also links back to the genre of music and the band, as it’smuch more dated and retro than say the use of Instagram or Facebook to view this girls photos. It also adds a personaltouch, strengthening the narrative as it shows his feelings towards the girl.

It could ague be argued that there is a voyeuristic element to the video, in that the boy is seen to be looking at the girl in aromantic way, both through point of view shots like in two of the examples above, and from a third party point of view. Thisisn’t typical of voyeurism as often the woman will be portrayed in a sexualised manner, but here she’s just being fancied orlust after. The fact the girl is blonde may be suggestive of an attractive stereotype, though, (which can be seen in othermedia texts such as adverts and films) and this then holds connotations of voyeurism and appealing to male audiences.

IntertextualityThis is a convention that we incorporated into our own music video, in order to enhance the narrative.

A couple of references are made to theShrek films throughout the video, suchas turning off the film on TV and theDVD’s in HMV. This is a link which theaudience will recognise, since the songis highly associated with the Shrek, andhelp to enhance the light heartedhumour of the music video.

We also used product placement in the form of berocca, the slogan forwhich is ‘You, but on a really good day’, which sums up the narrative tothe music video well. By using such product placement the audiencewill hopefully relate the slogan to the music video, again adding aslightly comical element but also enhancing the ‘boy likes girl’ narrativeand reflecting the upbeat tempo of the song.

Other typical conventions of music videos

Match cutting and rhythmic cutting are also typical conventions of music videos, both of which we used. Using rhythmic cutting was important for us as it helped to consolidate the slightly interpretive lyric to visual relationship, as the narrative mainly plays off the general messages within the song, as well as the fast, upbeat tempo. Cutting to the beat also ensures that the video feels like it belongs to the song, engaging the audience. We used match cutting to break up the narrative, making it less linear and more engaging. See the examples below;

Split screenSplit screens are often seen in music videos across anumber of genres, particularly in narrative andsimulated performance. We used shots of a similarcomposition and paired them together, emphasisingthe point that he’s on a long journey to get to thisgirl he loves. This works as in both he’s walking awayfrom the camera, and since the shots are taken froma slightly lowered angle the pathways both leaddown to a sort of vanishing point.

Digipak

Including the artist name and album title isn’t always a typical convention of digipaks, especially in newer albums, as often this information is just found on the spine. However, we were keen to maintain a continuous theme with previous Smash Mouth albums, and including text on the cover is definitely a convention for this band. Therefore, we used the same text found on the magazine advert to present the artist name (again ensuring continuity to establish a strong promotional branding), and a simpler font for the album title. We skewed this so that it lay flat to the ground, adding an element of fun which is so typical of Smash Mouth albums.

As mentioned above, we made sure to note the band’s name and album title on the spines of the album, so that if the album is stacked like a book in a shop, you can easily pick it out by name. We kept this simple with dark text on a white background as this flowed well into the white back panel.

Another convention we used is having a track list on the back of the digipak. We challenged the convention of numbering tracks as we believed it looked cleaner, and as a consumer you’d understand that the tracks are listed in the order they appear on the CD.

Something that I found through research is that often a digipak will have an image or pattern spanning across the open album, going underneath the CD trays. This helps to make the digipak feel complete, and adds extra interest on the inside of the album. We used a panoramic of York city centre, as this links to the music video for All Star- one of the tracks on the album. This adds subtle continuity that fans will recognise.

The overall digipak also links to conventions of Smash Mouth’s branding as a whole, as it makes use of a bright pop art style that appears a little retro and unconventional compared to other, more modern

artists. This can be seen from the flat plan. The collage of images is a key feature in achieving this colourful exterior, as well as adding a more personal touch which fans will appreciate and feel they’re

engaging with the band in a more intimate way.

Magazine advert

I found from researching existing magazine adverts that the majority had a large proportion of empty space, almost like a border. This allowed the limited, important information to stand out to readers, making it very clear what the advert is advertising. So, we used this convention when designing our own advert, as shown here;

Another convention which we stuck with was the inclusion of a release date, clearly presented in bold text.

By using so many of the codes andconventions shown in current musicmagazine adverts, our advert looks as thoughit belongs to NME, or Kerrang, or any otherbig name magazine, as it looks professional.This reflects positively on the album and theband, suggesting they too must be of a highstandard.

Use of the album artwork is very typical of album adverts, as it creates continuity within the branding and makes each entry point more recognisable. The album cover also includes the artist name and album title, meaning wording in the advert can be kept to an absolute minimum

The final two conventions used are the inclusion of an official retail logo and a web link. This not only helps to make the album more official, but also enhances the synergy within the brand as it references other entry points that may interest those who prefer using technology, using the website to find more information on the band and the album.