G324 Evaluation Tasks.

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

Linking lyrics and visuals

I decided to have visual links between the lyrics and visuals as when I did my existing products research I found that this convention was present.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich (BFL) – Box of StonesLyric “water makes it was around”

My music videoLyric "raging tides”

(BFL)Lyric: “the forest…”

MineLyric: “Crashing down…”

MineLyric: “leaving footprints…”

Lyric: “Sunlight leaks through…”

Matches lyrics being written down

Ed Sheeran Lego housemine

Linking lyrics and visuals cont.

My products uses the convention of my lyrics matching the visuals. Like I mentioned on the previous slide I found other existing products within the same genre used this convention, so I thought it’d be good to follow this so audiences can familiarize the video with this genre. This is also done so the video is easy to follow and audiences will find it easier to understand what is going on throughout the video. This convention is a excellent way for the artist to explain with visuals what the lyrics mean to them, allowing fans to sympathize with the musician.

Camera shots and angles

After looking at existing products during my research, I noticed they used a vast mixture of different angles, shots and camera movement. These are used to keep audiences from getting bored of the video whilst watching it, to keep with the pace of song, used to give different effects and portray the narrative or performance differently.

Use of tracking in my video, Lego House by Ed Sheeran and Good Natured Child by Sam Beeton.

This convention of tracking shots is often used in this genre as the character is usually on an adventure.

Use of instrument close ups, My video, Good Natured Child by Sam Beeton and Box of Stones by BFL.

This convention is used to show how intimate the musicians are with their guitars as they’re the main sound of the song/album.

Camera shots and angles cont.

Use of extreme wide shots also using rule of thirds in my video, Lego House by Ed Sheeran and Box of Stones by BFL

This convention of is often used to portray loneliness and to show the character on their adventure alone and isolated from the rest of the world.

Use of still shots where the character is meant to be the only object moving, in my video and Box of Stones by BFL

This convention is often used to make it look like the audience are almost spying and watching the artist from a distance whilst they are unaware, this allows the viewer to feel connected to the artist and perhaps relate to them

and the message in the video, which is usually left for the viewer to interoperate themselves.

Camera shots and angles cont.

Lastly is the convention of facial close ups, seen in Good Natured Child by Sam Beeton, Lego House by Ed Sheeran and Box of Stones by BFL and my own video.

This convention of is often used in this genre to build a connection between the audience and artist. Since the artist is usually on a journey or adventure viewers can become apart of it this way. It allows viewers to see how

the artist is feeling helping the them understand what is going on in the video.

Mise en scene

I chose the location of a scenic country walk because I noticed many other existing products in this genre had their videos based there. I didn’t want to reject this convention as it’s what my target audience would have been expecting.

The props I chose were miminal again because my research shows this genres music videos are very ‘pure’ in the sense there isn’t many instruments involved and it’s usually just the one voice featured and this is reflected in their music videos by having only what's necessary which is usually just a guitar and any props that play a part in the narrative.

Jake’s look throughout my package is individual to him and reflects his age as it is quite bright and bold, drawing attention to himself, this reflects his target audience as they’re likely to be wearing similar clothes and wanting to copy him for being ‘original’.

Linking with the above paragraph is Jake’s character, I chose Jake as he is the right age and gender to fit well into the indie folk singer/songwriter genre, along with the other existing artists, they’re all male and around 18-25. He fits well with the demographic of his target audience so they’ll be able to connect with him better.

Narrative

My narrative does subvert the usual conventions for this genre because if they’re singing about loss or a girl the video would briefly show them or have objects related to them. I took a different path and focused on the artist and his feelings about himself after certain events in his life. Showing him and a lonely wandering figure showed turmoil and loss in a completely different way of the generic indie folk singer/song writer video. However the song does reinforce some conventions in order for it to be relatable to the genre. Anything too different and audiences may not understand the genre or the message trying to be portrayed.

My product uses the convention of getting to know the artist by having a range of shots of them, including close up shots where they look at the camera to establish a connection with their target audience. Keeping outfit continuity was important to build and keep Jakes brand identity which will be visible throughout his products related to the song/album so he is easily recognizable.

A convention my product challenges is the one of a song similar to this which would include other people and losing them to show turmoil. For my video I chose to show turmoil by showing my character showing emotions such as stress/anger (at himself but is from others) He is shown to look lonely by using wide camera shots and framing the camera according to the rule of thirds.

Another convention my ancillaries use is the continuity of theme, outfits and mise en scene which match with the music video. I used stills from my video and took photos of Jake wearing the same clothes to reinforce this. I also noticed from existing products that the magazine advert and cd cover were the same picture, this will be to help people recognise the album once it’s released.

•Conventions used on the magazine advert are similar to what you would find on existing ones:

•Large title

•Album title

•Date of release

•Platforms available

•Artists website

•‘hit’ singles (previous releases)

•Producer logo

Large art work similar to album

Cont.

My ancillaries use the same two fonts this another way of confirming conventions seen in this genre.

The picture being a mid shot of Jake not looking directly into the camera has connotations of loneliness or distrust. May encourage audiences to watch the music video to find out more about this mysterious artist. However mystery isn’t a generic part of this genre so it was important to not have too much of Jake hidden.

The bright colours reflect Jake’s age and personality but also the demographic of audience he’s trying to attract. This does however challenge the conventions of digipaks and albums in this genre as they are usually sepia toned with a small variation of colours.