A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio

Evaluation Question 1

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

Conventions are significant in media products as they set a certain expectation for what audiences should expect from a product. Adhering to conventions can lead to recognisable elements for some audiences and challenging conventions creates less restriction for filmmakers to create products.

For my Indie music video I researched into plenty of conventions of both the genre and real media form. Upon beginning this project my first task was to decide the type of media I wanted to create and by watching both short films, trailers and music videos created by A-level students themselves - I decided to go ahead with creating a music video as one of my final products.

Main Product - Music Video

I began by researching the different types of music videos and came across the three main types of music videos; narrative, concept and performance. I looked more into these three types of videos and began looking at examples of music videos that fit into the three categories. I ended up deciding to take on a narrative based music video after some audience feedback and further research so my final decision was to create a narrative-based music video.

I also did research into two music videos that were non-genre specific which was 'We Don't Talk Anymore' by Charlie Puth and 'This Is What You Came For' by Rihanna ft Calvin Harris.

I looked at both of these music videos and analysed key elements such as camera, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene and the way in which music videos use them without tying them to a certain genre.

After looking at music videos I found out that music videos (and more specially those that are based around a narrative) tend to have a lot many conventions such as:

fast paced with a lot of shots corresponding with the music
intertextuality, referencing to other films, movies etc
narrative tends to be linear
mimic other TV genre, e.g horror, romance
the story can contradict lyrics for effect
the artist is part of the story line or completely separate.
can feature the title of the song.

In terms of the types of media platforms that music videos use, one of the main platforms I came across and relied on throughout my research was YouTube.

Throughout my research I looked at many examples of music videos in almost every stage of my research. This varied from licenced music videos by record companies and examples of music videos by other A-level media students. The reason for this is because YouTube is a huge platform for online content that is accessible from all around the world for people to view and share content. It is free to use and upload, and many people with a big following can even use it as a source of income. This means that anyone can have the opportunity to use this platform to share products and gain attention from other users. You can view content from the website or app, but one of the main benefits is that many social media platforms allow you to access Youtube through their apps or embedd videos through cross-media convergence. This is significant to me as I can use Youtube to upload my content and share it across my social medias with ease - using it as a primary source of marketing. This is why I decided to use Youtube to upload not only my final cut of my music video but also any rough cuts and audience feedback for easy access.

As well as looking at conventions of music videos from different genres I also l analyzed music videos of the Indie genre to see the way genre was portrayed through camera, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene. The Indie music videos I analysed were 'Roses' by the Chainsmokers, 'Somebody Else' by The 1975 and 'Wild' by Troye Sivan.

Here was some conventions I found many music videos in the Indie genre follow:

Narrative: can be non-linear, many breaks in narrative as Indie genre is all about defying expectations. Montage effects can be used in order to intertwine two narratives.
Camera: variety of shots, close-ups are used for symbolism or to show significance. Canted, handheld, out-of-focus are also used to express spontaneity and carelessness.
Editing: shots are edited in time with the music, montage effect is very common and images fading into images.
Sound: the original Indie genre is based around a simplistic approach to music. It has a unique sound that is associated with the genre usually consists of instruments such as strings or piano which is very similar to folk music. Contemporary or modern Indie music is heavily influenced by pop but still keeps tones of original indie music.
Mise-en-scene: Lighting used can vary from light to dark depending on the environments, various coloured lighting such as blue and red are very common in the Indie Genre as well as the use of filters. Actors may not follow stereotypical roles as the Indie genre is based on defying expectations. Costume is based around urban and hipster fashion as well as having retro influences. Props that are very common in the indie genre are Polaroids and camcorders and anything that pays homage to the past.

Ancillary 1 - Digipak

I also looked into conventions for my ancillaries. I began by looking at conventional templates for both as well as doing my own analyses. Because I had already decided on an genre, my research was focused on products from the Indie genre.

The generic conventions of a Digipak are:

A colour scheme throughout the Digipak
Band/Artist's name
Title of Album
A Tracklist
Title of album and artist along the spine
Album art on the inside cover
Album art on the CD

The conventions of Indie Digipaks I found, based on my analyses of Digipaks from 'The 1975', 'Badlands'by Halsey and 'The Balcony' by Catfish And The Bottlemen, were:

Front cover is either album art photography
Designs tend to consist of drawings or illustrations
Artist seperate from the Digipak
Simple, minimalist design
Complimenting colours
Colour scheme only consisting of a few colours
Capitalized font

Ancillary 2 - Magazine Album Advert

After looking into what magazine adverts are and the conventions of a magazine album advert, these were the conventions I found:

Name of artist/band
Name of album they are releasing
A main image that will usually be the same as the album cover to ensure brand identity and further promote the Digipak.
Band/artist logo or title
Release date - the release date of the album will always be on the magazine advert because that is its purpose; to inform audiences when they can buy the album. Or if there isn’t a date it will say ‘Out Now’Includes the single...’ Sometimes the magazine advert will say something along the lines of ‘includes the single...’ or ‘Featuring...’this is usually one of their best known songs, again to further promote the artist
Record label logo - the record label that the artist belongs to will have its logo on the advert usually at the bottom and fairly small compared to everything else.
Artist and Label websites - again like the record label, the website of the record label and the artist website will be on the magazine advert, usually small and near the bottom.
Reviews - on magazine adverts there will be sometimes a rating or review from different companies to show how others rate the album.
Available at...’ - on some of the magazine adverts it will say ‘available now on iTunes’ or ‘available at hmv’,this is to show the audience how easily available the album is.

However after looking at some Indie magazine adverts such as those by Ed Sheeran, Arcade Fire and Lana Del Rey, I found that Indie album adverts in magazines tend to differ from conventional pop adverts in many ways. One of the main differences with Indie album adverts is their simplicity in design and elimination of some of the typical conventions.

These were the typical conventions of Indie album adverts in magazines that I found:

Name of artist/band
Name of album
Magazine art is similar or relates to the artwork on the album
Release date
Information about the album such as 'brand new album' or 'out now'. Phrases tend to be very short and limited.
Overall simple design
Elimination of typical conventions such as institutional information or websites.
Only including critical information

As it is difficult to present my ancillaries in their truest form I uploaded digital version on Blogger.

The reason for this is that Blogger is easily accessible for anyone to view, and because it is one of the largest blogging platforms on the internet it is easy to gain attraction from other users. My ancillaries were also made digitally so it was quicker and easier for me to simply upload them to blogger in their original format. This is also useful for when I was collecting audience feedback as my ancillaries were on my blog so all I needed to do was to send a link for people to view and feedback to me. I did also print out hard copies and try to mimic my ancillaries in their form but I also kept a digital version on my blog just so I could access it at any given time.

Conventions used, developed or challenged?

Music Video

In terms of my media form, I followed most of the conventions of typical music videos. Because music videos can be of a vast majority of genres, there is really not a certain restriction when it comes to music videos through camera and mise-en-scene as many genres tend to do this differently. I did however use shots that are common in music videos such as long shots when my couple are walking through an alley and closeups when they are holding hands to symbolize their relationship. However what distinguishes a music video from any other media form is mostly through the way it is edited and it's narrative. In terms of editing, most of the standard editing conventions you see in many music videos was followed. One example of this is the use of fast paced cuts and editing shots in time with the music. I edited most of my clips in time with the music such as the split screen in the beginning following the beat that starts the song. Editing to typical music video conventions can be shown in my music video through the montage effects such as one I had seen in The 1975's music video 'Somebody Else' when he is drinking. I used the effect of a montage in one of the choruses when they enter a red telephone box. Here I used the effect of a montage like I saw in that included quick fast paced cuts to draw the attention of my target audience. Another example of the use of montage was the shots before the final chorus where actress is laughing at the party scene. I used quick cuts between two continuous clips to create a montage effect that moved from one clip to another. Although I used montage in my music video throughout this one was more significant as it was the last chorus and I used a cross-cutting effect. This was proven to be successful as many commented that this montage effect and the way it was edited in time with each of the chorus beats kept the visuals upbeat and overall made my music video more lively. I also used the editing technique of a split screen such as that used in Charlie Puth's 'We Don't Talk Anymore' as I thought it was an interesting way to introduce a music video, Puth's music video uses this technique throughout, I only used it in the beginning of y music video to show shots of their journey such as train tickets and buses. I also followed another convention in the use of titles. Many music videos tend to introduce music videos with a title of the song and occaisionally the name of the artist. I incorporated this in my music video with my title of 'Good Grief' in the beginning whilst the song began. Although I followed many conventions of a music video through editing, I both conformed and subverted expectations of narrative. I conformed to the convention of the artist typically being separate from a narrative and not usually in the visuals (one example is the narrative of The Chainsmoker's music video 'Roses' where the artist is not present) as I didn't have an artist singing the song throughout the music video and instead used a narrative of a couple's teenage years. However I did subvert a convention of narrative as typical music videos tend to play on a narrative that is linear and straightforward whereas my narrative is non-linear as it is based around the idea of an analepsis, which we can see in the end where someone is viewing the story through a computer screen. I decided not to follow all the conventions of a narrative as I didn't want my music video to come across as generic and I wanted to defy some expectations and shock my target audience.

I also followed many conventions in genre. Firstly I followed a common convention of indie music videos in the narrative which is having a broken or non-linear narrative. I did this in many ways through the use of montage as mentioned above and overall ending on an prolepsis. The idea of having a non-linear narrative came from my research of the music video for 'Somebody Else' by the 1975. Here we see a very odd narrative where the first three minutes does not have any obvious agenda and it is a stage sketch of a man and a lady getting ready and dressed. It is black and white and has an element of film-noir and looks a oldfashioned stage show. The sound is distorted so the audience does not really know what is going on. This beginning does not have any relevance to the song or narrative but plays on expectations of the Indie genre for being unpredicatble. The rest of the narrative is also obscure as we see two narratives of the same situation side by side. We see the artist's drunk interpreatation of what is going on but near the end we see another narrative cross-cut which is what is actually taking place. By having a broken and non-linear narrative it defys expectation and leads to a music video having a 'shock' factor to it, and plays on the concept of the Indie genre not contributing to expected norms. In terms of camera, I also followed conventions seen in Indie music videos such as the home video style shots. I got this inspiration from Troy Sivan's 'Wild' music video that featured shots that were filmed on a handheld camcorder. This also meant that the shots were handheld shots but the use of zoom and low quality shots were also in place. I used this technique in my music video throughout but really ephasised the use of them in the chorus part where it the song said 'what's going to be left of the world if you're not in it' in order to emphasise their realtionship as a couple and to portray them as being carefree. I took shots on a handheld camera and also gave them to the male actor in my music video to record candid shots throughout to really capture their realtionship. The shots were handheld and had features of zoom in them as well as being a contrasting quality to the other camera shots. The use of handheld camera shots really emphasise the Indie genre as being carefree and casual and help to illuminate their realtionship as being this too. In my editing process I emphasised this by placing an overlay of a homevideo recording to make it clear to my audience it was a home video. I also used Indie genre conventions in my editing through the editing, I used montage effects as mentioned before to create a break in the narrative but I also used the technique of overlaying the same shots on top of eachother. This was used to highlight two different shifts in time as the same shot is overlayed but is slightly slower. I used this in my party/ drinking scene to highlight the distortion of time such as that used in the 'Somebody Else' music video when he is drinking. I also used the technique of reversing shots to again distort time. All of this editing is used to create a non-linear narrative which is a principle of the Indie Genre.

I also followed Indie conventions in Mise-en-scene. In terms of casting I went with a interracial couple, both of ethnic minorities which is not very common in mainstream music videos however this fits well with the Indie genre for being the genre that deflects from mainstream ideas. The locations were varied but I also included the location of a indoor market which is very niche and fitting to the Indie genre. The costumes used were also reminiscent of Indie fashion which is basic clothing that can have retro or grunge elements to it (We can also see this in Troye Sivan's music video where denim and plain colours are a staple) as my actress wore a denim jacket and tights and my actor wore a plain black hoodie. Lastly lighting conventions were followed as my music video had many natural lighting when they were outdoors but the party scene is slightly darker. I also used a filter that was blue-toned on top of my clips as the Indie genre is all about the aesthetics of imagery and this was inspired again by The 1975's music video. Overall my music video followed majority conventions of genre and used the basic conventions of my media form.

Digipak

For my Digipak I followed all the typical conventions you would usually see on a Digipak. The first convention I followed was following a colour scheme, which is a feature of almost every Digipak. Although I did follow a colour scheme, it wasn't as extensive as typical Digipaks and only consisted of three colours: mustard, white and black. On the front cover, the background was mustard, the hand drawing and album title was black and the flowers were white and black. On the inside, both sides were white however the inside cover had flowers that were white, black and mustard. The disc holder was white and the actual CD was mustard with white and black flowers. The backcover followed the same colour patterns as the front, having a mustard background, black font and white and black flowers. I tried to incorporate similar colours throughout and keep it consistent. It also followed other common conventions such as the band's name (Tree Whistle), the title of the album (The Underground),a tracklist on the back, the name of album and band along the spine, album art on the inside cover and on the CD. All of which are common conventions of Digipaks such as the one I looked at below:

I also followed all of the Indie genre conventions for my Digipak. One Indie Digipak convention is the use of drawings or illustrations as albumart. This can be seen in Catfish and The Bottlemen's album 'The balcony' where the main imagery on the cover are illustrations of a crocodile or two people. I used this method of drawings and illustration outlines throughout my Digipak as my main album art consists of an illustration outline of two hands as well as various illustrations of flowers and floral designs. Overall my design is very simple, consisting of only a few colours in it's colour scheme and has a minimalistic look to it. Although I only had three colours, they were very complimentary and gave the Digipak an indie aesthetic and I was able to see the ways some colours are more complementary and aesthetically work best through looking at Halsey's album cover in my research that featured blush and blue tones alongside earthy tones. The colours black and white are well used colours in any colour scheme however I feel by adding mustard it really emphasised my genre and yellow or mustard tones are uncommon in Digipaks so it really illuminates the idea that the Indie genre is independent and niche as well as yellow being a staple colour in Indie fashion. The idea of a simple colour scheme was inspired by The 1975's album cover that was only black and white, and although it was only two, maybe three colours - They worked really well to give the album cover a professional look. The artist is also separate from my Digipak which I did purposefully as I feature no artist in my music video and not many Indie album covers feature artists as they focus more on creating the image of the artist without the artist actually being there through photography and illustrations. Lastly my font choice was also inspired by the Catfish and Bottlemen Digipak as it was capitalised and nicely spaced as well as the title and band name being combined under one text which again played nicely with the overall simple yet effective design.

Magazine Advert

I also followed many conventions of a typical magazine advert, such as the template below:

In my magazine advert I included the name of band and album which was 'Tree Whistle' and 'The Underground'. I also included my main imagery from my Digipak to promote brand identity which is a common convention of magazine adverts such as Lana Del Rey's album advert cross promoting the same sort of imagery across her album cover and advert. I also followed the convention of a release date which is crucial in a magazine advert to let the audience know when the album is released. As well as this I included a slogan such as 'The Brand New Album' to let the audience know what exactly is being released. Therefore I kept the crucial elements of a magazine advert such as the imagery relating to the band, the band name and album name, release date and slogan however eliminated other conventional elements such as a magazine review, website and institutional logo as I wanted to keep a simple and minimalistic design that was not too overcrowded with information.

In terms of following genre conventions for my advert, there was no elimination or subversion in any convention. Indie magazine adverts tend to follow a very simplistic design, which is created through the same imagery used for my Digipak. I used the same idea of hand illustrations and placed the flower outlines on the wrists of the hands for some variation so it didn't look too much like my Digipak. The font used for my advert is similar to the Digipak however the added text such as 'The Brand New Album' and the release date is a different font. I chose to do this again for a bit of variety and the font throughout my ancillaries is capitalised and simple. I have talked about my image design choices linking to the Indie genre in the previous section when talking about my Digipak, however apart from follows my magazine advert follows the Indie genre through it's simple design and elimination of unnecessary information.