evaluation question 1

EvaluationQuestion1:Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproductuse,developorchallengeformsandconventionsofrealmediaproducts?

Beforecreatingeachofourfinalmediaproducts,wehadtoconductextensiveresearchintowhatsortsofconventionswereusedinexistingproducts.Wepickedandchosebetweenwhichwethoughtworkedwell,sothatwecouldincludetheminourowntexts,andthosethatwethoughtworkedpoorlysothatwemayworktoavoidincludinginourownwork.Theseconventionsandtheirmotifsareasfollows:MagazineAdvertBand/AlbumNamesAratherobviousconvention,butweknewthatouradvertwouldneedtoclearlytellitsreadersexactlywhatitwasadvertising.Alloftheexampleswestudieddidthissimplybymakingtheband’snameandalbumtitlelargemastheadsontheiradverts.Wechosetouseclear,yetstylisedfontsinhighcontrastcolourssothatreaderswouldunderstandwhattheadvertwasataglance.Thisgivesthemtheabilitytoeitherrecognisethebandandbeintrigued,ortobeshownthesortofstyletheiradvertfollowsanddecidewhethertheywanttoreadonornot.Theband’snamesareusuallyfeaturedabovetheleadimage,whereasthealbumnameusuallyfallsbelowit.Weemulatedthisinouradvertbecauseinreadingboth,theaudience’seyesaredrawnoverthealbumimage,whichwewantthemtoseeandbeintriguedby.Theuseoftheband’sactuallogofontforthe“FauxPas”wasaconsciousdecision,asitismorelikelytoberecognisedbyexistingfansortointroducenewonestotheconventionsoftheband.Thesefontsandcoloursarealsofeaturedonourdigipaksothattheymayservethesamepurposethere.Theadvertwestudiedalsousuallyuseddifferentfontsforthetwotitles,andwechosetoemulatethisinourworktoshowdifferencebetweentheirpurposes.Wecouldhaverecreatedthebandfonttouseforthealbumname(asKingsofLeonhavehere),butwedecidedthatthereshouldbeamorenaturaldistinctionbetweenthetwotitles.SocialMedia/WeblinksAnother“expected”convention,theadvertswestudiedfeaturedlinksthatcouldleadtheirreaderstomoreinformationonthebandsandthealbumstheyfeatured.Wechosetoincludethesesothataudiences

mayusetheadverttoconnectwithourotherproducts,notjusttobemadeawareofwhenthealbumiscomingout.Onethingweexpectedtoseethattheydidnotfeature,however,wassocialmedialinks.BecauseFauxPasareayouthbandwithayoungertargetaudiencethanthebandswestudied,wedeemeditnecessarytoincludesocialmediaplugsinadditiontotheband’swebsitelink.Youngeraudiencesaremuchmorelikelytofollowabandonsocialmediathantovisittheirwebsite,asourresearchshowed.Thealbumswechosetostudyalsocameoutbeforesocialmediabecametheadvertisingbehemothisittoday,soperhapsifwehadchosenmorerecentadvertstostudythenwewouldbeemulatingtheminusingsocialmedia,notintroducingitourselves.

Manyadvertsalsoincludelogosforplacestheirmusiccanbefound;Spotify,iTunesetc.butseeingasFauxPasarenotyetonanyoftheseserviceswecouldnotincludetheselogos.Thelinkswefeaturedclassasentrypoints(asstudiedbyAndrewGoodwin)intotheband’sareaofinfluence,soIdon’tthinkwemadetoomuchofalossbynotincludingtheselogos.Socialmediawouldleadaudiencestoourotherproductsjustaseasilyasfindingthebandononeoftheseservices.Thisclassifiesbothascross-mediaconvergenceand,inaway,synergyinthattheservicesworkwiththeadverttoshowcasethealbumandmusicvideo.

Ourresearchalsoshowedthatthesemagazineadverts/postersusuallyfeaturealloftheirextrainformationinthelowerthirdoftheirpresentation.Thiscommonlyincludesdates,quotesandratings,informationabouttheband,andthenamesoftheirmostfamoustracksoranotherpartofthemediatheywerefamouslyfeaturedwhichconsumersmightrecognisethemfrom.Wedecidedasagroupthatthemostimportantinformationwasthereleasedate(theprimarypurposeoftheadvertistopromotethisspecificalbum),areferencetotheband’sbiggestlivesetatLeedsFestival,informationthatthisistheirdebutalbumandaquoteandratingfromareallocalmusicmagazine.Thedateispresentedinabright,clearanddramaticyellowfontinordertocatchtheeyeofreaders.Thisservesalongsidethemastheadsabovetoenticereaders.Featuringthedatesoprominentlycreatesasenseofrushasitactsalmostasacountdownforreaderstogooutandpreorderorbuythealbumwhenitcomesout.Italsohelpstobalancethepresentationoftheadvertasallofthemostattractiveimageryandtitlingislocatedinthetoptwothirdsoftheadvert,andwedidn’twantreaderstoskimovertherest.

Theactualimageweusedisthesameimagefeaturedonthedigipak’sfrontcover.Thisisaconventionthateveryalbumwestudiedfollowed,asifareadercanassociatethisimagewiththealbum,thentheyaremorelikelytorecogniseitinfutureandbeinterested,eveniftheyhaveforgottentheothercontentsoftheadvert.Wetriedusingdifferentcolourvariantsofthesameimagebutwechosetousetheexactsameexposureasitmatchedwiththecolourschemeandheldmaximummemorabilitywithouraudience.Therewereveryfewconventionswedisregardedinmakingouradvert.Becausethisisprimarilyaneyecatchingproduct,weneededittobeaseasilyrecognisableasanalbumadvertaspossible.Theadvertsweresearchedwereallverysimilar,sowethoughtitbestnottostraytoofarfromthenorm.Ourstylisedpresentationisenoughtomakethisadvertstandout.DigipakThiswascertainlythemostfrequentlyscrutinised,editedandreeditedproductweproduced.Dozensoflastminutechangesandtweaksgotthistoitsfinalversion.Intheendwewereall,however,verysatisfiedwiththeresultanditgotgoodaudiencefeedback.Themostunusualthingaboutourdigipakistheimageryitfeatures.BecauseupuntilthispointFauxPashavebeenmainlyalivebandwithveryfewonlinereleasesandnophysicalCDs,wefeltweshouldcommunicatea

liveatmospherethroughitspresentation,thatandbecauseitalsofeaturesaliveDVD.Thephotosusedweretakenwhilstfilmingforourmusicvideoatoneoftheirgigsonafilmcamerawhicharebothveryunusualtraits.Usuallyspecificdigitalshootsareconductedtobestpresenttheartistswhocreateanalbum,butwefeltthistooplainandunexcitingforour“roughandready”handwrittenalbumdesign.Furtherrelatingtothis“handmade”feel,thedigipakswestudiedallseemedtouseveryclearsansseriffontsinordertobestcommunicatetheinformationwrittenonthem.Wetriedthisbutitsuitedneithertheimageryorattitudeofthealbum,sowechosetomakeupforthislackofclarityinourscrawledfontsbydoublelayeringthetextwithanotherhighcontrastcolour.Thisway,thetextstillfeelspersonalbutisalsocleartoread.Wewantedtokeepthis“intimate”feelingthroughoutourproductsasthebandpresentthemselvesasverylocal,homegrownmusiciansandspeakverycasuallytotheirfansthroughsocialmediaetc.Thedigipak’slayoutiscompletelyconventional;bandnameandalbumtitleonthefrontcover,tracklistandextrainformationonthebackcover,discsandpersonalmessagesinside.Wefollowedtheseconventionssothatwhenpresentedinashopformat,withitsplasticwrappingstillon,audiencescanfliptothetwoavailablesidesofthealbumandseealltheinformationtheywillneedtosee.Thediscsandpersonalnotescanremaininsidebecausetheaudiencedonotneedtoseethemontheshelf.However,thislayoutallowsthemtoseetheband’sname,albumnameandtracklistwitheasepriortopurchase.Thedigipakswestudiedalsoallseemedtofeatureoneblankpanelwithjustabandimageon,sowechosetoemulatethissothatthealbumwouldnotfeeltoobusyorcramped.Ouraudiencefeedbacktoldusthatsomepeoplefeelthealbumisalreadytoocrammedfullofimageryandtext,sothiswasdefinitelyagooddecision.Wechosesuchadistinct,highcontrastandcolourfulvisualstylewithourdigipakinordertoprovidebrandidentitytotheband.Seeingastheydonothavemuchphysicalmediayet,weneededtocreatesomethingmemorableandwereluckilynotlimitedbyanexistingpersonality.Thisisdefinitelyachallengeonexistingconventionsbecausewhilstnottechnicallybreakinganyrules,itcertainlybendsafewexpectationsinitsostentatiousandbusypresentation.Thetwodiscsinthedigipakfeaturealmostidenticalimages.ThiswasaconventionwefoundduringourresearchofdigipakswhichcontainedDVDsinadditiontotheirCDs.OftentheDVDwouldfeatureacolourswappedornegativeversionoftheCD’sappearance.Welikedthisasitshowscoherencebutdifferenceandsochosetoemulateitinourownwork.

Thereiterationofthesamemastheadimage(thisisalsotheexposureweusedonouradvert)furtherpushtheband’suniqueimageataudiences,andwefeltthatthiswasoneofouruniquesellingpointssoneededtobeemphasisedinanywaypossible.MusicVideoThefinalproductwecreatedwas,ofcourse,ourfull-lengthmusicvideo.Thiswascertainlythemostdifficultproducttocreatewhichtookthelongesttimetoproduce,butagainwearehappywithitsresult.Makingvideoswasaskillnoneofushadanyexperiencein,sowehadtodoalotofresearchintotheirconventionsandtriedtostickasclosetothemaswecould.OnegoodsetofguidelineswefoundcomesfromAndrewGoodwin,whosebook“DancingintheDistractionFactory”statesthat:

- Musicvideosdemonstrategenrecharacteristics(e.g.stageperformanceinrockvideos,danceroutines.)

- Thereisarelationshipbetweenlyricsandvisuals- Thereisarelationshipbetweenmusicandvisuals- Thedemandsoftherecordlabelwillincludetheneedforlotsofcloseups

oftheartistandtheartistmaydevelopmotifswhichrecuracrosstheirwork(avisualstyle).

- Thereisfrequentlyreferencetothenotionoflooking(screenswithinscreens,telescopesetc.)andparticularlyvoyeuristictreatmentofthefemalebody.

- Thereisoftenintertextualreference(tofilms,TVProgrammes,othermusicvideosetc.)

Oneofthekeydrivingforcesbehindourvideoscreationwasthatofitsgenre.JacqueDerrida’stheorystatesthat“Atextcannotbelongtonogenre.Itcannotbewithoutagenre.Everysingletextparticipatesinoneormoregenres,asthereisnogenrelesstext.”.Ourgenreisthatofindierock,andsowecarriedoutresearchappropriatetothatgenreandfollowedtheconventionsofwhichitcomprises.TheveryconventionGoodwinusesasanexampleforgenrecharacteristicsisthatrockmusicvideosoftenfeatureliveperformance.Asourgenreis“indie-rock”,wefeltitimportanttoincludeliveperformanceinourvideobecauseofthis,andbecauseofthefactthatthebandisafamouslyexclusivelyliveactlocally.Manyindievideosfeature“falseperformance”filmedinastudiowithspecialsets,outfitsandprettyinstrumentsthatthebanddon’tactuallyuse.Wefeltthiswouldmakeourvideofeeldisgenuinesostuckwiththeideaofliveperformance.Normallythislivefootageisfilmedveryprofessionallyathugeconcertswithbrilliantlightingetc.,butwefeltthatbecausethebandaresosmallandintimate,theseshotsshouldbetakenfromthepointofviewoftheaudience.Thiswasmucheasiertofilmandproducedamoreappropriateresultthanspeciallylightingandframingthemwouldhavedone.

WefeltitveryimportanttofollowGoodwin’ssecondandthirdrules;thatthereshouldbeaclearrelationshipbetweenthemusic,lyricsandvisualsinmusicvideos.Thishelpedguideourcreativedecisionswhilstplanningandeditingthevideo.Asforthemusicrelationship,wetriedtokeepafairlyfastcuttingrhythmthroughoutthevideotomatchthetempoofthemusic.Inplaceswetriedtohaveourcutsfallonbeat,whichmakesthevideofeelcustomtailoredtothemusicbutIdon’tthinkwedidthisenough.Ideally,almosteverycutwouldfallonabeatbutthissimplywasn’tpossiblewithoutitoverridingthewholevideoandsomeshotsneededtobelongerthanthemusicallowed.Ourvideoalsofeaturedperformance–bothfromthebandandthevideo’sprotagonist–whichplayedintimewiththemusicatpointstogivetheillusionthattheywereplayingthemusicoverlaidontothevideo.Thishappenswiththebandthroughoutandwiththeprotagonistattheveryendofthevideo.Ouraudiencefeedbackshowedthistobeoneofthemostsuccessfultraitsoftheentirevideo,aseveryoneweinterviewedseemedtolikeand/orpickuponit.Wecertainlychallengedthisconventionbyincludingsomeshotsoftheprotagonistplayingadifferenttunetothefeaturedsong,butwehaveseenthisdoneinothervideosanditdidn’tseemtospoilthemsoIdon’tthinkthiswasabigdownfall.AnotherofGoodwin’sconventionswepayedparticularattentiontowasthenotionof“looking”.Weusedmanyshotsoftheprotagonistlookingatthingsinordertocreateacohesivenarrativeandshowhisthoughtprocessthroughoutthevideo.Hisgazedirectsours,asGoodwintheorised.Becauseofourparticularlyyoungaudience,wechosenottoincludevoyeuristicpresentationofthefemalebody,whichiscertainlyachallengeonstandardconventions.Onewouldbehardpressedtofindamusicvideonowadayswhichdoesn’tfeaturethispresentationofwomen.However,duetotheagerangeofourpotentialactorsandconsideringtheageofthefansthatwouldendupwatchingthisvideo,wechosetoleaveitoutinfavourofotherimagery.Granted,thereisashotofourmaleprotagonistchangingatthestartofthevideo,butthisisnotmeanttocarrysexualorvoyeuristicundertones,rathersimplytoendeartheviewerstohislifestyleandcreatecommongroundbetweenthem.Itcould,however,beseeneitherwaybytheaudience.

VladimirPropp’stheorysuggeststhattherearesixstagestoanynarrative:

- Preparation:Thesceneisset- Complication:Aproblemarises- Transference:Aheroreceiveshelpandsetsouttofixtheproblem- Struggle:Theherogoesthroughhardships- Return:Theheroreturnsstrengthenedbyhisefforts- Recognition:Theheroisrewardedforhisefforts.Oftenavillainorideais

punishedtoo.Althoughournarrativedisallowedthefeatureofanyparticularvillains,westillmanagedtofitittoPropp’stheory.Inourcase

- Preparation:Theprotagonistwakesuplikeanyotherday- Complication:Hisbadgradesfeaturedlaterclearly

demonstratewhatiswrong,butatthispointinthevideowearejusttoldsomethingiswrongbythefactthatitneedstobeimproved.

- Transference:Theprotagonisthangsuphisnoteandtravelstocollege

- Struggle:Theprotagonistreceiveshisbadgradesandgoestostudytoimprovethem

- Return:Theprotagonistreceiveshisbettergradesandappearshappier

- Recognition:Theprotagonisttearsdownhisnote,implyingthathislikeisnow“together”

Costume(amongstotherfeaturesofmise-en-scene)iscommonlyknowntobeaveryimportantpartofmusicvideos.Bandsandartistsareusuallydressedveryfashionablytoexpressfactorsoftheirrespectivegenresandpersonalities,andwewantedtoplayaroundwiththisideaofexpressionthroughclothinginourvideo.Thethreeoutfitswornbytheprotagonistrepresentthethreestagesofhisstruggle;dissatisfaction(dark,unkemptandwornout),hardwork(practicalandutilitarian)andtriumph(smarter,coordinatedandrelaxed).Thefirstattemptatthevideoalsofeaturedtheseoutfitchangesaswethoughtitaclearandsimplewaytoshowprogressthroughthewaythattheprotagonistfeltabouthimself.Thechangeintothefitnessoutfitwasalsoanimportantdistinctiontomakeaswedidnotwanthisrunningorcyclingtobemisinterpretedasmerelyrushingforcollegeorsomethingsimilar.ThesechangeshelpedustofollowPropp’stheoryandshowcharacterdevelopmentthroughoutthestory.Hisstruggleandrewardareclearlystatedbyhowhepresentshimself.Whilstonthetopicofmise-en-scene,itisimportanttomentionthechoiceofpropsweused.Rockandindievideosarecharacteristicforfeaturingtheirassociatedinstruments

beingplayed,whichwedefinitelyemulatedthroughourlivefootageandinpartthroughthenarrative,althoughwehadtouseanacousticguitarthankstopracticallimitations.Wechallengedthisconventionbymixingtogethertwoseparateperformancepiecesinthesamevideo,onlyoneofwhichwasactuallyplayingthesongfeatured.Simplyfeaturingalltheinstruments,lightingandgearofalivegighelpedconformtousualvideotropesandmakeitfeellikeatrueindie-rockvideo.Thecuttingstylesusedthroughoutthevideodonotvarymuch.Ourresearchshowedthatveryfewmodernvideosusefades,slidesorzoomstoswitchbetweenshotssowestucktoplaincutsandtheoccasionaljumpcuttoshowpassageoftime.Thiscuttingstyleiscertainlyamodernconventiontowhichweadheredveryclosely,aswedidnotwantourvideotofeeldatedintheslightest.Overall,ourvideoadheredtomanyfeaturesofmodernindie-rockmusicvideos,butnotasmanyasIwouldhavelikedtohavedone.Ifeelthatinchallengingthecuttingratewithoff-tempocutsandinstrumentsthatdidn’tdiageticallysuitthemusicbeingplayed,themusiccomesoffasrushedorstrungout,whichithasdefinitelynotbeen.