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Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Before creating each of our final media products, we had to conduct extensive research into what sorts of conventions were used in existing products. We picked and chose between which we thought worked well, so that we could include them in our own texts, and those that we thought worked poorly so that we may work to avoid including in our own work. These conventions and their motifs are as follows: Magazine Advert Band/Album Names A rather obvious convention, but we knew that our advert would need to clearly tell its readers exactly what it was advertising. All of the examples we studied did this simply by making the band’s name and album title large mastheads on their adverts. We chose to use clear, yet stylised fonts in high contrast colours so that readers would understand what the advert was at a glance. This gives them the ability to either recognise the band and be intrigued, or to be shown the sort of style their advert follows and decide whether they want to read on or not. The band’s names are usually featured above the lead image, whereas the album name usually falls below it. We emulated this in our advert because in reading both, the audience’s eyes are drawn over the album image, which we want them to see and be intrigued by. The use of the band’s actual logo font for the “Faux Pas” was a conscious decision, as it is more likely to be recognised by existing fans or to introduce new ones to the conventions of the band. These fonts and colours are also featured on our digipak so that they may serve the same purpose there. The advert we studied also usually used different fonts for the two titles, and we chose to emulate this in our work to show difference between their purposes. We could have recreated the band font to use for the album name (as Kings of Leon have here), but we decided that there should be a more natural distinction between the two titles. Social Media/Weblinks Another “expected” convention, the adverts we studied featured links that could lead their readers to more information on the bands and the albums they featured. We chose to include these so that audiences

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Page 1: 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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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


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