EVALUATION 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products ?

Throughout my music video I have tried to portray the generic conventions of a rock/pop genre. The way that I did this was through the editing, narrative and mise en scene. In this PowerPoint I will therefore be exploring certain aspects of my music video and evaluating how and if they represent my chosen genre well. For example, I will be looking at:1. Representation of the artist2. Setting/location3. Costumes and props4. Camerawork and editing5. Performance6. Narrative7. Genre and how the music video suggests it8. How characters are introduced9. Special effects

Representation and introduction of the artist

• In my music video I have made the main character/artist very vulnerable and weak, to not only go with the lyrics of the song but also to fit in with the pop/rock genre. It is a generic convention to include someone inferior in a pop/rock genre and this is usually featured in the main artist. However, there is also a character that features as the ‘stronger one,’ and in my music video I have made this my second artist. It is also natural for there to be an outburst in the music video during a long instrumental, whether this be part of a band playing their instruments, or part of a storyline. I decided for my artist to have a rage in her house during the instrumental which again, not only fit in with the genre of pop/rock, expressing emotions such as frustration and opening up to the audience, but it also went well with the storyline that I chose for my song and represents her vulnerability.I think that these features definitely show the representation of characters, especially through the narrative as the audience can get a more accurate idea of what they are feeling and what is going on in their lives. In fact, one aspect of the narrative that expresses the representation of the artist well is the recurring theme of exclusion and love. This informs the audience that they are typical teenagers, experiencing typical teenage problems, and so the audience can relate, as well as be well informed about who they are.

• The artists were both introduced at the beginning of the music video and so were the first thing that the audience saw. This was done because I wanted to add emphasis onto the fact that they were the most important aspect of the music video and it also makes them more memorable to the audience. This links in with stereotypical pop/rock music videos because the representation of characters is key and it is important to ensure that they are the most important aspect of the video.

Setting/locationGeneric pop/rock music videos include locations that

are fairly simplistic and everyday and go with the target audience. Take Pink- So What for example, she uses locations such as roads, front gardens, bars, etc.. Each of these locations are simple and relatable to her target audiene of young adults. For this reason it was important to keep the locations in my own music video straightforward and everyday/easily accessible to my target audience. It would be completely unconventional to use locations such as restaurants, airports, hotels, and other locations of this sort because they are not easily accessible to my target audience of teenagers and are not simple. On the contrary I have included fields, kitchens, bathrooms, pathways and bedrooms, all of which are relatable to both my audience and the genre. The fact that the locations were simple goes well with the rock part of the genre, but the fact that there was a variety of simple locations suits the pop genre as it shows diversity and makes the music video stand out as it is interesting and more engaging to watch.

Costumes and propsI had to do a lot of thinking in relation to the

costumes because the pop and rock genres are quite opposite in this respect. For example in generic rock music videos the costumes are simple and casual, and the characters wear clothes such as jeans or leggings. On the other hand pop costumes are more glamorous, girly and stylish, including things such as dresses and short skirts. In the end, the way that I decided upon my costumes was to have them simple and everyday, but also they were trendy and modern. For example the main dress that one of the artists wear is fairly simple and is a day dress, however, it is also quite stylish, modern and has a girly flower pattern, going well with the types of clothing that teenage girls wear

everyday.

Props in generic pop/rock music videos are usually dependent on the storyline and so vary accordingly, however they are also relatable to the target audience and would be relatable to them. The main prop in my music video are drugs. Drugs have a huge impact and influence on most teenagers and so including them in my music video would not come as a shock to them. In fact a lot of teenagers experiment with some drugs and my music video can relate to the incidents that could be an outcome if you are not careful and sensible. The same sort of message appears in other pop/rock genres. Sometimes alcohol can appear and though it may seem like the music video is advertising alcohol, they usually either promote it in a good way, by being sensible and showing that it can be used as a method of having fun as long as you are careful and understand your limits, or in a negative way whereby someone gets hurt or misjudges their limits. Another prop that is used frequently is a mobile phone. This is a stereotypical prop used by all teenagers, making the music video relatable to the audience and emphasises the fact that pop/rock music videos entail props that are relatable to the specific audiences.

Camerawork and editingThe main focus during my camerawork was to express the facial

expressions of each character and to show the audience exactly what was going on and the important features of the video. The reason for this is because most pop/rock genres show the artists to the audience to promote them and allow the audience to gain a personal relationship with the emotions being portrayed through the camerawork. The way that I did this was by having a variety of shots to show both facial expressions and posture, these included close-ups and long shots, which allowed the audience to get a better feel of the types of emotions coming through the song. The editing was also done in relation to the genre. Pp/rock music videos are usually simple and show more emphasis on the artist and storyline and so keep the editing to a minimum. I tried to live up to this by only including editing in certain scenes that would be effective. For example I made the colour of my music video black and white which went with the mood and links in with other pop/rock music videos that are also quite sad and emotional. Slow motion was a good editing technique to use because it went with the tempo of the song and is used in many pop/rock music videos. Another edit was the mirroring and adding layers of the same scene together, dividing the screen into parts/sections. This suited the pop/rock genre because they usually include modern edits that go with the advance in technology.

Performance

Most rock/pop genres include a performance in the music video, which is generally just a band performing or e solo artist in one or two locations. I decided to link my narrative and performance together which is why my performance appears in more than one location. For example the bathroom scene is part of the performance as the artist is singing but also features as the narrative because it goes with the storyline. In this respect I have challenged the pop/rock genre but do not believe that it does not represent the genre because it went well with the song, as well as the genre, I just mingled them together to add effect and make it more individual. However, there are certain locations that have no link to the narrative, but still link to the lyrics. For example the field is used for the performance but fits in with the song as it is a large and empty field, representing the artists segregation towards society. This suited the performance aspect of pop/rock genre because it is what generally occurs in them.

Narrative

• Most pop/rock music videos include a narrative that goes well with the lyrics of the song. They are usually straightforward and easy to understand and the artist usually takes part in this narrative. For this reason I tried to present this as best as I could; my artists featured in my music video and were the main characters, which showed the audience that the message they were portraying was personal to them and that they wanted the audience to feel included. The audience was made aware of their lives and could relate to their problems through their own lives and develop idols from them. The narrative was well linked to the song lyrics and this was good as it was a stereotype of pop/rock genres.

Genre and how the music video suggests it

• I think that my music video is well suited to a pop/rock music video in many ways. The main reason would probably be the simplicity of it. I wanted my main focus to be on the artists and the message that they were portraying to the audience through the narrative. It is typical for a pop/rock music video to focus on the narrative and characters/ artists in order to promote them and allow the audience to relate to them and so I feel like I did a good job with this. The black and white editing technique suits the stereotypes of the genre as they represent the darkness of rock but the style of the pop. So I think it is fair to say that from the camerawork to the performance, my music video fits with the conventions of a pop/rock music video. Because of how closely I tried to link everything in with it.

Special effects

• One of the most evident uses of special effects was probably the strobe lights that we included to go with the beat of certain parts of the song at the beginning. This was effective and I got my inspiration from a pop/rock music video called Diane Young by Vampire Weekend as they used it too. This shows how I used influences from other rock/pop videos to help me decide on what special effects would be well suited t my own music video. I also included mirroring as an effect so that the video was more engaging and went well with the modern aspects of a pop/rock genre.