Q1: In what ways does yourmedia product use, develop

or challenge forms and conventions of real media

products?

By Charlotte Day

Our media product follows mainly conventions of a real media product, however in some areas it can be challenged aswell. The idea of our video being in stop motion could seem quite unconventional as it is quite jumpy and abstract whereas many music videos are in live action showing the artist clearer. However we wanted this effect to fit with our star persona of being quirky and we also, as a group wanted to try new techniques and modernise our idea of a music video. Another unconventional part could be there is not lip syncing all throughout the video, this was down to the fact that it was all in stop motion. However we attempted it at one point in the video where we had to slow down the frame rate in order for it to sync with the lyrics and music, this did look effective and worked however was too risky to use throughout the choruses as it was time consuming and we weren’t 100% sure it would create the effect we would have wanted.

A theory by Goodwin suggests the conventions of a music video and we tried to stick with some of the points however we challenged them where we thought relevant or where it went against our genre, star persona and what we were trying to portray. His points were:

· Lyrics relate to visuals illustrative, abstract, amplifying· Music relates to visuals· Demands of record label· Intertextuality· Reference to notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body· Genre Characteristics

This is the opening to the video where the split screen is first introduced when the two sides of the screen move parallel up and down onto the screen of the 2 characters this is to connote in the

first shot that they are 2 different people although they are in similar environments and situations. The mise-en-scene was deliberate to show a stereotypical girls and boys bedroom and

to show they’re in two different places doing the same things. The opening connotes a clear narrative with the lyrics relating to the visuals with the words at this point saying ‘we’ve only ever kissed lying down’. The characters in the narrative are both lying down in bed and you are left to

immediately assume they’re a couple.

This shot is of the passing through of objectives to follow the narrative and show an illustrative link with the lyrics. The objects such as a toothbrush, tv remote and glass of water were passed through and this showed how in sync the characters are and how they follow the same routine as each other after a night out together. Also this relates to the lyrics that read, ‘our bodies fit together like a make shift puzzle’ these shots are metaphors for a puzzle and how they fit together through these passing of objects.

This shot is from the chorus of the video and the first time we see the artist. It is conventional of a music video to show the artist so the audience can relate to what they are listening to and to show the demands of the record label, ‘Interscope’ who are trying to promote our artists, her music and star persona. The cartoon imagery in this shot is to show a quirky side to her star persona and to follow the innocent side of her persona.

Here is a close up of our artist lip syncing. This is very conventional in music videos and artists similar to our such as Ellie Goulding and Taylor Swift all include some sort of lip syncing in their videos. Although there is little of it in our video as this was very hard to achieve in stop motion as we had to get the right frame rate to fit the song, we still felt we needed to include this to show the audience clearly who the artist is. Close ups are also very conventional within the pop genre, which is half our chosen genre, also to show direct address and identification towards the audience.

This shows the editing of the layering of the performance sequence in our video. Performances are conventional within music videos especially as our genre is pop/folk and the guitar suggests the folk genre. The lighting in the performance is deliberate high key to fit with our star persona and also follow conventions within our genre. For example in a rock video it is conventional to have a performance, however the lighting would be lot darker and low key and the editing would be sharp fast cuts rather than our which has fades within the transitions to link and relate to the song and its melody. A rock may contain strobe lights and different lighting effects, however we kept our performance simple with the lighting to follow her star persona and her genre.

Low key lighting with a dark background

High key lighting with a bright background

This shot is of our green screen. This again follows our illustrative video and narrative and this is the first time we see the characters together in one shot which connotes how they cant stay apart although they are still not physically together in the shot. This part looks quirky too which is conventional in fitting with our persona.

This high angled shot occurs often in our video and the same camera angle throughout a music video is quite unconventional . However with more time we could have filmed the sequence again as an establishing shot and alternated between the angles, however with this sequence in stop motion being very time confusing this would seem impossible

Our images for our digi-pack included a black and white theme and colour scheme throughout, this was to portray our star persona of being a bit quirky and chic at the same time. This was also used to show an identity to our artist and a recognisable theme that her target audience follow and look out for. This follows conventions of a professional digi-pack such as Ellie Goulding who is similar to out artist, who has the theme of lights throughout her digi-pack and products.

The prop of the magnified glass was used as identification from the artist to her audience and with links to voyeurism but not of women but to her audience and music. Also the image as the front cover of our digi-pack is quirky with this which links with our music video and persona. The location was set as a photo shoot and in one image we included the background with the lights and equipment shown to make the audience feel as though they are there and closer to her and to show there is little editing involved which portrays her down to earth persona. We linked images of our artist along with images of a guitar to show her genre of music which is pop/country folk and also to connote that our artist is all about her music. We have included the special features side to our pack with conventional information of a digi-pack within. However we did run low on time so was unable to include information on the pack’s spine.

Our digi-pack includes 3 different images with a track list on the back, special features, record label, barcode and follows mainly all the conventions you’d expect within a digi-pack

With our magazine advert we tried to keep the theme within our digi-pack so the advert was edited in black and white to follow this. Overall the advert looked very eye catching with this theme and we added bright pink colour to her text name to make it stand out further and show conventionally a female artist.

The advert shows conventions of a professional advert as it has the cover of the digi-pack on with all the information on when to buy it and positive quotes from within the industry to promote this digi-pack further. All of the text in the advert is the same font as the text throughout the digi-pack to show continuity and a brand identity to our artist. Although many adverts have the same image as to their digi-pack image, however we wanted to challenge this and to show variation and although the image is different we still have the same mise-en-scene within so there is a definite link and the continuity still represented. We also used logos from social networks to promote our pack further through a free media platform which is a convention of an advert.