In what ways does your media product use,

develop and challenge conventions and forms of

real media products?

Since we decided upon creating a music video to fit within the Indie genre,

we carried out three textual analysis of influential videos -

1. Curtain Call - Aiden Grimshaw

2. Cupid - Daniel Powter3. She Will Be Loved -

Maroon 5

There were carefully studied in order to identify

the recurring themes, conventions and representations.

Minimal Lip Synching

Lip synching is a very common and conventional feature of the majority of

music videos, however within the Indie genre, this seems to be

challenged, with some artists (such as Ed Sheeran - A Team) opting for a fully narrative video rather than focussing

on the artist.

After considering the three main videos, I concluded that the videos with less lip synching were more

successful in conveying the story of the song. Due to the narrative nature

of the group’s chosen song ‘Balance’, I therefore decided I would slightly

challenge the convention of lip synching, by only using it during the

‘live’ chorus section of the video. This therefore allows for more exploration

of our interpretation of the lyrics.

Live Footage

Maroon 5’s video for She Will Be Loved includes a brief scene where the artist

appears to be performing in a believable gig setting. I found this particularly

effective, as it provides the audience with an opposing theme to concentrate on aside

from the main story.

As a result of this, I included live footage in my own music video, which was recorded

personally at a performance at ‘The Donkey’ in Leicester. Due to the lack of lip synching throughout the main body of the video, the live footage also allows for this convention to still be slightly adhered to,

and further developed.

For filming to take place, I had to contact the artist directly to ensure he was

comfortable with it, as well as speaking to the venue to check filming was permitted. There was an issue with the speed of the footage in relation to the recorded song

when they were overlaid, which caused the two to be out-of-sync. Therefore, a lot of

time was taken cutting and altering these small sections to perfectly synch them.

Relationship Narrative

Possibly the most common convention of any music video is the exploration of a relationship between a boy of a

girl. The majority of song lyrics relate to the concept of ‘love’, including my chosen song Balance, and the artists

choose to convey this within the video.

Naturally, I adhered to this convention within my own music video; the talent

are seen to be meeting for the first time at the beginning, and the lyrics

then guide us through the development of this relationship. I wanted to convey the couple in a

variety of interesting ways, so relied upon picturesque settings, carefully composed shots and conventional

angles/transitions in order to create a relatable, emotive story. These allowed for concepts such as

‘flashbacks’ and ‘memories’ to be clearly conveyed, and indicated the

passing of time.

Theory Relevance

There are various social stereotypes which are challenges

within my music video. The first is the female taking charge of the

situations; it is generally expected that the ale character will lead the

female through situations, however in my video the girl is seen to be the

first to instigate a handshake, throw rocks into the lake, and plays the

guitar. This gives the video a more modern feel, as in todays society there is less expectation of these

gender differences, and both have a more equal role.

Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze suggests that all media products are created from a male’s perspective,

therefore when an audience views it, it is seen through a male’s eyes. My media product partially follows this, as the female character is attractive,

however as a female director, I purposely aimed to avoid this

objectification, as I am aware of the degrading nature of this.

Every media product has various uses and gratifications, which are

the particular ways in which the audience gets pleasure from

consuming it. For example, my video includes an attractive artist and talent, who the viewer may find

appealing or inspiring. Also, the live section of the video adheres to the pleasure a person achieves from watching an artist perform. Most

media products, such as films and especially music videos, explore the concept of a relationship, and these are proven to be extremely popular. Therefore, this convention has been

fully adhered to within our music video to provide the audience with pleasure through satisfaction. The

music is another gratification, as it is an extremely catchy song, which the

audience will remember and recognize in the future - this is the

main purpose of a music video; a tool to persuade viewers to download and

purchase the single/album.