EVALUATION QUESTION ONE:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

CONVENTIONS OF A POP MUSIC VIDEO:

• Within my music video, I represented the conventions of pop music videos through the use of people, places, objects and cultural identities. This was so I could create meaning for my audience.

• ANDREW GOODWIN:

A music video should represent the song itself, as both a form of advertisement and as a message within the song

• ROLAND BARTHES:

Denotations (literal meaning) and Connotations (associated meaning)

The theories of both Andrew Goodwin and Roland Barthes can be seen in my own music video as the denotations show an actor posing as the artist Will.I.Am to be singing alongside a female performer, however, the connotations suggest the artist is actually being promoted through the video, by making the audience aware of his image. This is done mostly through close-up shots of the artist, a camera shot which is used within most music videos.

This can also be seen through the use of Mise-En-Scene, as the use of sepia filters, red round tables, candles and wine and shot glasses creates the look of a 1920s jazz bar setting. From this we can connote that the music video is also advertising ‘The Great Gatsby’ film as the song was taken from the soundtrack, using synergy to promote the film on a new platform.

This was also seen in the costume of the female performer who wore both red lipstick and a red dress was used to connote not only the sultriness of the character and the state of appeal for male audience’s but also as a way of warning the audience about the dangerous side of the performer. This is the exact same concept used in Lawson’s video of ‘Juliet’ where the female character (dressed in red) uses her looks to violate men by stealing their possessions

• ANDREW GOODWIN:

Relation between the lyrics and visuals was created through props as the confetti canons used to murder the irritating men in the bar reflects the line “my baby shot me down again”. This technique allows the audience to remember the lyrics as they are being reinforced by the images, making the song memorable. This is similar to Maroon 5’s music video for ‘Moves like Jagger’ as when this line is sung during the chorus, an image of MicJagger is shown on screen

• ANDREW GOODWIN:

Relation between audio and visuals was created through the lip syncing of the artist along with the music and in another shot where a foot is seen to be tapping along to the beat of the song and shots where the party cannons are seen to be going off at the sound of the “bang”. This can also be seen in Olly Murs’ video for ‘Troublemaker’ where the images on screen are seen to be cut in time to the beat of the music in the introduction

• FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE:

Meaning is understood through an interpretation of signs; this theory was needed within my own music video as the sound for the actual visuals was muted, therefore for the narrative to be understood, body language was needed to be used. This is shown in one cut where a male character is seen to be being rude to the female waitress. It is clear he is acting harshly as his face is screwed in an aggressive frown as he waves his middle finger in the air; reflecting his hostility towards the waitress

• LAURA MULVEY:

The idea of the ‘male gaze’ was created through camera shots and angles. Particularly at the start of the music video where the camera pans up the female performers body. The idea of someone watching her is emphasised by the use of a ‘fade-to-black’ transition, giving the impression of someone blinking. It is this shot which gives the audience the impression they are watching through a diegetic gaze as they watch through the perspective of the males within the video. This element of voyeurism offers the audience pleasure through the eye of the camera, allowing them to freely look at a woman in a way which would be unsuitable in reality; this is emphasised in further cuts which show a male looking away guiltily from the performer, followed by another looking down into his wine glass with a coy smile; caught in the act. This also emphasises Mulvey’s theory that men look and women are looked at; which is reflected through the costume of the female performer who is dressed in a figure-hugging dress and killer heels

• LAURA MULVEY:

However, this concept is being challenged more recently as the ‘male gaze’ is not the only feature of music videos, as seen in Carly Rae Jepson’s video for ‘Call Me Maybe’, where the male character in the video is seen to be removing his wet vest shirt. This is to particularly target young teenage girls as the pop genre is a genre that mostly young girls listen to.

• Music video must be within 2.5 to 5 minutes long

This screenshot from YouTube shows

my music video to be 2:52 minutes

long, which is the length of an

average pop music video

• The theme of love is brought up

This can be seen in One Direction’s video for ‘What Makes you Beautiful’ where the boys target the song lyrics to a girl they have met at the beach.

This is seen within my own music video as the boys are clearly taken by the sensuality of the female performer

• Use of technology:

Technology is often seen to be used within many modern pop videos as it is an element which targets specifically the youth of today. It is also a way for the artist to gain more money as the owners of the products pay to be advertised through the music video, this is seen in the recent featuring of the ‘beats’ speakers which can be seen in Miley Cyrus’ video for ‘Can’t Stop’, Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ and Jessie J’s ‘It’s my Party’. The use of technology is also an aspect I have used within my own work as the use of mobiles featured is a reflection of our 1920s theme with a modern twist

CONVENTIONS OF NARRATIVE:• TODOROV:

My music video reflects Todorov’s theory of ‘Equilibrium vs Disequilibrium’ through my narrative. This was created through shots of both performing artists with shots of the men in the bar. This shot established the characters and settings within the story, however, this is then changed when the female waitress enters the shot. It is clear from the entrance of this character that she will unbalance the peace and the narrative will change.

I also followed a three part structure to ensure my music video had a beginning, middle and end, using the Background, Problem, Solution, Evaluation to ensure the narrative is understood. This was seen in the background of the 1920s jazz-bar setting, the problem of the males being disrespectful and the solution being the death of the male characters

• PROPP:

I also used Propp’s theory to create a villainous character (male played Kieran Tobin) and the donor, who helps out (the female performer who helps the waitress murder the men in the bar)

CONVENTIONS OF WILL.I.AM’S MUSIC VIDEOS:

• Will.I.Am uses many close-ups of himself within his music videos, where he looks directly at the audience, as seen in his video for ‘Scream and Shout’

• Female performers:

Will.I.Am includes females in all of his music video’s, starting off with Fergie in their group ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ and moving onto the likes of Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Cheryl Cole and Nikki Minaj. Within my own music video, Will.I.Am is seen to be paired up with the female performer, just like in all his other videos

• Black and White filters:

Just like Will.I.Am did in his music video for ‘Bang Bang’ we also used a black and white filter to create the idea of the video being old-fashioned and reflect the 1920s theme

CONVENTIONS I HAVE SUBVERTED:• Usually within music videos, the female characters are seen to be

sexualised and submissive for the likes of male characters. However, within my own music video the female character is anything but submissive as she plans to help her fellow female friend defeat the males in the bar by fighting back rather than letting them abuse them.

• This idea is being shown in more music videos these days, where the women are seen to be over-powering the male characters as seen in Faul and Wad Ad vs Pnau’s ‘Changes’, where a group of little girls group together to fight back against a group of boy scouts who have kidnapped their friend and in Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ where she is seen to be magically transforming men into animals and dust particles after using them for their wealth and fame.