Q1)IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR

CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

• My advanced portfolio was to create a music video of my choice from a particular genre of music. This required me to carry out in-depth analytical research into music videos which broadened my perspective on my view of music videos. This in-depth research and theory understanding set me up for the planning stage of my music video and ancillary products which included creating a digipak and magazine advert. This made me aware of the differences between music videos and what genre they came from. Even though music videos are different according to genre, some aspects stay the same. A music video is a visual repetition of a song, usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics. The primary purpose of a music video is to entertain the audience in a way in which the artist chooses, usually chosen depending on the target audience and genre.

• Research Planning Production Evaluation.

• A similar artist that uses music videos in a comparable way to our artist is David Guetta. I believe he is represented in a very unique way and creates his individual spotlight throughout music videos with a great impact. Despite David Guetta hardly being seen throughout music videos he is able to have a very friendly, humble and welcoming representation of himself which appeals to the audience. He also smiles in most of the music videos.

David Guetta

• Cinematography: Close ups are frequently used to portray the emotion of the artist and their attitude and lifestyle. We decided to represent our artist in a similar to David guetta. My artist: Close up to portray emotion in the characters, in this instance upset and heartbroken Close up used for a different purpose, to show joy and happiness .

•Mes: High-key lighting used when the artist is dancing or for exaggerated movement which also outlines the artists image and stance. Low-key lighting is used when he is mainly alone and singing with just his face that is visible. Iconography relevant to the theme and Club/Dance genre is also evident like headphones or jewellery.

•Artist image: Costume is an important feature of David's image, therefore there is emphasis on how he looks as he has a smart/casual image.

•Editing: Slow paced editing when the beat is slow to put emphasis on the narrative in order to determine that the audience is aware of what is happening.

DOES MY PRODUCT DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS

• In my opinion, I believe that my final product follows the conventions of a typical similar real media products in a variety of ways. My music video takes on the concept of performance and narrative based which although this combo is rarely used by artists of the house genre, it does follow most music videos of the narrative.

• The reason we decided to include a performance is so we would be able to promote the artist as this is his first single so trying to gained as much publicity as possible was necessary to attract his target audience. Understanding various examples of Club/dance music videos we decided that it was a must that we follow the conventions as well as incorporate some ideas that would not follow the genre for example being partly performance based in order to gain the most form our music video for a debutant artist as well as making him have a USP that would stand out from other artists and in result gain a larger target audience while still following similar conventions of the Club/Dance genre to gain the audience who love Club/dance music.

SOME EXAMPLES OF THE CONVENTIONAL MUSIC VIDEO ELEMENTS THAT I USED IN MY WORK INCLUDE: • A variety of lighting including low, high and natural lighting to create various atmospheres among the locations we

used to film in order to create our video

•Mise en scene and especially with location and costume as we decided that it would be those that the audience would most remember in the video and the costume suits the artist and what he was trying to portray which was a carefree, rebellious young adult

•Editing as we made sure that the editing followed at a similar pace to the music which does not create any confusion with the audience so they can enjoy the music video.

•What we also did that some music videos do is experiment with their videos to generate hype among the media and the audience which no matter if it is good or bad hype, it is gaining publicity.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cinematography is a one of the micro elements which help define and promote the star’s image. Using various camera shots, angles and movements the audience can develop a specific viewpoint of the artist. Furthermore the use of cinematography make it easier for the audience to build a relationship with the artist. By doing this then the artist is able to appeal more to their target audience. By doing research I have come to the conclusion that camera shots that show our artist on a personal level such as close up are conventional in order to get a reaction from the audience.

• A music video that influenced our cinematography was Leona Lewis - 'trouble' due to the simple yet effective use of camera shots as well as the specific close ups on body parts. An example of a camera shot they used was a long shot of the artist. This was a clear representation of star image and it shows how certain cinematography can be used to promote a stars image as to what Dyers theory states.

Eminem ft Rihanna - 'love the way you lie' influencedhow we were going to film the narrative of our music video and capture the characters dancing, using specific camera shots and movement. 

• In order to make my music video look professional, we decided that conventional cinematography was necessary in order for our music video to reflect the theories of Dyer and Goodwin as well as to attract our target audience. We decided that our artist was going to represent their own ideologies and culture as Richard Dyer expresses that an artist of those traits create their star persona by conveying beliefs ideas and opinions outside music, which hopefully will get the audience to build a relationship with the artist. in order to show this there are various camera shots including close ups and extreme close ups on the artist to show his facial expression and long shots to show his body language. Goodwin states that all videos use to a degree, successful technical elements in order to create a music video conventional to its genre as well as to its target audience. For the artists star image motifs, close ups on the artist face makes the audience familiarise with the artist face and therefore can identify him in different forms of media which in turn will promote the artists star image.

SHOTS

• Long shots was a recurring camera shot that was in my music video in order to show every aspect of the artist to the audience so they get to understand the artists personality and attitude through the capture of his body language, posture and facial expressions. Longs shots are usually used to show how a character looks or to show what they are doing which is why capturing the characters using long shots a good idea as we get to see what their bodies are doing. Both Leona Lewis and Eminem use long shots but in different ways. Leona Lewis uses it to show the artist fully in order to promote her star image whereas Eminem use it to show the characters progress in the narrative.

MOVEMENT

• Camera movements are also key when it comes to music videos. They can be used to follow the character during a narrative which in turn can build a relationship between the character or artist with the audience. By doing this you can create various effects with the video to get various emotions form the audience. A tilt shot is the most common as it is used mainly to introduce a person. In our video we use a tilt shot to introduce the new male character. Although a few theorists such as Goodwin, Dyer and Mulvey mention that most conventional music videos will contain some element of sexual magnetism, our video challenges their views. The female within our music video isn't shown to off voyeuristically.

EDITING

• Editing is important in music videos because it shows the transitions between each moving image and establishes a rhythm to the song. It also shows how one scene can progress into another if the music video is narrative based. I believe it is important to think about editing especially in music videos because just like cinematography it is another way to receive a response from the audience and make them fell emotional. It is also important to have the pace of the editing follow the pace of the music otherwise it doesn’t flow as well as Goodwin suggested. Various editing techniques that were used in our video are: Various jump cuts of the character as this showed a great effect and looked really good as he continuously jumped from one part of the room to another. This is conventional to the Club/Dance genre because we cleverly use this technique to quickly progress through a narrative. The fast pace editing followed the pace of the music so they complement each other. Eminem does this really well with his song as he uses various editing techniques in order for the editing to follow the pace of the music.

MES: LIGHTING AND COLOUR

• Lighting and colour is significant in music videos because it helps Identify the artist as it illuminates them from their surroundings promoting star image and therefore the audience can fixate on the artist. Furthermore it can help set the main atmosphere of the music video while complimenting the locations. We decided that high key lighting as well as natural and low key lighting as well because we thought we would look very effective and professional if we could incorporate footage that contained all three. In my music video I wanted to use high key lighting for when we used close ups of the artist, so he can be the centre of attention, letting the audience create a relationship with the artist and can see what the artist is doing throughout the music video. There is a difference in colour when comparing the narrative and artist spotlights. This was so the audience could differentiate between the narrative and performance within the music video which I believe was done successfully.

MES: SETTINGS

• The settings we choose to feature in our music video are important as it is where the characters are going to be and they have to suit the genre of the music otherwise they will clash and in result the video will not look professional. Our locations have nothing else to distract the audience so their full attention is on the artist which in turn will boost their publicity and promotes their star image. it also helps us to film because of its simplicity it will allow us to capture different angles of him in order to show our artists through different perspectives.

MES: ICONOGRAPHY

• The key piece of iconography used in my music video was to develop the generic conventions of the ‘Dance’ genre further. The key piece of iconography which was used was the artist’s headphones. I believe using headphones is conventional to the genre as the artist represents his love for the music. Also I believe it supports the idea of the narrative which makes it clearer for the audience that he is the artist. We also used headphones on another character starring within the music video to show the artists influence. Lastly, I believe this could be a form of merchandising for the headphones to support the artist.

MES: COSTUME, HAIR AND MAKE UP

• Costume, hair and make-up is important when considering how it is on the characters as well as the artist because this can lead to trend sets if the artist is popular enough and could result in the audience following in the style of the artist in order to build a relationship with them. Brands are also key when it comes to costume as it could determine what clothing an artist may wear in order to perceive a certain representation of themselves to the audience. Dyer’s theory expresses that consumers may aspires to be like the artist in order to generate a relation between them and therefore will change their lifestyles to mimic that of an artist. The characters were wearing casual comfortable clothing that is what you would expect from young adults to relate to their target audience The artist was dressed in casual clothing as this best represented his personality and attitude. In result we wanted the audience to be able to relate to the artist because of this.

MES: BODY LANGUAGE AND FACIAL EXPRESSION

• We wanted all the characters within the music video to appeal to a variety of audience members therefore we ensured that they looked very comfortable, natural and relaxed. However, our female characters hair and makeup were done throughout the video to ensure that she appeals to any male viewers and to enhance Dyers ‘Star Image’ theory. Also, I believe that is it conventional to the genre and it allowed her to look more mature. Her facial expressions were very simple and relaxed at all times. On the other hand the male character always looked very angry with a screw face to show his anger through the narrative. His body language is very stiff and firm to enhance his anger in the gym as well as the house scene.