Evaluation Question 1

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

At the beginning of my planning stages for my media A2 coursework, I researched and analysed genre and non-genre specific music videos. Creating timeline analysis’ enabled me to expand my knowledge on the popular shots and angles used in music videos. Every director for the music videos I had studied addressed their narratives through a series of commonly used camera angles: mid shots and close ups. Depending on the style of music, i.e. ‘Formation’ by Beyoncé, which breaks the mediocre conventions associated with the Black American culture, and the role of women which contrasts with Pop culture, where bright colours such as yellow, pink and blues are regularly used to represent an un-realistic storyline (‘Bon Appetit’ by Katy Perry), Beyoncé's R&B style enabled her to project her music video through negative tones (blues and greens) to contrast with the original associations regarded with a female artist.

Lewis Capaldi’s single ‘Bruises’  is recognised as Alternative Rock, the live recording that was filmed for Capaldi’s music video was held within an enclosed room, with natural light appearing from a window positioned behind the artist a dark atmosphere is presented. Where the artist stands in a static position, the camera moves around the room. Contrary to the simplicity of this filming, ‘Formation’ involves a mixture of storylines within the one music video, the camera cutting between scenes with costume changes. This may reflect the budget both of these artists had when producing these music videos, although the similarity between the two soloists is through the message they choose to portray/ the intent behind the music video is expressed through the clothing and connotations found in their music vidoes.

I applied the research I found into my own filming, following both the traditional and non-traditional styles of shooting footage based on the genre of music I chose. Inspired by the thematic colours in Lewis Capaldi’s own music video for my chosen song, I applied a blue tint over the sped up footage at the beginning of my music video to give an eerie, disturbed effect. The colour blue also links into the theme of water and the referenced made to it in the lyrics. The use of colour separated this time period from the rest of the clips in my music video. The video then moves from black and white to colour, this change happens when the character washes his face, this represents the actual beginning of the non-linear storyline. The footage begins to fade which represents the deterioration of the characters mental health.

Both the designs for my digipak and poster use the same colour scheme that correspond with the genre of the music, Alternative, which reflects the intimate and emotional songs Lewis Capaldi produced for his album. The purple-black colour is used for the silhouette on the poster and the background to my album design, this challenges real media conventions as this colour isn’t popular within media colour designs.

Andrew Goodwin’s five aspects to a music video

ØThought through beat (analysing the representation of what the lyrics mean through an audiences' mind)

ØRelationship between song and visuals

ØNarrative and performance of the song

ØTechnical aspect of a music video

ØStar Image (protagonist), camera shots making him/her the centre of attention.

THE MAJORITY OF MUSIC VIDEOS TEND TO INCLUDE A DEMONSTRATION OF TYPICAL GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

Seen as a form of intertextuality, many music videos are also linked to film genres, a typical example of this is displayed in the rock music videos that are influenced by horror films.

(i.e. a video of a stage performance is typically used for a metal video, a dance routine may be used for a Pop artist/ group and bikini clad women by a pool with expensive gold chains and sports cares are typically associated with rap videos.)

THERE ARE FREQUENT REFERENCES TO THE ‘NOTION OF LOOKING’ AND THE ‘VOYEURISTIC TREATMENT’ OF THE FEMALE BODY

The ‘notion of looking’ follows an underlying position that includes either men or women being portrayed seductively or through the broken fourth wall principle; when there is eye contact made with the camera. The ‘notion of looking’ can also be referenced through the use of props.

(i.e. mirrors, television screens and cameras are commonly used within music videos.)

Voyeurism is a term popularly used to describe actions that project a sexual appeal. This convention is becoming commonly used within female artists music videos.

(A good example where voyeurism is used is in Miley Cyrus’ music video ‘Wrecking Ball’. Footage filmed regarding ‘voyeurism’ within modern media platforms, is shown through one repeated angle, specifically demonstrated with the women figure and body.)

THERE IS A CLEAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS

Goodwin states that the majority of music videos create a level of promotion for the song through the analytical responses following the meanings and representations behind the lyrics, this is then shown through a visual response.

(An example of this is when a character in the music video follows the literal meaning behind the song. This can be seen in ‘Congratulations’ by Post Malone: ‘but your lighters to the sky’. In the music video a hand holding a lighter is raised.)

THE RECORD LABEL IN WHICH THE ARTIST IS ASSIGNED TO TENDS TO HAVE CERTAIN DEMANDS

Record labels often direct some of the content which we, as an audience see in a solo artist’s or band group’s music videos. Regulations that have to feature in the videos are specific shots and angles; close ups of the artist and a clear shot of the entire artist. The artist or band also have to follow or create an indapendant, visual style that will be visible within their videos and when they present themselves.

 (An example of this can be seen in The Weeknds’ music videos, he has created a style and aesthetic that reoccurs in the most recent music videos he’s filmed regarding his up and coming EP ‘My Dear Melancholy’. The 4th wall is also broken by the concept of close ups and the performance from the artist, this makes it appear that the artist is singing directly to the audience.)

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES

Intertextuality includes references that can be found in both music videos, films and T.V programmes. One of the best ways for the audience to become engaged with the artist and their movements is by making a reference that people can understand as an audience enjoys understanding an ‘inside joke’.

(Examples of this can be seen in Destiny’s Child doing ‘Independent Women’ referencing Charlie’s Angles, Will Smith doing Men in Black for the film Men in Black and The Wombats intertextualising a video game for My Circuitboard City.)

Erik Erikson

Relevant to the character within my music video, the theorist Erik Erikson created an eight stage theory based on identity and psychosocial development. Erikson's work was heavily influenced by the psychologist Sigmund Freud who explored three aspects of identity: ego identity (self), personal identity (the personal idiosyncrasies that distinguish a person from another) and social/cultural identity (the collection of social roles a person might play).

Within my music video my character is trapped within a repeated mental circle where everyday is the same and his mental health becomes to deteriorate. My music video has the underlying theme of identity and self expression, the character struggles to do this and expresses that by the repeated motions of cleaning and the shots taken in the kitchen. Manipulating time is also a factor in this, it disrupts the structure of the music video story line reinforcing the non-linear structure. When sharing this music video online it will address the social response and therefor the social identity and attitude towards the topic I am addressing. 

Stuart Hall

The theorist Stuart Hall focus his theory around Reception and Mediation. This is a process where all media products are read by an audience. Hall says that there are three ways the audience receives media: 

•The audience fully accepts the preferred meaning, showing they agree with dominant values.

•The audience takes a negotiated position, meaning that they only agree with some-not all of the preferred meaning.

•The audience takes an oppositional position, whereby they understand the preferred meaning but decide to reject this and make their own interpretation

•An extension of this is a fourth reading called the aberrant reading, where a completely unintentional meaning is taken away by audiences.

I believe that my music video fits into the second point made. Due to the topic I address is a controversial topic, the public response towards this would be both positive and negative. Studying the feedback I received from my final film, a lot of them felt that the theme of mental condition was addressed clearly and they began to feel sympathetic towards the character. Their awareness of the mental health conditions was clearly received which, if exported onto Facebook could have the potential of being shared to show the support that men are aloud to express their emotions without being put down for it.

Main-Product Music Videos

Music Videos are becoming widely accessible due to the spread of social media and the internet. Although this enables artists and bands to connect with their audiences, gain publicity and to increase the amount of income, it also increases the chances of identity theft, illegal downloading and sharing.

Music Videos are normally made for a single or if the album is a small EP. The videos give the audiences a visual interpretation of what the lyrics mean. This can be expressed through a dance choreography, the artist performing it, or through a story line.  The online platform, YouTube, is a popular site where artists share and post their music videos, this access enables artist to grow in recognition and for their audiences to experience and share personal adaptations of the music video and the meanings behind the lyrics to the song. Within my own video I used a variation of colours, it opens with blue-tinted clips, then changes from black and white to full saturation, to a slightly faded appearance.

The main inspirations for the style I created for my music video were 'Dusk Till Dawn' By Zayn and 'To Be Human' by Sia. Both of these music videos follow a story-like appearance, 'Dusk Till Dawn' including the title of the video, artist and credits which are design styles that aren't popularly found within music videos. Zayn's music video follows a linear story line, the sped-up, short clips that make the introduction to the video contradict this. Aside from the introduction that gives the audience an insight to what will happen in the music video, the titles featured at the beginning of the music video and the credits at the end are traits that are found in films. The different structure to this music video inspired by own editing for my music video as it fit into the aesthetic I was aiming to produce.

  Sia's music video is a non-linear story line, time is manipulated through  footage being fast-forwarded, slowed down and rewound. These colour tones have influenced the editing I have done over my own work; dark blues and greens also link to the references made to water in the lyrics and my own footage, the dark colours also project my characters mental health. The memories within the non- linear story line are made lighter and clearer while the current events for both the lovers are tinged in a both green and blue filters. The footage used for the music video ‘To Be Human’ by Sia, was from the film that the song was written for. The music video clearly shows the story line of the film, where two lovers are separated due to the husband going to war and they both end up living parallel lives, this is represented through the manipulation of time shown by the odd cuts between the clips to make a soft movement look jerky, clips sped and slowed down and others reversed.  The idea of structuring a music video in the same way of a film would enable me to create a proper structure that would be stereotyped as a pop music video or one that doesn’t have a meaning.

Music Video

USE

For my music video I analysed the meaning behind the lyrics ‘Bruises’ and created a non-linear storyline through the metaphorical references made. I also incorporated a meaning behind my own footage; addressing the fact that men struggle to express any emotions or personal struggles they may be experiencing through social media as it is rejected due to the perception that it will make a man appear weak. By creating a music video involving a young man struggling with mental problems, I am able to share it across social media to bring attention to the fact that it should be acceptable for men to have emotions and to openly talk about them.

DEVELOP

My music video develops conventions of real media products through the story line I created. Some of the most popular content used in music videos recently include the artist, whether they are the main protagonist or just performing. My music video content has developed from the other type of music videos: ones with a story line. Videos that include the artist capture close ups and shots that break the forth wall, this enables the artist to reach out towards their audience. The idea behind a music video that follows a non-linear story line enables a visual response to the meanings behind the lyrics. I wanted to follow this less-popular route to develop the second variation of footage used for a music video.

CHALLENGE

The main inspirations for my music video were ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ by Zayn Malik and ‘To Be Human’ by Sia, both of these music videos follow a film-like structure. This structure features titles and credits which is not usually found within the structure of a standard music video. This challenges aspects of popular media conventions that revolve around music video’s because the structure of my music video doesn’t follow the Alternative Rock genre of the song, and the popular Pop music video structure. Although a storyline isn’t uncommon, titles and credits at the beginning and the end of a video are unpopular features.

Digipak

A Digipak, or the more commonly known name, Album Design, is one of the key selling items for an artist. Normally, songs found on an album have a running or influential theme, this leads the artist and their designer to base the design of the album around the genre the music they are producing (i.e. the bright yellow of Jason Derulo’s album ‘Tattoo’ connotes forms of Pop music culture) or a message they want to portray for their audiences. After studying three Digipak designs (‘Tattoo’ by Jason Derulo, ‘Formation’ by Beyoncé and ‘Blue Neighbourhood’ by Troye Sivan) I learnt that the majority of music albums revolve around the title of the artist rather than the name of album. The name of the artist has a bigger selling point rather than the title of the album, the artist name would be widely recognised and therefor attract more attention on social media platforms. My digipak reflects the type of music that can be found on the album, a purple under toned black softens the appearance of the album. 

I analysed and studied three different digipak designs that ranged from one another due to the music genre and type of artist. I learnt that the front covers are kept very plain, and a lot of artist either have a studio shot picture of themselves on the front cover or a design that fits into the genre of music that can be found in the album. Above is the template I referenced to when making and laying out my digipak design. I wanted my work to conform to the real life media product so that I could make my design and coursework appear professional and well-laid out.

Ancillary 1: Digipak

USE

The design of my Digipak uses conventions of a real media product, I used a digipak template which enable me to layout and design my Digipak accordingly.  The template also enabled me to project a clear layout of my design so that I could receive a variety of feedback relating to my design. The setup of my album design became easier after I researching into professional artists’ digipak structures and layouts, using a similar template to replicate a real media product. I used a popular design that is beginning to trend on the front of album designs: a line drawing. The unique boho-esque appearance creates a home-made feel which is a detail that an audience appreciate.

DEVELOP

I creating a running theme which features in my digipak design, music video and poster. A part of Andrew Goodwin's’  Theory states that certain music labels have certain demands, by creating an aesthetic I was able to develop media conventions through adapting the designs I created for my digipak.  After creating multiple designs and variations of my digipak design, I asked for feedback so that I could create the best, combined design that would receive the highest attention from an audience. 

CHALLENGE

The colours I chose for my digipak design are uncommon. Although a black and white colour scheme is popularly used on front cover album designs, I chose a purple and off-toned black to be the base colour for my album. This softer colour emulates a grudge-like appearance, it is also the same colour used for the silhouette found on my poster design; if the background was a solid black colour, it would have appeared too brusque and harsh. The colour scheme challenges the conventions of this form of media product.

Poster

A poster design advertising the artists album is a popular way to increase an audiences awareness of an up and coming album release. Using bright colours to insinuate important information, an artist is able to imply a sense of urgency and attention towards the release (dates) of the album. The poster would also increase the amount of income they may receive from the album. An increasing popular trend featuring on poster designs advertising an artists album is a ‘#’. The hashtag is usually followed by the name of the artist/ band or the name of the album, this is another form of increasing the awareness behind a release of an album. The hashtag, when used on social media sites, will start to trend. If it becomes popular and it will start featuring automatically on peoples social media. A hashtag is also a way for an audience to interact with their favourite artist. On my poster I used bright red to contrast with the white, black and grey background, the red foregrounds the information about the album. Analyzing JayZ's album poster 'The Blueprint 3' enabled me to focus on the amount of detail put into the poster. The colour scheme consisted of both bright and dark colours, the background included white, grey and lighter purple colours.

The font that was edited and overlaid across the background uses black and the triple bar across the centre of the poster is in bright red, though only slightly transparent the colour is darker in some places due to the background instruments. Contrary to this, the colour theme for the band Years and Years 'Sanctify' single consisted of bold and royal colours. The light grey neutralises the background, while the dark blue and bright red outline the poster. The black colour is used in the font, with the darker red outlining the black. The dark red is also used for the name of the band and the symbols written underneath each heading, sub heading and minor heading. The boldness of the black contrasts with the lighter background while the brighter reds and blues add a second texture to the advert without distracting the audience away from the information.

The template above enabled me to, other than analyzing what colours would best represent my album and which type of font would be appropriate, visibly seeing a structure of what a poster should be laid out to look like. Making a variation of designs, changing the font colour and position of the colour of the background image, I was able to receive a range of feedback that enabled me to design a poster that received the highest positive audience positive feedback.

Ancillary 2: Poster

USE

The layout of my poster follows the conventions of a real media product, after researching and analysing four different poster layouts and design, I used a traditional template to enable me to structure where the information that will be featured on my poster where it would be placed. Studying other media products enabled me to understand what was essential and what was not needed to feature on the front cover of my poster. I also used the same colour scheme from my Digipak design with my poster, like other artists and designers, the same designs shows a connection between the two products.

DEVELOP

By creating multiple designs and variations of the final design for my poster, I received enough feedback to create a design that would have a higher and positive response from an audience. I develop the forms of a real media product by using the same colour for ‘ALBUM AVAILIBLE NOW’ and the name of Capaldi’s website, I was able to reinforce the desire from the audience to want to get the album to also visit the website.

CHALLENGE

My poster challenges the forms and conventions of real media products through the lack of identity through the use of a silhouette. The lack of identity enables the audience to imagine a body and face that they see fit to represent the album or artist. The popular media products typically feature either the artist them self or an image that may be relevant to their carrier journey, or what type of music can be found in their album (i.e. ‘Blueprint’ by Jay Z features piled up, white painted musical instruments compared to  ‘Back From The Edge’ by James Arthur which features a mid shot of the artist.)