Evaluation task 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The music video as a genre of film making has a very limited form. The conventions associated with it are often in place to add, excitement and creativity to what is simply a marketing device. There are an abundance of different conventions for each different genre of music, for example Female Pop videos often use bright colours, exciting visuals, and voyeurism to engage their viewer and reflect a fun, good looking idealist persona. This links into the richard dyer theories of star image. A record label chooses to present their artist in any way they choose in order to appeal to their audience. The conventions are often a proved formula to ensure their artist will be liked, and enjoyed.

My media Products all used, developed and challenged existing forms and conventions of the indie folk genre as well as general conventions of the music video form. By doing this we were able to create a campaign that would be interesting to our target audience.

Simplistic Set design/ low key lighting

A typical convention of the indie folk genre is to have a simplistic set design with low key lighting. This video by Ben Howard shows him and some accompanying musicians playing with the lights only illuminating him and his instruments. This reveals the artist as a performing musician not a commercial artist. As an audience we believe that he cares about his music and according to Richard dyers theory he would be considered an organic artist. The lighting suggests a reflective mood; the singer appears to be thinking internally and expressing the thought within his head. We see him in his own world - represented purely as an artist who cares about his artform.

My music video also embraced a simplistic set design, with low key lighting. Inspired by the conventions seen in videos such as 'The fear' we created a set where the background can not be seen due to the low key lighting. Our set consisted of hanging lightbulbs which change in brightness throughout. The simplistic set fits in with the indie/folk genre, and reveals an artist who's career is led by her music, and not by her 'star image'.

Tracking shots

Due to the limited form of music videos, filming using simplistic static shots is often very dull to watch. A music video needs to have a sense of creativity, excitement, and visual appeal if it is to retain a viewers attention for 3 minutes. After watching James Arthur's music video for 'Recovery' we realised how the tracking shot adds a sense of visual appeal to a long shot off the artists singing. we were keen to replicate this convention, making the shots of our singer and drummer more interesting to watch.

James Arthur | Recovery

We effectively used a tracking shot, not only to make the video more visually appealing but also to support the flow off the song. At the start, a slow track is appropriate because the song starts slow, however at epic moments such as the first drum hit, the out track adds drama making the artist look powerful, cool and talented. Te limited form is also the reason we added powder to the drums. It is another layer of visual interest for an audience to keep them entertained, using unnatural visual effects.

Youth | Tracking shot

Close up on key line of song

A close up on the main line of the song is almost always requested by a record label when filming a performance shoot, or a lip sync. They want to establish a connection between the artist and the audience, by ensuring they remember the key line with a repeated motif, or similar shot of the artist. This music video by 'Adele' for the song 'Hello', along with many others, features this convention. As you can see they have used a close up meaning the focus is fully on the artist at this moment, she is styled very well, with soft complementary lighting, and glancing down the lens. All of this combined builds her 'star image', and makes her connect with her audience.

Youth | Main line of song

This is an area in which we chose to challenge the convention as it is often featured in most commercial/ synthetic music promotional videos. Our Music video focused on a metaphorical amplified narrative, and we intended this as our main focus for our viewers. On the main line "the lovers that went wrong" we decided to show the two dancers. They provide new perspectives on the song, and bring out the meaning of the words rather than the artists image. This in fact reveals to an audience how the artists are caring about art, creation and their music rather than a synthetic image.

We didn't however ignore the convention of a close up on the artist at other points in the song.
A close up on the singer with direct address is a very common convention. Like adele does we made the creative decision to shoot a CU of our lead singer using direct address in order to strengthen the relationship between artist and audience. Furthermore, we creatively chose to shoot these sections using an 80mm prime lens which gives a faithful, flattering perspective of the artists face, with a soft depth of field. Overall this shot builds recognition for the artist and her beauty, whilst simultaneously revealing her as a meaningful songwriter, and creator of art.

Youth | Close up

Dance

According to Andrew Goodwins theory of amplification in music videos, suggests that the images amplify the lyrics often in an exaggerated manor through a narrative. During the research and planning stage we encountered a wide range of music videos that support this theory. A clear way in which this is often done in music videos is through dance. Sia uses dance in her video 'chandelier' features a young girl, frantically dancing her way through various rooms of a seriously dilapidated apartment. The contemporary movement gives the video a manic qualiy, that reflects the theme and pace of the song. It also gives a new perspective, looking at the lyrics through the metaphorical dance allows us to interpret the song in different ways.

Sia | Chandelier

We Knew from the start that we wanted to replicate this convention, as we had 2 ideal dancers to play the parts. The dance we collaboratively choreographed was suiting to the pace and storyline of the song. We ensured that this amplification of the lyrics, added new meanings and references. The love story between the two dancers is illustrative of the lyric "The lovers that went wrong", the key line, thus why we chose to focus on the dance during this line; because it focused our viewers on the narrative rather than the band image. This also constructs a representation of our artist that tells an audience they are interested more in art, creativity and talent than constructing a commercial image for themselves. This is conventional of the indie/folk genre.

Indy Album Covers

Before creating the album cover, we did some research into the conventional album covers for indy/folk artists. We noticed from bands such as Ben Howard and the Head and the Heart that the images usually alluded to peace, freedom, and beauty. The artists would not feature themselves at the forefront  of the album cover, because they didn't want the focus on themselves they wanted the image to be a reflection of the sound they create in their music. For example in this image by The Head and the Heart they are shown to be lying on the ground in an empty space. This gives a carefree look, and suggests their music has a relaxing sound and vibe. The use of grain, low contrast and earthy colours is very typical of the genre.

The Head and the Heart

We intended to replicate this convention in our Album cover. we placed our artists facing away from the camera looking out into the distance from a picturesque viewpoint. The rural scenery was inspired from the conventions of indy folk album covers. We added a grain and a bright purple colour scheme. This colour was used to make the image more stylised and significant. 

My Digipak

Minimalist Website Layout

Before making the website we took design inspiration from other indy/folk artists' websites. We immediately noticed the repeated convention of simplicity accross all of the websites. Most notably was Ben howards. He utalised a very minimalist style. You are greeted with one of his latest music videos straight away, it is very alternative, The colours are faded to reflect his indie style. Ben Howard is following the Star Theory of letting fans know what he’s about, so the website showing his old school simplistic style, however he is still holding back who he really is leaving a mystery about him. Ben Howard does not feature on the website at all (other than during the four seconds at the beginning), therefore enforcing the mysterious element that he is clearly trying to portray. This following Richard Dyers star theory.

we supported these conventions of minimalism and reveal an interest in the music not the image. 

Evaluation task 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation taks 2 - How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?

Evaluation task 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Final Music Video

Youth

Overview of the finished wesbite

Final Digipak