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

Research

Once we picked our song which was The Script Superheroes, the genre was a Pop/Rock hybrid. So we started to research into conventions of Pop/Rock Hybrids, we also analysed music videos specifically for Pop only and Rock only.

We analysed, The Script – Superheroes, The Script – Hall Of Fame, Nickelback – Photograph, Eminem Ft Lil Wayne – No Love and Robin Stjernberg – Pieces.

After analysing all these music videos we found there were many conventions that are kept the same in Pop/Rock and there were also many conventions that are challenged or developed. The Conventions we found were…

Conventions Simple transitions are used such as cuts or fade to blacks. Editing can be fast paced or slow depending on the tempo of the song. There are always cuts from the band playing to the narrative. When the band is shown playing, there is lip sync. There is always a narrative. Cuts and jump cuts tend to match the beat of the music. The narrative links to the lyrics being sung. The costumes that are worn are usually fashionable, but not as revealing as Pop

videos, characters of pop/rock tend to wear casually clothing. Unlike rock the videos are generally dull, in pop its usually colourful and bright,

therefore pop/rock use natural lighting and colours to show how real the narrative. Band is seen performing, usually there are close ups of instruments to show their

passion for music. Sometimes the artist is playing both parts, narrative and performance.

Setting/Location

In the first image the location isa school as the protagonist was being bullied at school which was the narrative.

In the second image we have still part of the narrative, however this location is more personal, it is the protagonists home. This allows the audience to feel a personal connection.

The third shot is the performance, in which the protagonist is lip syncing. This goes against the conventions of a pop/rock because in pop/rock the performance section is usually a band performing an lip syncing. However in this case we have a single character, lip syncing.

Costume & Props

In this image we can see how the bully is recognised. We use a wide shot behind black bars. The black connotes negativity and foreshadows something bad happening. The angle almost looks like someone is looking at him and doesn’t want him to know they are looking, shows the bully is scary. Also the bars can represent prison bars when people are locked up, again negativity.

He is also wearing a cap backwards, firstly these kind of hats are not allowed to be worn in a school, this shows how he doesn’t care about rules, shows him to be a revel.

Costume & Props

As you can see here, the protagonist who is the one being bullied, is shown wearing, casual smart clothing. This represents him as a person, he abides by school rules and dresses smartly, with smart shoes too. He is wearing his bag here, which shows he is going to school as school kids tend to go into school wearing a bag.

Contrasting to the shot before this slide, you can see the protagonist is outside the bars, this again represents him to be a good character.

Costume & Props

Here you can see that we have used the protagonist student ID card which is hanging out of his back pocket. Again he is dressed smartly which is a typical convention in pop rock music videos. The student ID card shows he is young and still in school.

Synchronisation

Here you can see synchronisation, which is a common convection on pop/rock genre. In the first picture, we can see the protagonist, punching the bully. This occurs when the songs tempo increases and the beat drops. The lyric that was also associated with this specific section is “when you’ve been fighting for it all your life” so this scene matches the lyrics at that specific point in the song.

Synchronisation

Here again you can see synchronisation, this scene is when the protagonist gets inspiration to fight back against the bully. In this scene you can see the section of a movie called SouthPaw when the main character in the movie punches the other boxer in slow motion. When this is happening the lyrics match the scene as the lyrics are “He’s got a lion in his heart, a fire in his soul, he's got a beast in his bell that’s so hard to control.” this is a typical convection of pop/rock that we have included.

Performance

Here are certain shots of the performance side. Pop/rock genres tend to have a band playing during their performance, however we have gone against this convection and had the artist play the role of the performance and the narrative.

Narrative

This is a typical convention of pop/rock genre where they have a narrative within the music video, this is to allow the audience to follow a storyline and also the storyline matches the meaning of the lyrics.

Tzvetan Todorov – Equilibrium

Todorov suggests that narratives should consist of an equilibrium, a disruption (disequilibrium), realisation, overcome realisation, back to equilibrium.

My music video incorporates Todorov’s theory of equilibrium. We include a equilibrium, where the character is seen walking to school very happily, in the first close up we see him smiling and the sun is shining on him, this high key lighting represents positivity. We then have a disruption, where the bully beats up the protagonist and the he gets bad grades, the realisation part is when the protagonist takes his exam paper to the head teacher and the head teacher tells him that he needs to fix up his grades or he can no longer stay at school. Then we have the part where he fixes the disruption by fighting back to the bully, and finally back to equilibrium as he gets full marks in his next exam.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin suggest that “music videos are an extension of the lyrics.” This was included in our music video as the lyrics relate to the music video.

“All the kicks and all the blows, he wont ever let it show.” this lyrics suggest that the protagonist is being physically abused and a few seconds later we see the protagonist is being beaten up by his bully.

“when you’ve been fighting for it all your life” at this point in the video the protagonist is fighting back his bully and beats the bully up.

Ancillary Task

For the music video we needed to show out skills an idea and how we can show the themes and ideas in the song through camera an film. We focused on codes and conventions to make sure our video either conformed or subverted stereotypes. The codes and convention used included costumes, lighting, camera angles, shots, scenery vs. narrating and visual effects.

For the digi-pack and advert we focused on similar things such as camera angles, costumes, scenery, props, acting, location, makeup and editing, however we also focused on typography and color balance.

We then analyzed 11 ancillary tasks and obtained conventions that were used in most of them.

The conventions we found were …

Codes & Conventions

• Record Labels on advert• Image of artist• Release of dates• Social media links• Center lining of text• Different fonts according to genre

Digipak

For our front cover we decided to relate it to the song. In the song the character played goes from a negative to a positive life. Therefore we thought we would in cooperate both aspects of his life on the front cover. By having both perspectives of his life emphasises how good and bad it is. To show the good side we had a took the picture in a brighter areas and the character has a small smile on his face. However on the negative side you can see the darkness behind him and his eyes are looking down with no smile.

Digipak

For our back cover we thought we would have this image because again you can see him almost like a silhouette. This is to show how he is nobody and he is just behind into the darkness no one cares about him. This part of the cover represents more of his negative side. You can also see how he is alone, this again shows how empty is life is. Also because on the back cover the track list will be going on it we thought this picture would be amazing as it connotes a lot of things but also has the dark hill side on the bottom were the track list with white writing would go perfectly.

Digipak

For our disk cover we chose this image because compared to all the images this was a mid – close up image of the character. So he would fit perfectly on a circular disk. In this image things in his life start to get better because you can see the background is blurred and he is in focus. He is no longer fading into the darkness. He is starting to stand out.

Digipak

For the inside left cover we thought we would use this image to show how he’s thinking about life and how he can resolve his issues. As you can see his thoughts are represented by his surroundings, cold, dark, trees with no leaves. The trees with no leaves sort of represent him because without leaves a tree cant photosynthesis to grow. For him due to his bullying he cant move forward in life.

Digipak

For our left cover we thought we would show this image. This is a positive representation of his life. This is because you can see how there is one big tree that stands out from the small trees in the background. He is no longer continuously fading into the background. He is moving on, resolving his issues and standing up for his self. You can also see the sun shining on the tree, this could connote the characters source of strength. Just like how photosynthesis is stimulated by light.

Digipak

Finally, for the inside cover we chose this image. This is because as you can see he looks taller than the trees and all the landscape Almost looks as if he is floating. This shows his success to the positive side. He is looking over everyone who brought him down and he is standing tall. You can also see on his face he has a smile. He has overcome the negative side and is happy in life now.

Overall

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

Overall I think that we have successfully used media conventions to create our pop/rock genre music video. We have used and replicated many conventions that are used in pop/rock music videos such as performance and narrative, costumes, locations, settings, synchronisation and also incorporated theory into our music video such as Andrew Goodwin and Todorv. We also successfully created our ancillary task to represent our genre of pop/rock.

I think our product would be seen on shelves under the pop/rock genre, and would make an outstanding product.