Evaluation 1:In what ways do your media products

Use, Develop or Challenge the Forms and Conventions of real media products?

At the beginning of the A2 course during the research stage I researched into the form and the conventions of music video and explored all of the techniques used to create a realistic product.

I have also looked into Andrew Goodwins ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ about his 6 key features of a music video which are 6 statements you would expect to see in a music video and it

allows you to analyse a music video based on features.

Firstly I researched what conventional camera shots and movements go into a music video and found that ‘Our Song’ by Taylor Swift is a good example as at the beginning of the music video they have a mixture of

shots such as long shots, mid shots and close ups which show her facial expressions and movements

when she is on the phone. The music video also have a variety of camera movements such as a tilt shot

and panning around Taylor as she is moving. Another convention in music video is mise-en-scene

which refers to the arrangement of the props and performers on stage as well as the location, colours,

lighting and costume. A good example of a music video using mise-en-scene is ‘Don’t Stop’ by 5 Seconds of Summer as they are dressed up as

superheroes connoting that they don't stop what they are doing. The colours of the costumes are brightly

coloured which connotes a lively up beat song. Editing and lighting are also key conventions to a

good music video as editors generally edit the video using jump cuts or fade in time with the tune of the

song and it connotes the style of song for example an energetic song would use jump cuts which keep the video lively and this is shown in the video ‘Wings’ by

Little Mix, whereas in a slow song they would use fade in which keep the video flowing at the same pace of

the song. Lighting depends on the style and genre of the video, in pop videos they use artificial lights when there are groups of dancers or they use natural sun light when

filming outside.

My media products develop the forms and conventions of a real media product because I have proposed a female pop

‘girl next door’ artist and I have used typical conventions of a music video such as I have used a range of different mise-en-

scene, camera work and editing techniques. Firstly I have used a variety of locations which identify the two

different moods of my music video, this clearly shows the connotations of Jenny being happy and sad as when she is in the bright summer sun she's shown to be happy and cheerful

whereas she's sad and upset in her dull, dark bedroom. Throughout my video I have used a number of different types of iconography such as a guitar, lipstick, a photograph and a mobile phone and they are all been linked together to create the sad/upset scenes as the all have the same connotations

for example the tearing up of the prom picture and smudging the lipstick all over Jenny's face both show how she isn’t

taking the break up well which I feel challenges the forms and conventions of a music video.

I have used natural lighting as most of my video is filmed outside in the sun which is a typical convention of a music

video as it makes it look realistic and not fake. During the whole process of making my video I have used a

number of different costumes as I makes the video more entertain as it doesn’t get boring looking at the same clothes

for 3 minutes and this is what is generally done in music videos in different scenes therefore I feel I have used the

conventions of a real music video. I think I have developed the forms and conventions of a

music video because I have kept all of the lip sync in time therefore makes the video look realistic.

Here I have shown a mid shot of Jenny putting her lipstick on which uses the forms and conventions of

real products as I have used the same type of shot as Miley Cyrus in her video ‘Who Owns my Heart’ which follows Andrew Goodwin's theory

about the notion of looking.

This is a long establishing shot showing Jenny playing her guitar. This

develops the conventions of real music videos as I have dulled the

saturation which lowers the tone of the video just like in Amy

Winehouse’s video ‘Back to Black’ and follows Goodwin's theory about

the tones and atmosphere of the video affecting the audiences mood.

This close up helps the audience identify what the artist looks like and the artist can develop different motifs

which reoccur across their work. I have used a close up near the

beginning of my video just like Miley Cyrus in her Wrecking Ball video

which makes the audience feel closer to the artist which challenges the

forms and conventions and links with Goodwin's 4 statement.

My digipak and magazine advert challenge the forms and conventions of real media

products as the scenes in each of the products link with the scenes in my music video. I have used mid shots for my print products which makes the audience feel

closer to the artist. I have been inspired by Taylor Swifts ‘Our Song’ album cover as she

has use flowers and have a summery theme which is like the theme I have

chosen for my album cover. I feel that my print products look realistic and challenge

the forms and conventions this is because I have used Photoshop to edit my

photographs making the quality look more professional.