Evaluation Q2 Draft

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

Certain aspects of my music video conform to the conventions of real media products Jean Baudrillard played an important role in the music video. The process of stimulation requires something to be presented without actually showing the real thing. The song ‘Autumn Leaves’ connotes the loss of a loved one, and in the music video, this loss is through their death. While the audience never visually experiences the death, it becomes evident to them through a range of signs. There is a scene where the performer writes a message on a white balloon, with the words ‘I miss you’ which is shown through a close up. The white colour of the balloon connotes purity and innocence which could perhaps represent heaven and peace – close links with the theme of death. Some theories by Jameson are also significant in my music video, most specifically intertextuality. The black and white effect throughout the video links directly to another Ed Sheeran music video 'The A Team'. In this video, a young girl becomes homeless and addicted to drugs, eventually dying. The music video for Autumn Leaves could perhaps accentuate the story of the girl from ‘The A Team’ best friend who is struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss.

When researching into the Indie genre I discovered that there is a reoccurring theme of when it comes to setting. The music videos tend to be set in basic and minimalistic areas, quite commonly outside or at a live concert. This way the chief focus is on the individual artists as performers doing what they love to do. It also keeps the concentration on the actual music itself and the talent that they are showcasing. This is very distinctive in the indie/rock genre as the genre itself stemmed from the passion that people have to perform and play rather than the extravagant details that can be seen in other genres which revolve around the success that comes with the music. A contemporary twist in indie music videos is to include a narrative in-between these shots to break up the music video and give it a story for the reader. Also there is more room to play around with the video if a narrative is included which makes it a popular technique for various artists. I thus decided to adapt this convention in making my own music video. Therefore I incorporated a range of flashbacks in-between the other shots, making it an episodic narrative, as I feel that this enabled the audience to see the performer’s relationship with the person that’s passed away to evoke sympathy from them. Andrew Goodwin’s theory states that the lyrics should match the visual so I will ensure that I achieve this by having the performance on screen toning the lyrics.

In order to follow the conventions of a successful music video, it was necessary to ensure that I used the most effective aspects for my video when addressing camera and editing. This was a significant part of aiming to make my video as professional and realistic as possible. When approaching what camera shots would be most beneficial in my music video, it was important that I acknowledged the wide variety of shots and angles that were available for me to use. For example, I shot the same scene numerous times using a different shot and angle each time, then using the digital viewfinder on the camera I could conclude which shot and angle worked best for each scene. The shot that was most used and effective in my music video was a close up. This enabled the audience to experience the emotion from the performer and therefore develop a personal relationship through the eye contact with the camera. In terms of editing, It could be argued that intertextuality is present in the video which is a concept developed by Jameson. The black and white effect throughout the video links directly to another Ed Sheeran music video 'the a team'. In this video, a young girl becomes homeless and addicted to drugs, eventually dying. The music video for Autumn Leaves could perhaps accentuate the story of the girl from the A team's best friend who is struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss. This would capture the attention of existing Ed Sheeran fans that have seen both videos and therefore further establish their loyalty as fans.

In my magazine advert, I was able to make use of the conventions that have become familiar to me as a consumer and as a media student. The target audience of my video is aged 15-20 which I am part of and I have therefore been able to include aspects that I know will be successful with my target audience. Social networking and the internet have become increasingly significant in the lives of my primary target audience, and therefore including a website and a twitter reference would appeal to them and enable existing fans to take their relationship with the artist a step further. Placing star ratings and comments from existing sources that the target audience would likely recognise would increase the motivation and interest from the audience to purchase the album as they would trust the sources. After researching real life media products I was able to understand and acknowledge the relation between the video and the magazine advert. This is used to make the album identifiable and display the same feel and theme to the audience. I adapted this convention when creating my own magazine advert by taking a photo for the main image in one of the same locations that I shot my video in, that also appears at the end of the video. This demonstrates a clear link between the advert and the video which the audience will be able to recognise. The fonts and colour scheme that I have used on the advert is the same as I have used on the digpak which hence creates a house style and furthers the ability for the audience to identify the relationship between the video and the advert.

My digipak is very similar to my magazine advert as it further develops the house style making it distinguishable. I used the same font, “moon flower” with the same colour swatch. On the cover I used the same image as my magazine advert which expands the idea of being identifiable. On the inside of the Digipak, the left hand side displays a number of candles placed into a heart formation and on the right hand side is a close up of a candle. In my music video I included shots of candles therefore anyone that has seen the video would be able to recognise the images. Also on the inside of the Digipak is a personal message to the supporters and fans from the artist to display his appreciation for me. It also mentions other people that have contributed to the making of the album and had any participation in the songs. This is a common aspect in Digipaks as it allows any other musician involved in the making of the album to be credited. The back page is simpler than the rest of the Digipak as it is a plain black background with the tracks listed in numerical order. This ensures that the audience is focused on the songs themselves rather than be distracted by other images. To create a professional look to the back of the Digpak, I added a barcode, a record company logo, a serial number and a website which rounded off the realistic look I was aiming to achieve. Overall, my Digipak follows conventions of real life Digipaks and therefore creates a professional feel to my product.