1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions for real media products?
My music video complies with Goodwin's six conventions of a music video.
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance
in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented
with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere
of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups
of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
(a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens,
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens,
mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music
6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music
videos etc).
Close up of Star Ricky george
There is other examples of where there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals also shown below.
'But her eyes glaze over like she's looking straight through me'.
'But you've got to walk away now, it's over'.
Throughout the video the atmosphere is fairly dull and emotional, this complies with Goodwin's 3rd convention that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The song is a slow pace and therefore I presented my character just walking around aimlessly with slow cuts mixed with quick cuts of flashback memory shots with Natalie, this allows the audience to understand and relate to what the persona is going through.
Goodwin's 5th convention refers to notions of looking and voyeuristic viewpoints of the female body. Therefore in my video I used frequent short cuts to shots of my star, Ricky George with the female known as Natalie. This acts as part of a narrative also as the song is about Ricky who has just recently got out of a long term relationship. The cuts have an effect on them which I did through the use of iMovie to suggest to the audience that they are flashbacks and memories.
I tried to include factors of mise-en-scene in order to make the music video more realistic and comply with Goodwins 1st convention by demonstrating genre characteristics. My actor fits the stereotypical look of a British rap artist. Young, white, short hair, wearing cheap looking clothes and I used locations that would add to the stereotype. Typical places we may expect to find youths spending their time as I spoke about when analysing conventions of British rap earlier on in the blog.
Location - Park, not much going on, typical location for youths
Working class looking house
Alley way - typically associated with hooded youths
Therefore these factors allow my audience to make sense of the video as it complies with typical stereotypes, my audience can understand this and take meaning from this which adds to the emotional level of the song and makes it seem more real.
Overall my product uses conventions of British rap as my character and locations fit the stereotype in terms of looks. However there is a deeper meaning behind the song as it is not about gangs or crime and it does not have an aggressive nature behind it, like youths are typically associated with today. The song is a slower more emotional song which therefore challenges conventions of real media products that I've looked at which gives my video an interesting twist. This can attract an audience and can appeal to a specific market. This can also be seen as a development of real media products as I have challenged the stereotype and given another viewpoint on life as a youth.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
When producing my ancillary texts I tried to have a link between all three pieces. I used one of the shots from my main product as the front cover of my DigiPack and on the Poster also. This allows the audience to recognise this and can allow my star to grow in popularity as the word spreads about him. Also as I included the RG productions logo (pictured below) this can allow my brand label to become recognisable and all the products can work together to enhance the reputation of the star.
I used similar effects on both the poster and the CD cover by reducing the opacity and fullness by some of the images using photoshop. This is to show that they are linked to the same main product. If audiences can see that the two are linked then they are more likely to pick up on the brand and therefore both the label and the star can gain recognition. The inside of the digipack shows on each side the character Ricky walking towards the camera. However on one side he is with Natalie and on the other he is alone with his head looking down, this is to show a contrast and allow the audience to understand the narrative. The lyrics are also on the back of the digipack so that the audience can really make sense of the narrative and therefore understand the video.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Dan Searle (male, age 17) - "I really liked the use of different camera angles in each scene and the cuts between them, especially at the train station. The cuts between Ricky walking on his own and then with the girl Natalie really emphasised the meaning behind the song showing that they were once together but now are not. Those kind of cuts really aided the narrative and interesting to watch."
Emma Turner (female, age 14) - "Its not the usual style of music that I enjoy, but watching the video was fun as it flowed well".
Richard Anderson (male, age 26) - "the video was interesting as it challenges the typical stereotype of a youth, he is chasing a girl around instead of playing football. However the bit at the end could have been more enhanced, was a bit boring just watching Ricky sit there on his own at the table".
I also posted the link to the Youtube video on my Facebook in order to reach a wider audience. It received 30 likes in only 3 days showing that it was well received and sparked interest to viewers.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used iMovie when constructing my media product, the music video. iMovie is an editing programme on the Mac's that I have become familiar with over the duration of my AS and A2 courses. I used it for my AS project and therefore gained the confidence and experience needed to complete the A2 project.
The video is very much focused around the 'star' Ricky George which is the persona I created. He is in majority of the shots and is on his own, this shows him off as the star and can allow him to gain recognition as he grows as a 'star'. The fact that the character is on his own most of the time also shows that he is lonely and this works well with the lyrics that display emotion for example the beginning line, 'I've got nothing, absolutely nothing". This shows the relationship between lyrics and visuals and the close ups of the character (example below) can help show the emotion that the artist is trying to put across and allow the audience to recognise and relate to the 'star' also. The close ups also meet the demands of the record label as they allow the 'star' to be recognised and can develop motifs for the 'star' which the audience can relate to also.
There is other examples of where there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals also shown below.
Throughout the video the atmosphere is fairly dull and emotional, this complies with Goodwin's 3rd convention that there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The song is a slow pace and therefore I presented my character just walking around aimlessly with slow cuts mixed with quick cuts of flashback memory shots with Natalie, this allows the audience to understand and relate to what the persona is going through.
Goodwin's 5th convention refers to notions of looking and voyeuristic viewpoints of the female body. Therefore in my video I used frequent short cuts to shots of my star, Ricky George with the female known as Natalie. This acts as part of a narrative also as the song is about Ricky who has just recently got out of a long term relationship. The cuts have an effect on them which I did through the use of iMovie to suggest to the audience that they are flashbacks and memories.
I changed the colouring in this shot with an effect using iMovie to suggest to the audience that it is a flashback.
This shot could be seen as voyeuristic as it is given from the viewpoint of the star Ricky george looking at Natalie.
I tried to include factors of mise-en-scene in order to make the music video more realistic and comply with Goodwins 1st convention by demonstrating genre characteristics. My actor fits the stereotypical look of a British rap artist. Young, white, short hair, wearing cheap looking clothes and I used locations that would add to the stereotype. Typical places we may expect to find youths spending their time as I spoke about when analysing conventions of British rap earlier on in the blog.
Empty train station
Therefore these factors allow my audience to make sense of the video as it complies with typical stereotypes, my audience can understand this and take meaning from this which adds to the emotional level of the song and makes it seem more real.
Overall my product uses conventions of British rap as my character and locations fit the stereotype in terms of looks. However there is a deeper meaning behind the song as it is not about gangs or crime and it does not have an aggressive nature behind it, like youths are typically associated with today. The song is a slower more emotional song which therefore challenges conventions of real media products that I've looked at which gives my video an interesting twist. This can attract an audience and can appeal to a specific market. This can also be seen as a development of real media products as I have challenged the stereotype and given another viewpoint on life as a youth.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
When producing my ancillary texts I tried to have a link between all three pieces. I used one of the shots from my main product as the front cover of my DigiPack and on the Poster also. This allows the audience to recognise this and can allow my star to grow in popularity as the word spreads about him. Also as I included the RG productions logo (pictured below) this can allow my brand label to become recognisable and all the products can work together to enhance the reputation of the star.
I used similar effects on both the poster and the CD cover by reducing the opacity and fullness by some of the images using photoshop. This is to show that they are linked to the same main product. If audiences can see that the two are linked then they are more likely to pick up on the brand and therefore both the label and the star can gain recognition. The inside of the digipack shows on each side the character Ricky walking towards the camera. However on one side he is with Natalie and on the other he is alone with his head looking down, this is to show a contrast and allow the audience to understand the narrative. The lyrics are also on the back of the digipack so that the audience can really make sense of the narrative and therefore understand the video.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Dan Searle (male, age 17) - "I really liked the use of different camera angles in each scene and the cuts between them, especially at the train station. The cuts between Ricky walking on his own and then with the girl Natalie really emphasised the meaning behind the song showing that they were once together but now are not. Those kind of cuts really aided the narrative and interesting to watch."
Emma Turner (female, age 14) - "Its not the usual style of music that I enjoy, but watching the video was fun as it flowed well".
Richard Anderson (male, age 26) - "the video was interesting as it challenges the typical stereotype of a youth, he is chasing a girl around instead of playing football. However the bit at the end could have been more enhanced, was a bit boring just watching Ricky sit there on his own at the table".
I also posted the link to the Youtube video on my Facebook in order to reach a wider audience. It received 30 likes in only 3 days showing that it was well received and sparked interest to viewers.
From this audience feedback I can gather that there is good aspects of my video but ones that could be improved also. The quick cuts from the star on his own and ones with the girl Natalie were well received and added to the emotional impact of the video. However some of the scenes may have come across as "boring" and if I was to re-do the project I would have changed this. I may have included better more interesting locations from which I could get more angles and better shots that flow together. This shows the significance of my audience feedback as it allows me to see where I can improve next time in order to continue growing the star. Overall I was happy with the outcome of the video.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used iMovie when constructing my media product, the music video. iMovie is an editing programme on the Mac's that I have become familiar with over the duration of my AS and A2 courses. I used it for my AS project and therefore gained the confidence and experience needed to complete the A2 project.
This time around I also used a more enhanced camera than from my AS project. This allowed my filming to be more defined and give it that extra touch to make it look more professional.
The other editing programme I used for both my Poster and DigiPack was Photoshop. Earlier on in the year I did some practice using Photoshop in order to know what I was doing when it came round to the coursework. Previously I was not a fan of Photoshop as I used it in earlier years of my school life and struggled with it. However the teaching and practice I had at the beginning of this academic year in Media Studies taught me a lot about using Photoshop and allowed me to be confident with using it for 2 of my coursework pieces.
