An Evaluation – By Perry Wayman

A2 MEDIA STUDIES – MUSIC VIDEO

HOW DO MY PRODUCTS USE, DEVELOP AND CHALLENGE FORMS

AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS

My album cover (Top left) is quite decent at challenging conventions, when compared to another album cover which also attempts to challenge conventions, it is quite obvious where my album and theirs differ. For example, my album cover uses a wide variety of colours in order to properly integrate into modern conventions, however what mine challenges is the content of the cover. I have attempted to go for a minimalist cover which does not even contain something as simple and expected as the band’s name.

My album cover is also able to challenge conventions by being eye-catching while using an extremely limited palette, this is not to be expected of album covers.

My poster on the far right is alsoeasily able to challenge and conform to conventions, mostnotable is the fact that it matchesentirely my album cover.

However, it could also be considered conventional in some cases, using a very limited palette and yet with the intention of being eye-catching, it also follows the conventions set by the other ‘Modest Mouse’ poster in that it uses a cartoon vector image followed by very little information about the product itself. This seems to be a recurring theme in the use of posters as they have little purpose other than to sell.

Now I will compare and contrast my video with Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory, which states that:

• There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

• There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with them illustrating, amplifying or contradicting each other.

• That genres are diverse in terms of music video style and iconography.

• That record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the vocalist.

• That there are likely to be intertextual references to other forms of media within the music video.

ANDREW GOODWIN’S MUSIC VIDEO THEORY

• Within my own video, I feel that this is extremely important to the actual feel of the video.

• For example, the lyrics sing about the emptiness and how the world carries on, blameless and unknowing.

• I have therefore felt it necessary to produce around 90% of the footage in an almost black and white tone, this is because I feel this amplifies the meaning of the lyrics to the audience and forces it to have a more real effect.

• I feel that I have also amplified the meaning of the lyrics by using sped up footage of clouds going overhead, this further reinforces the idea of the world being blameless and carrying on. This also assists in putting a physical entity into the lyrics, forcing the audience to tie into the lyrics as well as with the protagonist.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALS

• This is where I feel my music video contradicts Andrew Goodwin’s theory.

• This is especially obvious because there is only one link in the entireity of the song between the music and the visuals.

• This is during the introduction when as the music is warming up, so too is the main character. He is stepping up to the camera, ready to face it on and know what is coming next.

• I feel it is less important for a music video to capture the music than it is the lyrics and this has been exemplified in my film.

• As music is essentially a storytelling medium it means that the audience is more likely to focus on the lyrics rather than the music which goes behind it.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS

• This is also another point at which I disagree with Andrew Goodwin’s theory, this states that music videos of the same genre will have many varied and diverse videos.

• This is because during my research I discovered that many bands doing indie rock much like I was doing had two types of video.

• The first is the type which I covered, the more abstract types which seem to have very little link to the narrative of the song. These typically had very little band member inclusion and for the most part had zero.

• The second is a type which I was at first attracted to, but then declined due to the lack of artistic input which was possible.

• It is due to the fact that 99% of indie pop videos which I researched followed these two formats that I reject this section of Andrew Goodwin’s theory.

DIVERSE GENRES

• This section explains how record companies will typically expect many close-ups of the recording artist or vocalist.

• For the most part, I agree with Andrew Goodwin’s theory and feel that for most genres, having these close ups are demanded by a record company and are typically included.

• However for a select few genres, including the one I picked, there is a noticeable absence of this, for this reason I feel that it is typically smaller artists who will produce the videos which I have investigated thoroughly due to their high level artistic input and lack of a record label.

CLOSE UPS OF ARTIST

• This is another section of Andrew Goodwin’s theory which I disagree with, namely that there will be very many references to other forms of media within the music video.

• I can state for a fact that not a single one of the indie rock videos I searched used any form of intertextual reference, and for this reason neither does my own video.

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES