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

Firstly, when discussing the question; 'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?' I will be evaluating it mainly to the significant points referred to be the theorist Andrew Goodwin but also in comparison to typical conventions of my social-realist genre. The music videos which influenced my music video production the most were 'A Team' by Ed Sheeran and 'Flashing Lights' by Chase&Status These were the most inspirational music videos to my production as they both parallel my chosen topic of alcohol and drug abuse. This allowed me to follow typical conventions of likewise music videos, such as the common inclusion of a mirror, so that my audience are able to establish relationships with real media products in the music industry.

When looking at my music video it is seen to be narrative based, so my video tells a story of how a young girl has a strong relationship with drugs and alcohol, what you would say to be an unhealthy addiction. I chose to create a narrative based music video as most music videos in the real world only contain a single relationship between the music and visuals, whether this be narrative, concept or performance based. The predominant reason why I chose to produce a narrative instead of a performance-based music video is because in real media products of the Indie Pop genre, the band or artist is not generally seen to feature in the music video productions. Examples of this include. I chose to keep this consistent as this is a recognizable feature to the genre of my music.

An example of a solely narrative-based music video is 'A Team' by the artist Ed Sheeran. This gave me inspiration for my own production as a narrative based music video allows a single idea or message to be projected to the audience when their may be several interpretations to the lyrics being put across. For example when the lyrics say, 'Its too cold outside for angels to fly and angels die' in the 'A Team' ,this could have various connotations. My initial thoughts would include that of the theme of death, someone having passed away, but the narrated theme of the music video allows the audience to instead realize that with the character being in relative poverty she has to turn to the illegal practice of prostitution to create a livelihood for herself. With angels denoting good, saying they die narrates how the character having turned to prostitution is seen as bad.

Having my video narrative based I feel also suits my teenage audience as this allows them to relate to the also teenage character present in my music video allowing connections between my media product and audience to be established. This is done though the use of mise en scene, camera angles, editing and sound. An example of this may be through the use of a perspective shot so that the screen is not only being seen through the characters eyes whom is experiencing the event, but also the audiences

Andrew Goodwin also states that a defining aspect of music videos is the close relationship between the music and visuals. I feel that my music video challenges this, changing the tone of the music beat. I would say the music is fairly upbeat, having a light touch on the guitar throughout the song however, the visuals of the video change this, making it negative with the isolation and entrapment of the character due to their dependency on alcohol and drug abuse. An example of this in the music industry however, is 'Time' by Chase&Status, having music which is fast in pace and fairly upbeat although showing the visuals of physical abuse in a relationship. By the same artist though, Goodwin's point is support in the music video for 'Flashing Lights'. This sounds music of both a slower pace and lower beat, resulting in a less fortunate ending with one of the two main characters deceasing.

Next, the mise en scene used to shows a relationship gathered from the analysis of the lyrics. For example the lyrics describe a relationship; 'I miss your laugh and your eyes, when you look deep into mine, it will rain when we kiss' From this I thought about more subtle relationships that could be had, such as an addiction, with alcohol and drug addictions being most prominent in society. The theme however was greatly influenced by Ed Sheeran and his song 'A Team'. This is also seen to influence the special effects used, especially that of a black and white colour filter.

As the whole of Ed Sheeran's music video is filmed in the past tense, I decided to place a monochromatic colour filter over the film on the chorus of the song. I did this because the lyrics read, 'I took your love last night was it wrong or right, all I want is for your love diamonds'. Saying 'I took your love last night' shows that the lyrics are in the past tense therefore creating connections between the tense of the lyrics and the colour scheme in the two videos. Black and white is usually associated with the past also, as one would think of black and white photos or televisions. There is also a relationship between the music and the editing in my music video. This was influenced by 'Tidal Wave' by Sub Focus, where there is very fast paced editing at the start of the song to go with the quick beat of the music. The images on the next slide appear all in the first second of the music video, ‘Tidal Wave’.

Going back to the theorist Andrew Goodwin, he defines the common aspect of the notion of looking. My music video supports this as the notion of looking can be seen through tracking shots. This allows the audience to follow the female character, assuming this to be from a males perspective. This relates to Laura Mulvey and her theory of the 'Male Gaze'. However, the aspect of star power is contradicted due to the band not being seen throughout my music video. As this is my bands first music video, the audience would expect to see them featured so that an image and opinion of the band can be formed however, my video is narrative in opposition to performed based. An example of this may be 'Time' by Chase&status where characters are shown whom are not in relation to the band in order for a story to be told.

The genre of my music video is mainly seen to be social-realist. It fits the common conventions such as reference to alcohol and drug abuse, teenage characters and settings in everyday environments, through the mise en scene and props of the music video. The location for my music video was chosen very carefully, eventually being set internally and externally around my house. This was established through the use of a wide shot enabling the scene to be established (screen shot) I chose this as it fits the common conventions of social-realist films being set in estates and also the music video, 'Time' by Chase&Status parallels that of the internal filming within my house.

Other conventions of social realism have been carried through into my music video including the use of low key lighting to suggest a dingy atmosphere as well as close up shots, allowing the expressions and feelings of the character to be taken in by the audience. Low key lighting is additionally seen in both my main music video inspirations 'A Team' and 'Flashing Lights' ,therefore establishing a relationship between my music video production and the Indie Pop genre in real media products.

When considering my digipak in relationship to my music video, I followed the general conventions by creating a link between the two. Although this may not be obvious at first, I have attempted to created links between the deeper meaning of the lyrics and visuals, the girls relationship with drugs and alcohol through the use of mise en scene. This is shown through the use of a doll, representing the young girl within the music video, with an injection planted into her face. This creates links between the music video and digipak as continuity is established through the use of identical props, featuring in both media productions. This shows that I have followed general conventions when considering the relationship between the music video and digipak as there are common links between the two, usually having a shot from the music video as the main image on the digipak cover.

However, my digipak also challenges conventions as the band are not featured on the cover. This would usually be expected for a first album so that the audience can identify with the band however, a stronger link would be had not to feature the band, as my video is narrative and not performance based. This is also a common feature of the Indie genre, having bands such as Mumford&Sons and Bat For Lashes making an appearance on their album covers, therefore my digipak challenges the typical genre conventions.

My magazine ad also links to both my other media products, as the same image has been used as that for the cover of my digipak. This follows common conventions as from analysing a range of magazine advertisements, the digipak or album cover is usually featured as the main, usually solo image, on the magazine advertisement. I followed this general convention as this allows the audience to identify the digipak's image before its general release, allowing the audience to become familiar with what they may be looking for.

The colour filter placed over my magazine ad is slightly different to that of my digipak having both a mixture of colour and monochrome. This however follows the colour scheme within my music video having both colour and a black and white filter. Other conventions followed include logo inclusion, featured within the bottom corners of my magazine ad. These include retailing media platforms, such as Itunes, and music company logos related to the Indie Pop genre of the band. This allows my ad to be portrayed as more realistic, as this is a typical convention of advertising products in the music industry.