Evaluation task 1 (Jerome Blake)

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

Our media products

• Our three media products are as follows • A music video• A magazine advertisement• And a DigiPak

Our media products fit into the Hip hop and R&B genre of music and because of this there are unique codes and conventions that must be followed in order to make our media product interact with our targeted audience.

Conventions of a music video (R&B)

Men in R&B/Hip-hop• Jeans• Tattoos• Jewelry• Topless (occasionally)

Women in R&B/Hip-hop• Minimal clothing• Hair and make up• Heels • jewelry

R&B/Hip-hop music videos are generically very sexual, more specifically when it comes to the way women are represented, this is not always the case as there are several examples of R&B/ hop-hop music videos that challenge this convention and are still successful as a music video an example of this is “Miss Independent” by Ne-you. The screen shots are from the music video to illustrate what I am explaining.

Different Types of R&B/Hip-hop representations representations

• Similar to males in the R&B genre, females in R&B also convey their sexuality through their clothing which is very minimal as mentioned in the previous slide; they also place emphasis on their sexuality through their makeup. R&B females are usually portrayed as soft goddess type people in their videos, but nowadays there has been a lot of gender stereotypes being broken in their videos with the females being seen as more powerful than the men for example Ciara’s “like a boy” video.Ciara - like a boyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CQEvlil68M&ob=av2e

To add to this there is also the typical representation of women in R&B/Hip-hop music videos where women are represented as disposable objects of desire, which our video challenges.

• R&B videos are usually very sexual and the topless men in the male R&B videos connotes that sense of sexuality. A majority of R&B videos these days are filmed in grey scale/sepia tone which adds a sensual tone to the imagery in the video. R&B male stars wear jewellery however not as much as Hip Hop stars do because although they are trying to depict their wealth, a majority of the video will have close ups on their bodies and abs.Trey Songz – Can’t be friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArdBI_F1LKo

• This is also challenged in some hip-hop/R&B videos where the male is fully clothed with minimal jewellery but in contemporary and stylish clothing examples of this are.

Lupe Fiasco ft. Trey Songz outa my headhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NaVE73lpcAnd Neyo miss independant• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6M5C-oKw9k

Women

Men

Clothing (Mise-en-scene)• Our music video uses the forms and conventions of real

media products in a variety of ways below are some examples of real media products in comparison to oursOur media product Real media products

Various aspects of our video were influenced by real media products, for the representation we wanted “Lupe Fiasco ft. Trey songz outa my head” was a big influence. As it challenged the typical conventions of R&B/Hip-hop E.g. topless males

Setting the mood (lighting )Our media product Real media products

Notice the similarities between our music video and real music videos, there are various elements that make our video relate to our target audience and this is using the conventions of hip-hop and R&B in this instance, our artist wears jewelry and black clothes; the artist in the video “stay Scheming” wears jewellery and black clothing. Giving our music video a darker feel relating it to the hip-hop genre of music, as hip hop extends from underground rap which consist of references to, sex, drug abuse, gang culture and violence.

special effects (editing)Our media product Real media products

We used Final Cut pro to edit our video and it allowed us to use “keyer” and other techniques in order to create colorful backgrounds, vibrant backgrounds are used in R&B videos occasionally but not so much in contemporary R&B the reason we used this is because it added depth and dynamism to our video.Bring our media product in closer relation to our target audience. Colorful lighting techniques are used in a variety of videos such as Usher “Yeah ft. Ludacris” which was a number one hit single for weeks on end.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqr_4NCfitM

Variety of shots (camera angles)

The use of camera angles were key to the production of our music video using them made our product look authentic in particular the scenes where we would change scenes quickly showing different angles.

The camera angles we have used are a worms eye view, low angle shot. In some performance scenes as shown in image 1 because this is an effective camera angle used in many hip-hop and R&B videos

1

We also used over the shoulder shots as shown in image 2 and we consistently used it through out our video as it allows the audience to see what's going on from the perspective of the artist or supporting actors.

On beat editing

In order to intricately relate our media product to our target audience. We cut and placed our footage over key sections of the song. Not only did this allow for very tight lip syncing but it allowed us to used different editing techniques, such as cross cuts and continuity editing. Which is a feature that is apparent in the production of real media products (music videos)

Look at this examples where cuts are used to match the beat as well as used for lip syncing, this video was key in terms of influencing how and where we cut and placed our scenes.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liZm1im2erU

Connotations behind key scenesThis scene is of our actress wearing red heals and the connotation behind this is love and sophistication which is a key concept of the R&B music genre

The cold steel effect along with the over the shoulder shot gives the scene a depressing mood which is the message we are trying to convey through our narrative structure this is done on several music video e.g. bright sunshine is used to connote love and happiness

Connotations behind key scenes

We used natural lighting in this shot as a bright sunny day between boy and girl together denotes love and affection in particular when both are smiling at each other.

This is an example of a real media product that uses similar lighting to convey the same meaning “Lupe Fiasco ft. Trey songz outa my head”

Connotations behind key scenes

We used the camera angle and the dynamic action pose in order to relate to the R&B music genre where there are very short performance scenes performance scenes are a must when it comes to R&B music videos. So we decided to use this convention to bring our media product in closer relation to real media products and our targeted audience.

Connotations behind key scenes

Not only did we edit to the beat but we also edited to the lyrics as well we done several things such as add text to physically display the words of the song in key places we feel this was one of our more creative techniques we used in order to have a closer relationship with the genre we also used abstract footage in places such as the sky when the song makes reference to it.

Representation of women in our video

• Our representation of women challenges the forms and conventions of Hip-Hop and R&B music videos by having a fetishtic representation of our female actress we have done so by use of the clothing she wears in comparison to real media products which portray their women in a voyeuristic was.

• Laura muvleys male gaze was key to the representation of women in our music video and a key influence in inspiring us to challenge this convention. As Laura Mulvey’s theory brings to attention the negative representation of women in the media generally being given a voyeuristic representation which is degrading, so we decided to challenge this representation and this theory made it apparent to us the ways in which women are portrayed in real contemporary media products

Andrew Goodwin• Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that audiences should look for which are.• Thought beats-seeing the sound• Narrative and performance • The star image• Relation of visuals to song• Technical aspects of music video.

Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos was key to the construction of our music videos.His theory made me consciously aware of the elements that had to be included in my music video for it to be successful.

Taking his theory into account we cut and pasted the footage not only to match the beat of the song but the lyrics as well for instance in our song the lyric “thoughts take me to when we were close” there is an extreme close up of male actor 1 and female actress holding hands.

Andrew Goodwin• We also had to take into consideration the star image of the artists in the original song,

common is a laid back person, who raps and is typical of the rap/hip-hop genre.

• Will-I-Am is more out going and daring with his dress sense which is why male actor 2 (me) was in more stylized clothing to fit the star image of will I am.

As you can see from the two images there is a clear contrast in representation between both male actors.

Andrew Goodwin

• Narrative structure and performance are key and clear to see thoughout the entire of our music video these elements are the spine of the video and without them our video would not be as successful as it is as it adds context and meaning to the song.

Our DigiPak

The key and apparent use of Red in our DigiPak is to connote love. Love is a key theme in Hip-hop and R&B so we used images that we had to depict upon that theme.

As you can see the similarities between our media product and a real media product, but our DigiPak is uniquely styled to represent our target audience and music genre

Our DigiPak front coverOur DigiPak front cover in terms of design style is influenced by “the album cover for “Lupe Fiasco outa my head” the silhouette of the women with a pink outer glow signifies lust and love as the concept behind the song is wanting her (female Actress) the two images of both male actor is simply to show the combination of hip-hop and R&B notice the facial expression of the two artists and he star contrast between them showing to unique representations.

Note the similarities between our media product and a real media product

Our media product

Real media product

Our DigiPak DigiPak Inside panel 1 Back Front

The structure of real media products in comparison to our media product shows a distinct relationship but continuing a unique twist allowing for more promotional material so we have used and developed upon the conventions of real media products

Our magazine advertOur media product

Real media product

Our magazine advert

Our magazine advert has several feature that make it work as a media product for example have he album cover on the design is a feature used in real media products

Other key features such as having real music logos feature in the design are key for making the design look authentic.

The color scheme of the design relates directly to the DigiPak therefore having the same connotations.

Conclusion (music video)

• So in conclusion we have used the conventions of real media products when creating ours by using key themes of the genre, such as.

• urbanization (using urban backgrounds) • By using clothing hat connoted meaning which signifies the genre e.g. Jewelry (the Mise- en-scene)• By having a variety of scenes representing the artist in different clothing and angles (Camera angles )• Using a variety of special effects e.g. using the keyer to have different backgrounds (editing)• Adding special filter effects such as, Crisp contrast and cold steel to make key scenes from our video look

similar to real media products (lighting)

• Having our Actress completely covered in clothing representing her in a Fetishtic way in term of her facial expressions body language and dress since.

• We also challenged the male representation to by not having our R&B actor (male actor 2- Jay –S) not take off his top, there for de sexualizing the music video making the viewer pay more attention to the narrative structure of the video rather that nudity which is seen in many hip-hop and R&B videos

• These are some examples of sexualized Hip-hop and R&B videos.• 50 cent ft. Olivia candy shop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRcnnId15BA• Ciara ft 50 cent can leave e’m alone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnL9Ju7oSvU

How we used conventions

How we challenged conventions

Conclusion (DigiPak)

Our DigiPak used conventions of real media products in terms of its.

• Structure: gatefold structure follows conventions of real media products, additional panels develops that convention to allow for more promotional material to be contained in the DigiPak.

• Imagry: couple togather denotes love, facial expressions of artist represent two genres of music, silhouette of women connotes love and lust (R&B/Hip-hop)

• Colour: red connotes love (R&B) black connotes sopistication (R&B) black and red connotes power (hip-hop)

Conclusion (magazine advert)

• Our DigiPak uses conventions of real media products in terms of its color scheme and typographic style being the same as the DigiPak showing that they are linked as a media package; this also has a direct ink with the theme of love that is apparent in R&B/hip hop music.

• The use of real music logos such as hmv and iTunes helps to make the advert look authentic as well as helping to promote the artist and the song, making the audience know how to access the song and the various ways they can access it.