Evaluation question 1

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

Conventions of music videos

I used Google  to research the general conventions of any (genre) music videos, I noticed that most videos main conventions included:

Fast paced edits for fast tempo music and slow paced edits for slow music
The mise-en-scene the genre of the song
Lip syncing
A lot of close up shots of the band or the solo artist

Conventions of music videos in general that we used/did not use in our music video and why?

We used most the points stated above in our video. We were not going to use Close up shots of the artists at the start of our project but it was essential we did because the group and I wanted our audience to see the mood the artists were expressing as well as using close ups for lip syncing  Also the band member s in every music video we watched are the unique selling point for the record label so be shown at close up is so important.

The lyrics of the song matched what was being shown in the video at certain points.

This is the part match the song really well as the lyrics says 'no change, I can't change' and the point of view shot shows Myself selling drugs to someone in school. The two link because it shows the main character is still getting up to no good.

We managed to make the edits go in time with the pace of the music in certain shots but at times it wasn't possible, but with patient and the right help we were able to make things happen.

The group would agree with me when I say we used the mise-en-scene made the mood of the song and the genre stand out even more. It made our music video more appealing, I also believe it made the audience feel more in tuned with the video. The main part of our music video was shot in Camden town where it is known for its urban culture, busy streets and the different ethic groups. This links to the narrative scenes of the video in which the actor is selling drugs but he wants to make a change but is stuck because he is a slave to money for the rest of his life ands that’s the quickest and only way he knows how to make money for a living. I was made to wear casual clothing which consisted of jeans, black puffer jacket and trainers, which we believed would symbolise a 'hoodlum'.

Lip syncing 

A convention we uphold was lip syncing I believed we used well was lip syncing we managed to get this down to a perfect standard, we believe lip syncing is used in a lot of music videos of the same genre as ours because it gives the audience an emotional feeling to the song. 

Conventions of music genres in music videos

Lynette my group member managed to conducted research into the conventions of different music video genres e.g. rock, pop, rnb etc and found that different genres have different codes and conventions which allow the genre to be recognised and attract/appeal to their target audience.

Here are some examples:

Pop genre
Bright colours
Creative settings
Close ups of the artist/s
Targeting young audiences
Upbeat music
Dance routine being performed by artist/s

Rock genre

Extreme close ups
Close ups
Dark settings
Simple settings
Equipments (drums, guitars etc)
Never happy
Performance based

Hip hop/Rnb genre

Sexualized half naked women
Close ups and long shots of material items and money
Simple settings (house or club)
Artist surrounded by their entourage
Expensive items
Alcohol

Mise-en-scene

Differences- Compared to the original video, our music video tries to challenge the generic conventions of the rock genre because there’s usually never a narrative, it’s mainly performance based, but in our video it was a mix of performance and narrative


Similarities- In the Verves videos Richard Ashcroft the bands leader, is always first to appear in the video and then towards the end the other band members appear. In our video we did the same by having our lead singer appear first and then the other band member Deon appear afterwards.

The Verve's Urban Hymns Album cover Vs Our album cover

Their album is generally about life and the about lifes confusing and dangerous expeiences. The album cover may not seem like anything big, but with the media skills I have developed throughout the years of doing it has allowed me look in to pictures more and has made me noticed the real meaning behind this album cover.

The album to me connotes a sence of freedom, sitting on the green so relaxed and comfortable shows they are freeing themselves from society.

Our album cover shows more of the urban mis en scene, it is well known area and I believed it would attract an audiences eye. The famous Camden lock sign was once in this shot but I managed to edit 'The Verve' and stick it in front, it adds in with the whole urban atmosphere we tried to achieve. I believe our album not only linked the look of Camden with the album name 'Urban Hymns' but it also shows a straight road and a road which turns into a another destination. You could connote this as a cross road, someone is looking at the straight road to trouble but if he takes the left it would change their life around.

I believe we did challenge the conventions slightly, most rock music videos we came across have white band members but we changed this and made both members in the band black even though the every member in The Verve are white. We also went against the stereotype that most rock artist white, me being the main character and black.