In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Justine Mason

Exploring conventions of music videos

General theory:• The lyrics establish a general feeling. • The genre might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene,

themes, performance, camera and editing styles. • Camera work has a major impact on meaning; the

movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the artist/band.

• Intertextuality – not all viewers will recognise a reference which would not detract them from their pleasure in the text itself, but if the viewer was to realise the reference it should increase the audience’s engagement regarding the product.

“The lyrics establish a general feeling”

I believe that the lyrics of the song we have chosen for our production piece enable the audience to get a feel of what the piece is about. The line ‘girl, I’m coming home to you’ highlights the general feeling of the piece and the upbeat, romantic nature which is a convention of most folk songs. Researching other folk bands that have influenced Gentlemen of Few, I found a recurring theme of love and happiness in the lyrics of their songs which mirrored the desired atmosphere of the music videos. “Oh well I look at you and say it's the happiest that I've ever been”Noah and the Whale – 5 Years Time“Longing for your side, lying bound to carry you far from here”Cocos Lovers - Emily These lyrics compliment the calm and happy visuals of the music videos. Therefore, I conformed to this convention and took inspiration from these bands.

“The genre might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance,

camera and editing styles.”

My group followed this theory by conforming to the genre of our piece. We specifically wanted to bring out the folk genre through our use of Nordic/indie clothing, natural lighting, outdoor locations and instruments. After researching the editing in Mumford and Sons’ and Noah and the Whale’s music videos, we discovered each music video had on average 150 different shots. Therefore, we catered our video to around this number to follow the steady pace of the folk genre.

When choosing costumes for our actors, we took inspiration from folk bands such as Of Monsters and Men and Noah and the Whale.

I like Of Monsters and Men’s Nordic style and the printed knitwear they dress themselves in. Therefore, I put my actors in a similar style rust jumper as I felt this colour would compliment the other earthy colours used in the video.

I like Noah and the Whale’s clean-cut look with their tailored suits and shirts. Therefore, I similarly dressed my actor in a blazer with a shirt. However, I still wanted to keep a casual look throughout the video so I teamed the blazer with jeans.

We took inspiration from Noah and the Whale ‘5 Years Time’ by using a mixture of indoor and outdoor locations, as well as artificial lighting indoors and natural lighting outside.

Our mise en scene evokes feelings of a homely atmosphere. For example we used wooden furniture such as the chair and book case which relates to the natural settings and earthy colours used in the folk genre. We wanted to follow the typical codes and conventions of the genre by using no new technology. This creates a preferred reading to the audience as our mise en scene hasn’t been touched by urbanisation or modern technology; the video is set in the countryside.

We used dark earthy colours (browns) throughout the video which are seen in ‘Hopeless Wanderer’ and Whisky Folk Ramblers ‘Gambling preacher and his daughter’, as these colours are a common convention of the folk genre.

We incorporated a piano into our music video as it follows the conventions of folk videos where instruments are played. Close up shots of instruments are also found in Mumford and Sons ‘Hopeless Wanderer’ music video, as well as ‘Gambling Preacher…’.

We included an introduction to our music video using the codes and conventions of folk genre videos such as ‘Gambling Preacher…’ and Coco and the Butterfields’ ‘Warriors’. It also introduces the band/artist and the song.

Rather than using a bold striking font, usually associated with more hard-core rock music genres, we used a sophisticated and neat font as our song is more mellow and folk. The white and black colours of the text show up against the backdrop and gently compliments the earthy colours used in the landscape, normally associated with the folk genre.

“Camera work has a major impact on meaning; the movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the

artist/band.”

We used a low angle shot on the main actor to show he was in a position of authority. We also included many long shots, positioning the actor in the centre of the frame to ensure the focus was on him and his story, following the conventions used in ‘Gambling Preacher…’ We began the video with an

establishing shot of a natural landscape in a rural countryside. This showed where the video was based and was a clear reference to the folk genre, as seen in Noah and the Whale’s ‘Winter Winds’.

“Intertextuality – not all viewers will recognise a reference which would not detract them from their pleasure in the text itself, but if the viewer was to

realise the reference it should increase the audience’s engagement regarding the product.”

We deviated from using intertextuality in our music video as it is not a common convention of the folk genre. Other bands and artists that have influenced Gentlemen of Few, such as Noah and the Whale and Mumford and Sons, tend not to include references to other media texts in their videos, therefore we also wanted to follow this convention.

Exploring conventions of music videos

Goodwin’s Theory:• Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict

the lyrics and music.• Close-ups should always be included.• The female performer is frequently objectified

principally for display purposes.

“Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics and music.”

I feel we followed this convention in our music video as our visuals do compliment and illustrate the upbeat, romantic lyrics of the song perfectly. For instance, on the line “So I pack my bags and head down south”, our footage displayed our main actor walking down a long path as if he was on a journey. Also, on the line “girl, I’m coming home to you” we used a shot of the main actor’s feet walking as if he was coming home to his partner.

“Close-ups should always be included.”

The majority of our music video contained mid shots, however we did frequently use close-ups of our main actor, as well as the instruments that were being played. Using close-ups of the main actor heightened the emotional connection between the performer and the audience, addressing the uses and gratifications theory. Close-ups of instruments is a typical convention of the folk genre, seen in Mumford and Sons’ videos which we took inspiration from for our own music video.

We analysed two folk music videos and counted up all of the different shots they include:

Coco and the Butterfields – Warriors

Camera AnglesLong shot – 10Mid shot – 12Close up – 25Extreme close up - 5Low angle – 11High angle – 5

Editing TechniquesPan – 2Cuts – 189Tilt – 5Zoom in – 3Zoom out – 2Jump cut - 3

Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time

Camera AnglesLong shot – 12Mid shot – 19Close up – 20Extreme close up - 3Low angle – 5High angle – 3

Editing TechniquesPan – 3Cuts – 182Tilt – 2Zoom in – 4Zoom out – 3Jump cut - 6

From our analysis, we found that mid shots were the most commonly used shot, along with close-ups second. We conformed to this in our video, as the most common shots were mid shots and close ups.

“The female performer is frequently objectified principally for display purposes.”

We completely challenged this convention in our music video. Since the band is made up of males, we wanted our main male actor to be the focus of the video, which was shown by our use of low angle shots which gave the actor a position of authority. The female performer in our music video is just subsidiary to the main actor, therefore we felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to objectify her, as she is not the focus of the video. Also, folk music videos are often dominated my male bands and artists and therefore women don’t tend to be objectified for display purposes.