Fiona WongQuestion 1A: Using real world conventionsFor the foundation portfolio I created a magazine. Before making my magazine, I had looked at many existing magazine in the real world to get an idea of how I should create my own. There are many conventions of magazines that I had to follow for example: masthead, plug, sell lines, barcode, date and price. These conventions were used in my magazine to ensure that it would be similar to real world products. I also adopted a similar layout to many existing products, for example the masthead was placed at the top and sell lines were arranged around the image.I used a close-up image on the front cover with the artist looking directly at the camera to create a direct mode of address, which I noticed was a convention of magazines that were similar to what I wanted to achieve. This is conventional for magazines as it is important to create a connection between the artist and audience so they are interested to purchase the product. This kind of image used on the front cover is particularly important for the pop genre as the main target audience are young females who are likely to take interest in the appearance of the artist as well as their music.In addition, the fonts used in my magazine were all sans serif fonts as I had found that this was typical of the pop/rock genre. The main reason for this is because they are easy to read and more appropriate for my target audience who are young as it is less formal-looking. The colour scheme for my magazine consisted of teal, black and white. This imitates real world products as the use of a few colours only creates a consistent colour scheme which appears professional.On the other hand, for the advanced portfolio we had greater flexibility and were more likely to challenge conventions of real world products with the creation of a music video. Music videos tend to vary largely due to the limited conventions it has compared to magazines. For example, it could be argued that the main function of music videos is to entertain and as long as it does that it could be presented in any way in which you like which leads to the large range of existing music video styles. I looked at existing products for knowledge and inspiration and adapted existing ideas to create something unique.For example, in my music video based on Bruno Mars Count On Me, I had used many pop conventions yet I created something which was different. I used colourful backgrounds throughout my music video to indicate the genre of the music video being pop. I also portrayed the pop genre through the range lyrics in different fonts and fun props and transitions. Some props included a globe and calendar and the transitions were mainly showing the artist sliding in from off the screen.A way in which I challenged existing products is the use of a female lip-syncing to a song originally sung by a male. I decided to do this to create a fun effect on my music video as it creates a playful atmosphere.Moving from print-based media to moving image creates a difference in the way to approach it by having more freedom which provokes more challenges to the conventions of real world products.

Question 1B: GenreGenre can be defined as a style or category of art, music or literature. Derrida proposed that 'a text cannot belong to no genre, it cannot be without... a genre. Every text participates in one or several genres, there is no genreless text'. Each genre would typically have a set of conventions which make it that particular genre. For example, the conventions of the pop genre may include the use of bright colours, positive expressions and close-up shots.The use of mise-en-scene in my music video is the major part which highlights the pop genre. Firstly, the high-key lighting creates a bright atmosphere which indicates it being a pop music video. Additionally, the costume of the artist clearly suggests the pop genre with the huge smiley emotion displayed on it. The majority of the facial expressions displayed remained positive throughout the music video with the artist smiling at the camera, directly addressing the audience.Moreover, the editing of the music video was altered to fit with the pop genre. Most of the transitions showed the artist appearing fairly quickly on and off the screen from the two sides and from below. This created a fun effect which suggests the music video being in the pop genre.Two features of Goodwins music video theory that apply to my music video is the use of close-ups and the relations between the lyrics and visuals. The use of many close-ups in my music video is conventional to the pop genre as the target audience who are likely to be young females would pay attention to the appearance of the artist. Furthermore, it can also display the continuous joyful expressions of the artist which creates a positive atmosphere and brings pleasure to the audience. In relation to the lyrics and visuals, the incorporation of props created a connection between the two. The props used created a fun atmosphere which emphasises the pop genre and is entertaining for the audience to watch. In addition, the body language of the artist created a link between the lyrics and visuals as common hand gestures were used. Some examples include the hand being placed near the face as a telephone sign and the hand placed on the forehead as if she was looking for something. These common gestures portray a universal meaning which can be easily understood by the audience. The use of body language to portray the lyrics is more interesting for the audience to watch and is typical of the pop genre due to its visual effect.Saussure is notable for his work on signs. He argues that everything is a sign, which means that everything has a meaning. In my music video a range of signs were used to illustrate the pop genre. For example, the use of colourful backgrounds indicate the mood of the music video being cheerful. In addition, specific colours were used to match the lyrics in parts of the songs. For example, the colours blue which has a connotation of sadness was used when a part of the lyrics mentioned cry.

Question 2: Why are some media products described as postmodern?Some media products may described as postmodern because it consists of what is known as postmodern features. Some common postmodern features include intertextuality, pastiche, fragmentation and nostalgia. Postmodern products are generally identified with its reference to existing things and its structure being fragmented and containing many narratives.The postmodern music video I studied was Orange Caramels My Copycat (2014). There are quite a few features of this music video that makes it postmodern in terms of the structure design of the music video. The whole concept of the music video is very postmodern in the way that it references the well-known childrens book Wheres Wally?, even in the title it is suggesting that it is copying something.One feature of the music video which explains why it may be portrayed as postmodern is its playfulness in its concept. The audience are encouraged to play the games involved in the music video which are spotting the girls and spot the difference. There are many scenes which imitates Wheres Wally? with the girls being hidden within many other people who are dressed similarly and are doing a variety of different things to cause distraction and make the game more difficult. In addition, the other game the audience are encouraged to pay is spot the difference. As the music video progresses, the games get harder with more differences needed to be found. These games are useful in drawing the audience attention to the details in the music video and may also lead them to watch the music video over again. This kind of interaction between the audience and the music video is playful as the audience are likely to enjoy interacting with the several games that keep them entertained.Another way in which the music video can be described as postmodern is the use of bricolage. On the dress of one of the girls, there are many different branded logos displayed which are well-known to most people. The range of famous logos shown on the dress can be linked to consumerism. Since it is shown on the dress, it is indirectly promoting the brands and in the postmodern world it is believed that people are losing their self-identity with the increasing desire in obtaining things that are being advertised. This therefore results in us defining ourselves in terms of material possessions rather than by character or work.Additionally, the music video can be depicted as postmodern due to its fragmented structure. The music video is edited so that there is a constant change between the scenes and the order in which they are presented do not follow a certain pattern and are unrelated. The music video does not base on one large narrative which could be argued as postmodern as Lyotard notes that there is a decline in meta-narratives and instead there are now many smaller narratives.As well as music videos, films are also described as postmodern. For example, Maleficent (Dir. Stromberg, 2014). This film is based on the famous fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, except that a few alterations were made to the plot which highlights it postmodernity. However, the main storyline remains in Maleficent which creates a nostalgic feeling to the film as it reminds the audience of Sleeping Beauty. The audience are likely to have watched or know the story of Sleeping Beauty and therefore the similarities seen in Maleficent may create a sense of nostalgia for the audience.Maleficent can be explored as being postmodern due to the narrative being presented in the perspective of the villain. This subversion of the villain being the protagonist is central to the film being described as postmodern. In relation to this, another postmodern feature is revealed as the role of Maleficent is unclear due to her being the hero as well as the villain because she is the one who saves Aurora from the death-like sleep. The instability in Maleficents character can be argued as postmodern as the role of the protagonist usually remains the same throughout the film however Maleficents role varies through the course of the film.Furthermore, postmodern aspects can be seen in regards to the key parts of the story. For example, Maleficent is the one who places the curse on Aurora and is also the one that breaks it. This is considered as postmodern due to the situation being ironic. Another example of irony is shown in the death of the king as he himself was the one who created a problem by taking Maleficents wings away from her.On the other hand, video games may also be described as postmodern. One example I studied was Goat Simulator (2014). This simulation game can be regarded as postmodern with its playfulness. The world-wide release of the game was on 1st April 2014 and acknowledging that it is April Fools Day the producers intended to create confusion to the audience and expected them to raise doubts about the validity of the game. Furthermore, the game incorporates many glitches and bugs due to its appeal as it produced humorous results. The game overall is playful in the way that it works with the players being able to freely play around with the goat.The trailer of Goat Simulator is an example of the postmodern concept pastiche. The trailer imitates another games trailer (Dead Island) which was notable for its impressive approach with the use of a reverse slow motion effect. The fact that it uses a goat instead of an injured girl created a comical reaction from the audience who were aware of its reference. The humour in the trailer was emphasised with the slow-beat dramatic background music which was again similar to Dead Islands trailer.Overall, many media products many be described as postmodern if it has postmodern features such as intertextuality, pastiche and fragmentation. This is seen across the different mediums such as music videos, films and video games. It seems that most media products nowadays are considered postmodern as they are likely to relate to at least one feature of postmodernism.