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

Evaluation question #1 in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation question #1
in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

By jack topping

Throughout the conception and production of my media products in this years course, I have researched several different music videos, albums and websites within my chosen genre for inspiration in order to make my products as close to real and professional media products as possible. Throughout the research period, I analysed all of these real-life media texts in order to identify the main conventions of products within my genre and what stood out within each product to establish the highest amount of realism that I could afford in the creation of my own. In this response to Evaluation Question #1, I will detail how my media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products, using examples of my own research in the process.

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\Jack Digipack\tsn.jpghttps://igcdn-photos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t51.2885-15/10802990_662894023831618_1304407083_n.jpg

One of the music videos that I analysed for my coursework during my research was the music video for NOT DROWNING BUT WAVING by Spring Offensive. I feel that this video was incredibly instrumental throughout the production of my music video as it enabled me to identify many conventions within my genre that I could use within my video. For example, in analysing video, I counted the number of cuts and the average shot length to determine the editing style that I could use to put the video together. In doing so, I identified that my average shot length should be no more than 3-4 seconds, with a big amount of cuts as it would make my video have a major convention that could make it comparable to a real media product.
Additionally, this video converges narrative and performance, as well as containing a similar theme to our video. As a result, we also featured both narrative and performance within our video and referenced a number of shots within our video. This both fit extremely well with our videos narrative and helped to make it more comparable to a real life product.

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\spring offensive 4.jpgSHOTS REFERENCING THE SPRING OFFENSIVE VIDEO

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\spring offensive 1.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\spring offensive 2.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\spring offensive 3.jpgSPRING OFFENSIVES VIDEO

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\tsn os 1.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\tsn os 2.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\tsn os 3.jpgOUR VIDEO

However, whilst we wanted to reference the original music video for our chosen song HEART OUT, we felt that the video did not reflect the lyrics at all. We believed that the lyrics told the story of a boy who is in love with a girl who has various problems, but nothing can stop his love for her. We felt that if our video reflected the lyrics, it would make a much more emotional connection with the audience and visually show them the points that the song was trying to make in a more complex way. That is why, for our performance part of our video, we reference the original music video by having our band play on a stage. However, for our narrative section, we had the based our video around the lyrics by showing our male protagonist chasing after our female protagonist, whilst also showing their relationship up until that point.
One video that I researched to help influence the reflection of lyrics in the video was the video for AVOCADO, BABY by Los Campesinos! The video reflects the lines in the song AND I FEEL LIKE IM THE HOST OF A TERRIBLE GAME SHOW, AND THE GUESTS ON TODAYS QUIZ ARE CELEBRITIES. WONT RESPOND TO ANY CLUES, THEYRE JUST CRACKING JOKES FOR VIEWS AND THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS MEAN EVERYTHING, by having the plot of the video show a game show host who is constantly made fun of and decides to get revenge on all who have wronged him. I thought this was a genius idea and so wanted to try and incorporate part of that into our video.

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\1975.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\heart out tsn.jpgA few Examples of video reflecting lyrics

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\video reflection 2.jpgRushing in a small town

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\video reflection 1.jpgPush your lack of chest out

C:\Users\Jack\Pictures\video reflection 3.jpgis a reflection on your mental health

Additionally, we thought that the look and placement of the band members within our video and photos used for the digipak and website was key to making our media products look as professional and real as possible. We looked at indie bands such as The 1975 and The Wombats for styling inspirations finding that many indie bands have a unique and quirky dress sense as a convention, making them stand out against music artists of other genres. We reflected this well in our video, with examples including the lead singer (Dean) wearing an unbuttoned wavy shirt, and our lead guitarist (James) wearing a large hat, as well as our digipak photos with the band wearing shirts with different yet eye-catching patterns on them. This makes the band appear closer to a real-life indie band.
As well as this, in looking at different indie videos and photoshoots (i.e. Los Campesinos!, Vampire Weekend), a link was established that featured the lead singer as centred when the band were all in shot together. As a result, we followed this convention drawing on Richard Dyers Star theory to show our lead singer as the most memorable member of the band to audiences, using Dean to represent that in our video by keeping him centred and having close-ups of him frequently within the performance shots. This stops the band from getting forgotten within the narrative and capitalises on common conventions within the indie genre to make our music video reflect a professional media text.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jCWsWHeet4/VUN64MMDE7I/AAAAAAAAAyU/c6mtLty7E9k/s1600/1975%2Binspiration%2B3.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\The Spares PROMO - F\TSPROMO-2.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\dean 1.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\dean 2.jpgFor my album cover, I decided not to use a picture of the band on the front as my research had shown that several indie artists decide to use symbols, objects or locations as their front cover to appear more mysterious and enigmatic. Examples include Vampire Weekend (Modern Vampires of the City), The Wombats (Glitterbug), The 1975 (The 1975), and Ed Sheeran (X). As a result, I decided to use a picture that I had taken of the architecture of St. Stephens Green in Dublin, Ireland as my front cover. The reasoning for this was this it backed up the convention of mystery and enigma for my front cover, but also made the band appear well-cultured and respected as the building is acclaimed globally for its beautiful and unique architecture. I was also inspired to follow the convention of having a rebellion-themed title for the album examples being Green Day (21st Century Breakdown) and Paramore (Riot!). As rebellion is a common theme that identifies well with young audiences, I decided to use this theme to establish a clear bond between our band, The Secret Nothings, and our target audience. As a result, I used the title YOUTH IN REVOLT. I believe that this title makes the band further appeal to a young target audience, whilst also carrying on the indie genre convention of the band appearing respected and mysterious.

http://vampireweekend.com/images/packshot.jpgC:\Users\Jack\Pictures\Jack Digipack\tsn.jpg

Click to edit Master title style

Click to edit Master text styles

Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015

Click to edit Master text stylesSecond level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Click to edit Master subtitle style

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015


12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level




Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level


12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

Click icon to add picture



12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level



Second level

Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

12/05/2015

12/05/2015


Third level

Fourth level

Fifth level

Education

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