HOW HAVE YOU USED/DEVELOPED/CHALLENGED CONVENTIONS OF REAL

MEDIA TEXTS?

MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

EDITING IN PACE WITH THE SONG

PERFORMANCE

NO (or little) DIEGETIC AUDIO

SIMPLE NARRATIVES

POSITIVE REPRESENTATION OF PERFORMER(S)

PERFORMER(S) DOMINATE SCREENTIME

(for punk rock music) USUALLY VERY CONVENTIONAL

DO WE FOLLOW MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS?

Yes and no! WE INCLUDE:

PERFORMANCE PACED EDITING REALISTIC BUT COMEDIC STYLE

POSITIVE REPRESENTATIONS CHARACTERS SIMILAR TO TARGET AUDIENCE

HOW DON’T WE FOLLOW CONVENTIONS?

Not entirely simple:The ‘rewind’ effect we use at the ending was confusing to some audience

members. We believe the metaphorical value of the effect may be too obscure, and it opposes the otherwise simple narrative.

Representations are at points anti-stereotypical:Discussed later.

The transitions between performance and narrative locations are unusual:

A lot of music videos blend the narrative and performance locations into one. Having them almost completely mutually exclusive, except for some whip-pan effects linking them, is quite uncommon but allows the audience to distinguish

different parts of the song from each other.

Overall, our music video is both conventional and not – a perfect fit for a pop-rock band whose fans are likely to reject more alternative styles. Adding only a

few unique elements broadens audience appeal while retaining its original intended fans.

STEREOTYPES

MEN- Independent, strong- Emotionally weak, violent and

irrational- Drinkers- Large or stocky physical build

WOMEN- More emotional- Compassionate- Usually ‘damsel in distress’- Wears makeup and clothes to

attract sexual attention

YOUNG MEN- Cocky- Jokers- Usually makes moves on

women (instead of other way around)

YOUNG WOMEN- Gossipy- Attached to mobile phones- Slightly vain- Ditzy- Over-reacting

DO WE CONFORM TO STEREOTYPES?

Again, yes and no.

MALES: FEMALES:

Joker Over-reacting

Make-upPoint of identification

Attached to mobilesDrinking

NON-CONFORMING STEREOTYPES

So our project does, I believe, conform to and challenge stereotypes. The effect these negative representations for the women in the video has is to boost the sympathy the audience holds for the male (but not

entirely masculine) protagonist, making him more like a universally likable ‘everyman’ despite his faults – a way in which a band’s lead singer would probably want to be represented, while also adding to

the nature of the comedy by inverting typical ideas of masculinity and femininity.

MALES: FEMALES:

Makes a move on the man

Irrational and violent

Emotional

Rationalises and is compassionate

ANCILLARIES

The digipak design for the album is both conforming and non-conforming to themes of real products.

The cover is relatively unique for pop-punk albums and even All Time Low records, with the band name smaller than usual and no band members present.

The back cover, meanwhile, is very conventional, with a simple songlist and record label along with a simple picture.

The digipak’s mix of conventional and non-conventional styles fits with the mostly conventional music video, while its design reflects the hidden meaning we found in the song – that ‘Stella’

may just be a drink. We enhanced this idea using the bottom left panel, which is under the CD, to look like you ‘open’ the bottle by

removing the CD.

ANCILLARIES The poster is

deliberately quite unconventional, designed to look more like an alcohol advert than an album.

The reviews play on the ‘alcohol advert’ joke to make people laugh while still informing them of the positive critical response.

To keep the advert recognizable, though, we included a large band logo at the top and a release date and record label at the bottom, like most posters would.

The finer details on the bottle also reflect the band’s American origins and their formation in Baltimore in 2003.

CONCLUSION

I believe our music video is successful in a few ways that work with generic conventions of other media. We were

successful in: Creating a likable ‘everyman’ protagonist

Conveying the narrative and comedy through inverted representations and stereotypes

Utilising conventions to create audience appeal

…Although we do agree that certain aspects are less successful than we intended:

The representations of women could be decoded as misogynist There is not as much development in conventions as there could be

But our goal was reached and we were able to create a product that will successfully promote the song with a

wide audience appeal.

CONCLUSION

The ancillary products are less conventional than the music video, which is successful in a few ways:

The beer bottle is a design which may attract older audiences’ attentions.

Reflecting the song’s hidden meaning through the design, although in a less serious manner in which it could be interpreted to keep the

overall tone consistent.

…But there are weaknesses which might have been helped if we used more conventional design choices: The ancillaries are perhaps less recognizable as All Time Low’s

work, especially the digipak, and could have benefitted from a picture of the band.

The lack of social media links or explicit reference to places where the album is being sold means it could be hard to find.

Yet overall I believe we have made two appropriately eye-catching companions to the music video.

THE END

By Ben Trangmar