Question 1 Evaluation Draft

A2 Evaluation

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

The forms and conventions of typical media products was something I had previously researched in the research stages, therefore I was aware of the ways these products are normally presented. Overall, this helped me with the creation of all three tasks – my music video, my magazine advert and my digipak.

Clearly, my music video was my main and most difficult task of the three. This required a lot of research including the research of famous music directors and of course, the typical conventions of music videos as well as analysing some famous examples. My own music video is for the song ‘You’ by the rock band ‘The Pretty Reckless’ and focuses on both a narrative and performance to tell the story of a break-up between a young couple. Immediately, I believe this portrays typical conventions of a music video as generally many songs seem to be about love or heartbreak, and there is often an obvious relation of the lyrics to the visuals presented within the song. This is one of the aspects Andrew Goodwin discussed when focusing on music videos. He says how these images are used to illustrate the meaning behind the song; therefore in this way my video uses the typical conventions as there is a strong link between my images and the lyrics about wanting someone. This is displayed by the flashback scene of the couple and the passionate performance by my female actor, clearly expressing her love for the boy. As well as the relation of lyrics to visuals, Goodwin also talks about the use of both narrative and performance. This is an aspect I have already mentioned, which again highlights the ways in which my video lives up to typical music video expectations. Including both a narrative and performance, I believe makes the video more intriguing for the viewer as they can relate their own experiences to the story yet the performance is a good way of presenting the actor as a successful artist. A meta narrative is also something I have included, as various camera shots displaying the rose painting overtime concludes how my actor finally completes the painting and this is the overall development of the main star in my video. Close ups and over the shoulder shots were the main type of shots I used to present the painting as I believed the fine detail of the art piece would look interesting to the viewer, and often they would wonder how the final piece would turn out. Technical aspects is another feature Goodwin mentions when discussing typical media conventions and this describes the ways in how I have put my video together through camera, mise-en scene, editing and sound…

Long shots and mid shots of my artist were often used to display her outfit, as I feel this was an important part of the video to show off her rock image and style. This also links to the rock genre of the band, and brings in the representation of my main actor overall. I believe Laura Mulvey is a vital theorist to discuss during this aspect, as my actor can give off both a whore and Madonna persona. The lingering shots of the actor, focusing on her figure and heavy make-up, can give the impression that she seen as an object through the male viewers, which Mulvey believes are the dominant audience. On the other hand, the flashbacks of the couple portraying a healthy heterosexual relationship, suggest my actor is the ‘Madonna’. This could be argued that my video in fact challenges typical conventions of music videos as both sides of this concept are displayed, which is unusual to see.

Editing is also a major aspect of my final music video. For example, the use of the flashbacks creates an episodic narrative. These are presented in black and white to make the audience aware that these scenes are not part of the chronological flow. This type of editing gives the audience more background information to story of my music video, and therefore can create a stronger effect on the viewers as they more easily understand the overall narrative. 

My other production task is my magazine advert. I also researched this task, with regards to other existing magazine adverts selling new albums. Some of the typical conventions included a main image, the artist and album name, the release date and what specific platforms the album could be purchased from. Taking this into account, I included all of these conventions in my own work as well as reviews from well-known music magazines like Rolling Stone and Mojo. I feel by using well respected magazines such as these was more appropriate for a rock band as they are often taken more seriously than other music genres such as pop. This means the audience are more likely to take on board the praise given by these types of magazines. 

As well as these conventions, the image included on my magazine album was considerably the most important feature of this product. This would primarily grab the reader’s attention, plus the link the image has to the album’s title was also an important aspect I considered. I wanted to include an image which included fire, which would link well with the name ‘Light Me Up’. Therefore the flames in the hands was not only a technically impressive and intriguing image, it also would make the band’s album more memorable for the audience. Taking this into account, I firmly believe my magazine advert as a whole uses the typical forms and conventions of the real media products.

Finally, my digipak was my third media product I created as part of my A2 coursework. Again, research into this product was vital as I feel digipaks are quite difficult to design without any previous knowledge as they are more complex and detailed. I started my using a similar image to my magazine advert, as I believe the fire concept is a main selling point regarding the album. Having both a rose and a photograph on fire gives the digipak a type of house style that makes the audience aware that these images all make up the same product. The same font from the magazine advert is also used for the band’s name – again highlighting the house style and how the band will be recognisable to consumers.