The document discusses how the author's media product for their A2 Media Studies evaluation uses, develops, and challenges conventions of real music videos. [1] The author analyzed numerous indie rock music videos to identify conventions regarding genre characteristics, record label demands, depictions of the female body, and references to other media. [2] The author's group developed some conventions like including performance elements and challenging others like avoiding stereotypical portrayals of women. [3] Overall, the author believes their music video balanced using, developing, and challenging conventions appropriate for their genre and resources.

1. A2 Media Studies
Evaluation
In what ways does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
bethanywatsona2.blogspot.com

2. In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
• Myself and my group studied and analysed
numerous different music videos from different
artists of the “Indie Rock” genre before we
began planning our own music video. This was
to gather forms and conventions together and
to identify similar patterns throughout the Indie
Rock genre. We would either develop or
challenge these conventions by interpreting
them into our three products.

3. • Andrew Goodwin, author of “Dancing in the
Dark” identified five key elements of music
videos in general.
– Genre characteristics
– Demands of the record label that are consistent
throughout the band’s work
– Frequent reference to the notion of looking
– Voyeuristic treatment of the female body
– Intertextual references to other types of media

4. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:
• We identified that
usually in the wide
genre of alternative
rock, elements of
performance were
very common
amongst music
videos for this
music genre.

5. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:
• With the elements
of performance in
• It also contributes
the music video it to the stereotype of
creates a more alternative bands
realistic image of producing their
experience the own music and not
audience would relying on
experience to see
the band live computer
(further promoting generated music,
future that bands like
products, for mainstream artists
example tour do.
posters etc).

6. FREQUENT REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF
LOOKING:
• We chose to use hand-held camera shots to
reference the notion of “looking”, as if the band
were filming the music video themselves. The
amateur footage adds to the effect of the band
and creates a much more personal effect to build
a relationship between the audience and the
band themselves.

7. VOYUERISTIC REFERENCE TO THE
FEMALE BODY:
• We also found that the ‘What You
Know’ video specifically uses female
dancers to show the band as
desirable. We, however, did not
include this in our own music video
because we found that there were
theoretical issues of access to
actresses willing to be shown in such
a stereotypical way. This is usually a
convention of male artists’ videos
specifically, and so we challenged
this by choosing not to include
females in our music video.

8. • We started by looking at the existing video of
the song we chose to do, “What You Know” by
Two Door Cinema Club. We found specifically
that in terms of editing, the music video was
produced using fast cutting shots to go with
the fast rhythm of the music video and applied
this to our own music video.

9. MISÉ-EN-SCENE:
• With each of the band members,
we decided to dress them
accordingly to the “indie rock”
genre after looking at existing
videos such as “Shuffle” by
Bombay Bicycle Club, “What You
Know” and “Sleep Alone” by Two
Door Cinema Club. We found that
the artists wore quite dark
clothes, which we decided was a
convention that we would prefer
to stick to as it was easier for the
audience to identify them as more
of an alternative genre.

10. MISÉ-EN-SCENE: • The pictures taken for
our digipaks were taken
in natural settings. This
is like our music
video, which was also
filmed in a natural
setting. We thought this
would be more
appropriate as the
audience could see the
band as more relatable
and build more of a
relationship with them if
they could see them in a
situation/setting in
which they themselves
as an audience may
have been before.

11. • There was also an issue when sharing ideas for
the music video how far the extent of the idea
of “showing the band members having a good
time” would go. For example, we didn’t want to
include shots of the band abusing the use of
alcohol because we didn’t want to show them
as deviants, because it may not have been
suitable for the young audience that the band
obtain.

12. • This is because it would
promote the abuse of alcohol
and encourage the younger
generation of the target
audience to do this. Instead,
we decided to show them
doing more suitable and
recreational activities that the
audience could relate to like
going to fairs and going
shopping, thus challenging this
convention of a more
alternative genre of music
video.

13. Overall, I believe my group have provided an
equal balance between using and developing
forms and conventions as well as challenging
them. I believe our music video suits its form
well and with the hardware and software we
had access to we have created a music video to
the best of our ability.