1. A2 MEDIA
STUDIES
Michelle Jackson
a2michellejackson.blogspot.co.uk

2. QUESTION 1: In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
• The genre that we chose for our music video was Indie Rock. The
original video to „Weekend‟ by Smith Westerns features a lot of
footage which makes the band appear carefree, youthful and
extremely rebellious – something that is a convention of the Indie
genre to „stand out‟ and be different by simply being themselves.
• The video features a lot of scenes which appear very unforced and
natural to teens and young people, such as shopping, smoking and
having a good time. In addition, this video features other scenes that
would be considered to some as very “daring” – such as carrying an
axe in public and cutting down trees (illegally).

3. MISE-EN-SCENE
Mise-en-scene is extremely important in terms of understanding the conventions of
the genre by analysing areas such as costume, setting and composition.
These two images, the first being the Smith Westerns and the second being our
actors, are similar in that they both make use of the outdoors – the Smith Westerns
and Indie bands in general are very easy-going and prefer to be out in the
open, which is shown in the image. However, for our own photos we also included
man-made objects for an edgy feel which challenged the genre slightly but overall
enhanced the Smith Westerns‟ rebellious personality. In terms of composition these
shots both have a hierarchical structure in that the lead member is placed more
towards the front of the frame, meaning the audiences‟ eye is drawn to them first.

4. 1. 2. 3. COSTUME
We choose the actors that we used
in our music video for „Weekend‟
carefully so they could closely
resemble the Smith Westerns band
members.
We researched thoroughly into the
clothing of Indie Rock bands
beforehand so we could interpret
this convention into our music
video.
1. 2. 3.
The images that we used
for the „Smith Westerns +
Friends‟ digipak support the
codes and conventions that
are associated with Indie
Rock music. This includes
featuring clothing such as
parkas, hooded
jackets, checked shirts and
dark coloured t-shirts.

5. The costumes our actors wore within both the digipak images and
the music video included typical „Indie‟ style clothing, which COSTUME
contained no overly-bright colours and a conventional laid-back
design.
Our digipak image particularly reflects that of
conventional Indie Rock CD covers by following
the dress code of parka coats, denim jackets,
checked shirts and dark clothing, topped off
with casual jeans. These all lend themselves to
the „Alternative‟ style of clothing – often fans of
the Indie Rock genre recreate this relaxed look
as it is incredibly recognisable. Converse shoes
are also a symbol of this genre which connote
youth as these
shoes attract a
younger
audience much
like the Smith
Westerns.

6. As well as dressing our actors in clothing
which fit well with the conventions of the
Indie Rock videos we researched, such COSTUME
as laid-back jeans to connote
adolescence and combat jackets to
insert a sense of danger/mischief, we
also styled our actors according to our
archetypal fan profile that we created
during our research. This is because
fans of the genre often style themselves
after their idols.
The costumes that the
band are wearing are
used to establish
character by signifying
that they have their own
unique style and „stamp‟ that is easily recognisable –
this also means that the costumes are used for the
audience to determine the genre of the music video.
Character establishment needs to happen within the
first few seconds of the music video because songs
often last 3-4 minutes on average and the audience
want to have a fixed genre in mind. Also, the
costumes help to portray a certain mood within the
video – dark clothes have connotations of rebellion
and mischief that is associated with the contents of
our „Weekend‟ video.

7. In terms of the setting for our music video, we chose areas in
which we felt would be most suited for the audience of the Indie
genre. In this case, our two main locations were: in a busy city
SETTING
centre and in a recording studio.
•We chose the city centre as our main filming location because
it ties in well with the youthful atmosphere that we wanted to
create in the video. City centres are often popular choices for
young people to hang out, shop and chill out with their
friends, meaning this was a perfect choice as it gave a more
authentic feel. We chose specific side streets so that the
amount of bystanders wouldn‟t overwhelm our three band
members that audience would want to focus on the most.
However, because the Indie genre isn‟t as obsessed with body
image as much as other genres (for example: pop and R&B) it
wasn‟t a big issue and we created a permission slip for the
people included in the video to sign.
•Our second location was a recording studio so that we could
film the live performances of the band to cross-cut in between
the other scenes of the music video. This is a main media
convention of the Indie Rock genre which lets the audience
differentiate instantly between this genre and others. The live
performance gives a personal aspect to the music video by
immersing the audience in what it would feel like to go to a gig
or see the Smith Westerns perform live, as going to concerts is
a convention of the Indie Rock genre.

8. ANCILLARY In many ways we used several
conventions of the Indie genre
TEXTS to create our advert. However, I
In the original poster by feel that during this process we
the Smith Westerns, a also developed these existing
colour scheme of yellows, conventions and put our own
oranges and reds is used ideas on top, creating
to create a simple yet something unique and which
effective image – one that links in to our other ancillary
isn‟t apparent to the texts.
audience and doesn‟t
seem to link in directly to
the album/artist that it is
advertising. I‟ve noticed
that Indie bands often use
this ambiguity to hook the
audience in.
We created a similar colour scheme for our own poster by
incorporating pastel shades such as orange and light blue .
The orange colour connotes the quirky nature of the Smith
Westerns as you wouldn‟t normally associate male bands
with this colour. We also used an „ambiguous‟ image in the
middle of the poster to draw the audience in and stuck to a
„tie-dye‟ theme with the merging, haphazard array of colours
that show the carefree personality of the band.

9. ANCILLARY
TEXTS
A main media convention of an
album poster is that it includes a
release date so that fans know
when the new material is going to
be available. We made this a priority on our own poster and made
the date of release large so that it would stand out for the
audience. Also, we decided that although Indie bands prefer to
stick to traditional methods of acquiring a song – such as buying
singles, albums or records – we instead agreed that we would
challenge this convention by including an „iTunes‟ logo that
informs the audience that the mixtape will be available for digital
download. This is because it would reach a much larger fan-base
because older established methods are now being replaced by
the digital and online industry so that stores which sell albums
such as HMV are going out of business. Selling the mixtape on
iTunes would help to keep the Indie Rock genre alive and
recognisable.
We included the record label on our album poster
because this would help to promote the band if a fan
of Indie music recognised the record label and
therefore bought or previewed the album. Also, the
same thing applies to the reviews from popular Indie
magazines which help to establish the audience and
genre of the product.

10. ANCILLARY
TEXTS
Our digipak features typical album conventions such as the band‟s
name, the album name, the barcode and the track list. When
researching the Indie genre we noticed that many bands‟ albums
(such as Wavves) had a childish or „tacky‟ effect that deliberately
made the albums look slightly unfinished and more authentic to the
audience as they were not as perfected and flawless as that of
albums from other genres such as Pop. This helps the audience
identity with the band and better understand their carefree personas
and so followed these conventions and recreated this in our own
digipak. The tie-dye background gives an alternative and „fun‟ feel
while the green connotates relaxation and youth. The faded images
link into the ambiguous, vague effect that the Smith Westerns poster
gave which draws the audience in, making them want to know more. Wavves Album

11. Certain camera angles were used in our
„Weekend‟ video to portray a particular mood CAMERAWORK
to the audience.
For example, close-ups of the guitars and
instruments were used within the live
performance shots to make the audience feel
closer and more involved with the band, as
this produces a more personal aspect to the
video. This is a convention of most music
videos so the audience gather a sense of
realism which helps them better identify with
the artist and make them want to carry on
watching.
Extreme long shots were also used to set the
scene and help the audience understand the
vast space that the video takes place in. This
links back to reminding the audience they are
watching a „filmed‟ video by making them
realise physically how far away they are from
the band while still maintaining the sense of
connection.

12. A cut from the beginning scene
Techniques used: cross-
straight to a live performance is
made within the same second,
EDITING cutting, rhythmic editing &
making it appear very natural fade outs
and almost unnoticeable to the
audience‟s eye.
We used cross-cutting during our music video because it is popular within the
Indie genre to insert a live performance in-between the narrative aspect of the
video. We aimed for a seamless edit from one scene to the live performance
shot as it was made to look quite effortless and almost natural for the video to
switch shots in Yuck‟s “Get Away” which we thought was a nice touch. I think
we achieved this especially towards the beginning of our video when the band
members are walking and it smoothly cross-cuts to a live performance.

13. From researching other Indie
EDITING Rock music videos before we
created our own, we found
that many used fast-paced
„rhythmic‟ editing to convey a
sense of excitement and
energy into the video,
especially if the song was
upbeat with a very
pronounced bass. As our own
Many music videos, including those in the Indie genre, use song was fairly upbeat we
fade outs at the end of their video to give a smooth tried to recreate this in the
transitional ending which gives the audience time to absorb editing process. We used
the video‟s contents. We took this into consideration when Final Cut Pro to cut the video
we edited our own video, as the shot of the TV static at the every 2-4 seconds in the
end slowly fades out to black in time with the music. This is chorus which is the quickest
reminiscent of “Bug” by Wavves and indeed the Smith and most upbeat part of the
Westerns original video for the song „Weekend‟ where the song. For the slower
video fades to black. interludes (such as during the
bridge) scenes were cut
We deliberately changed the speed of some of the clips at every 4-6 seconds so that it
the beginning of our video by changing the „Rate‟ in Final merged better with the music.
Cut Pro so that they were slowed down. We felt that this This helps the audience feel
enhanced the video by having lots of short, slowed down more involved with the music
clips that matched with the natural build of the song before video.
the chorus.

14. At the very beginning stages of our music video UNSUITABLE
planning, we had the idea to includes lots of scenes
of our actors drinking alcohol and smoking. This MESSAGES
was because of the research we made into Indie
music videos which showed the rebellious, wayward
temperament of the bands. However, after careful
consideration we chose not to include these scenes
in our music video because of the impact this could
have on a younger teen audience – the Smith
Westerns are aimed at teenagers and young people
and this would give out the wrong message and
promote the band as bad role models. We
challenged the conventions of the genre by not The Smith Westerns
including these aspects but feel this was a good „Weekend‟ video includes bad
choice because we could instead focus the video on messages vs. our „Weekend‟
safer and less harmful recreational activities that video which includes safe
teenagers can participate in, such as shopping with recreational activities.
friends and hanging out together. This facet of our
music video directly challenges that of the Smith
Westerns original video for „Weekend‟ where they
are shown to chop down trees illegally for fun. We
felt that channelling this energy into other activities
would portray the same effect of „youthfulness‟.

15. ANDREW GOODWIN
In Andrew Goodwin‟s book “Dancing in the Distraction Factory” (1992), Goodwin
identifies key elements of music videos. These include:
 Demonstrating genre characteristics in music videos – these could include
live performances in rock music videos or dance routines for a girl band.
 Showing there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals – they could
either be illustrative (so the lyrics and the video match exactly), amplifying
(where the visuals are often blown out of proportion) or contradictive (where the
lyrics and visuals do not match but still relate).
 Close ups of the artist in regard to the demands of the record label – as
well as this, music videos often show the artist developing motifs and a visual
style.
 Frequent reference to the notion of looking (such as a screen within a
screen).
 Intertextual references – these can be to other films, TV shows, music videos,
etc.
 The often voyeuristic treatment of the female body

16. Goodwin identifies that one of the key elements of THE NOTION OF
a music video is the frequent notion of „looking‟. In
our Indie video for „Weekend‟ we inserted a clip at
‘LOOKING’
the end that included a TV screen going static as a
way to remind the audience that they are watching
a music video. This celebrates audience
engagement and visual storytelling – it also
foregrounds the video and once again reminds the
audience they are watching a „filmed‟ film.
Also, due to the non-linear narrative of the music
video (something which is a convention of the Indie
Rock genre) this helps to reinforce the idea of
rebellion and youth as many other classic music Perhaps not
videos use a traditional narrative structure, but here as noticeable
we „break the rules‟ to fit in with the Indie style. The to some of
the
meaning behind this is often culturally determined
audience, but the TV at the end is
when we are growing up, as younger children often in fact in rewind, as though to
feel that what they are seeing in films and TV suggest rewinding our lives back to
shows are real whereas teenagers and young when we were children because
adults (the audience in which our video is aimed at) everything was simpler and much
would instead understand that they are fiction but more exciting. This links into the
still secretly wish for them to be true, which youthful connotations of the Smith
enhances the youthful feel our video possesses. Westerns and the childlike antics
of the music video.

17. GENRE
In relation to Andrew
Goodwin‟s
identification of the
key elements of a
As you can see, a genre characteristic of Indie Rock music is that the music video, we
music videos feature a live band performance. This is a convention of included many
the genre and we included similar shots in our own music video that
conventions of both
closely resembled that of „Weekend‟ by Smith Westerns and „Get
Away‟ by Yuck (which were included in our research). This close-up
the genre and music
shot in the second image from our own music video gives the videos as a whole
audience a feeling of being closer to the band as it is more personal within our own
and gives more of an impression that they are actually seeing them music video.
live at a concert – something which the young audience these Indie
Rock bands are aimed at would wish to strive for.
Also, in terms of band
hierarchy, the lead
member is always
placed the furthest
towards the
camera, drawing the
audience‟s eye &
showing a similar genre

18. We chose a more thematic approach to filming in that we didn‟t
specifically match the video to the lyrics, although the video was CONVENTIONS
inspired by them. Instead we took the meaning and connotations
behind the song itself and redesigned them into something which
the audience of the genre would find appealing. We felt that the
meaning behind the song was enjoying spending time with friends
and loved ones and having fun in the process. This was evidenced
by the lyrics “Weekends are never fun unless you‟re around here
too”. This was the basis for our music video, and having
researched into other Indie Rock music videos we found that a
convention of the genre was that the music videos featured the
band or other actors having a good time, relaxing and generally
doing “everyday” things, while sporadically inserting a live
performance shot into the video.
Our „Weekend‟ video merges narrative, performance and concept
elements. Although it doesn‟t expressively tell a story, the audience
do follow what is deliberately perceived as the everyday lives of the
band members – it would be easy for the audience to imagine that
what they are watching is genuine. Then a live performance shot is
added to break up the „narrative‟ and stick to the conventions of the
genre while also reminding the audience they are watching a
„filmed‟ video (linking back to Goodwin‟s “Notion of Looking”). From Everyday activities
here the concept element is evident in that it subtly sends a are shown such as
message which says that there are many other „safer‟ recreational driving and
activities for teens to participate in, such as shopping, which skateboarding
challenges the conventions of other Indie videos.