This document summarizes the music promotional package created by the student. It discusses how the music video used conventions like narrative performance and cultural signifiers but took a more realistic approach. It also discusses how the editing, digi-pack cover, and promotional poster used conventions of existing media but added some unique elements. The package aimed to authentically represent the song about the struggles of urban youth.

1. EVALUATION
QUESTION 1
InWhat Ways DoesYour Music Promotional Package Use, Develop Or
ChallengeThe Forms And Conventions Of Existing MusicVideo/Promo
Packages?

2. MusicVideo Authenticity
• Each music video director takes a different view on
what makes an effective music video, therefore it is
difficult to distinguish the conventions of an
authentic music video.
• Music video conventions include: narrative
performance; lip-syncing, disjuncture, repeatability
and star image.
• During our research we found that our audience
would be more inclined to like a video that was an
authentic narrative performance.
• We looked at other authentic music videos already
out there including ‘8 mile’ by Eminem and ‘Ghetto
Gospel’ byTupac. Most of the rap videos out now
are all about portraying wealth and vanity but we
decided to take a more realistic approach.This
increased the repeatability of out music video
because it was unique and engaging.

3. Cultural Signifiers
• Within my music video we used lots of cultural signifiers, as
is conventional of a rap/hip-hop music video.We used a
metanarrative within our video which portrays the life of
many ordinary young people in the UK.The song ‘Stolen
Youth’ is about the rash reality of life in poor urban areas
and getting involved in gangs, violence and crime.
• We thought about the main characters costume, who we
used to represent many young people, for a while.A lot of
young people today are serotyped as a thug is they wear a
hoodie, it is a stigmatised item of clothing.Therefore we
put the antagonist in a jumper so the audience will connect
him with negative thoughts even before he has done
anything wrong.
• We also chose the setting to be in a run down urban area so
people know that money is tight and there is probably poor
people in this area.

4. Narrative Performance
• Most of the videos we looked at included
performance, we wanted to include a bit of
performance to add repeatability and break
from the intensity of the narrative for a while.
Lip-syncing is used in many videos to add star
image without changing the storyline in
anyway.
• We linked the lyrics in the song to the visual
scene in the video, for example “the only
protection is the talk of your tool” and there is
a visual of the character with a knife. Also,
“your looking at the stolen youth” and there is
a flashback to the character as a child playing
with his friends innocently.This presents
synaesthesia.

5. Montage Editing
• Our music video, like nearly all music videos do, relies
on editing to make the footage look exciting and
interesting. Each scene ends with the structure of the
song. For example a scene for the verse, a scene for
the chorus and then a scene for the verse.We used a
series of fast cuts, zooms and transitions to
complement the authentic song that we used.
• The split screen idea actually came after I watched a
film called 24 hours and it used throughout, I thought
it was visually interesting and wanted to included it in
my own work.We included a split screen to allow for a
longer period of time to be shown at a quick pace
because music videos need to have repeatability. I
used a split screen with the screen split into two sides
which goes against the convention as the ones we
researched used 3 splits.

6. Digi-Pack Conventions
• Drake’s ‘Nothing WasThe Same’ album
cover was our main inspiration when
thinking about our own video. It features
a cartoon image of Drake as a child on
the left and him as an adult in present
day on the right and they are back to
back. Many album covers feature this old
vs new idea and we thought it was
effective in the song that we where
doing about having a stolen youth.
• I think it looks quite like a real media text
as it fits in closely with the conventions
that are already out there.

7. Digi-Pack Conventions
• We had to make our Digi-pack look realistic so we
included some important details;
• A parental advisory sicker which warms parents that
there is potentially unsuitable material on the disc
• Copyright information is found on the back cover like it
usually is in real media texts. Copyright gives legal
protection to the creators of the footage.We also
included the company logo on the cover so people know
that this is who the copyright belongs to.
• The album title and the artists name are the biggest
features of text on the cover so people know who
created the album.

8. Promotional Poster Conventions
• My poster has all of the conventions that a real
media text would have on it. It includes: a
parental advisory sticker, magazine review and
company logo.
• We included a website which would have
included tour dates, pictures and information
about Roots Manuva.This makes it appeal to a
younger generation who are involved with
social media who are my target audience.

9. Promotional Poster Conventions
• The poster was based on the influence of
AndyWarhol, he used contrasting colours
and repetitive images to create an
interesting piece of work.
• The background image was taken from
my CD cover and repeated.The two boys
in the picture where the two main
characters in the video who where the
younger and older version of the
antagonist.This is a synoptic link
between all of the texts allowing the
audience to see they are all connected
and giving that work unity and a
continued theme.