1. EVALUATION QUESTION 1 – IN WHAT WAYS
DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?
Sam Shaw
2. Andrew Goodwin’s Theory
To help me look back and consider which conventions my
media project used, developed or challenged. I have reviewed
a few of my past tasks, by doing this it will rein form me about
the conventions that real media products use and help me to
compare my products to these.
This was part of my initial research of the music genre. Andrew
Goodwin's theory consisted of several stereotypical elements
that you would expect to see in any music video. This task
really influenced my final decisions as I have used a few of
these conventions, however I have decided to either develop
or challenge others.
By completing this task I was also benefited because it made
me more aware of what I should be considering when I start to
plan and then eventually make my music video and also what
impact it would have on my target audience.
My song choice, ‘Little Green Bag’ by George Baker did not
have a music video produced, therefore I can not compare that
video to Andrew Goodwin’s theory. On the other hand, this
allowed me to use my own ideas and create a completely new
video for this song while trying to include some elements of
this theory.
3. This is also part of my initial
research and in this I have
researched into the indie music
genre as this is the genre that I
wanted to and eventually went on to
base my product on. By doing this
research I was able to see which
conventions the indie genre
consisted of and it gave me more
information that I didn’t know about
before I started this task. This task
helped me when coming up with
ideas for my ‘Little Green Bag’
products.
Indie Music Research
4. Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is mainly used when creating
a magazine advert or even an album cover. The
idea of this is for the audience to read from the
top left to the top right, through the middle and
then from the bottom left to the bottom right,
basically like a book. This then consists of the
main area which is in the middle and called the
‘primary optical area’. The idea of this is that
the audience should be able to notice this area
first. Around the primary optical area, there are
usually about four hotspots, these outline the
primary optical area because it is the focal
point of the picture.
The line of sight is the way in which people
view magazines articles, album covers etc.
Finally the terminal area is the area that is last
seen by the audience, therefore the least
important aspects of the advert such as where
to buy it from and the barcode are usually
placed here.
This task gave me the
basics on how to lay
out my ancillary
products, from my
planning through to
the actual making of
the advert. It gave me
the understanding of
how to use the
aspects such as the
primary optical area,
the line of sight and
the terminal area. I
feel as though I have
used these to the best
of my ability and that
my ancillary products
all consist of these
things.
5. What conventions I used
Conventions I used Conventions I developed Conventions I challenged
A link between the lyrics and
visuals
Various use of colour Voyeuristic treatment of the
female body
Narrative Close ups of the artist Reflecting on existing trends
Mise en scene
Past tense
This shows that I have used more conventions than not
6. Conventions I used
A link between the lyrics and the visuals – From the planning stage of my products I was able to use my ideas from my shooting script to find out
which media conventions I could include in my video. From listening to the lyrics in the video and having them in front of me it was clear that I
would be able to link the visuals from my music video to the lyrics that take place in the song. The lyrics also allowed me to create a narrative that
hopefully stood out to the audience so that they could relate the visuals to the lyrics. I had focused on every lyric that was said and tried to make
my music video fit into this. Some examples that we used were the regular appearance of the green bag, the idea of the man looking back for the
green bag and the use of cigarettes. Overall I feel as though this convention was one in which I used effectively.
Narrative – Another genre convention that I used is the use of a narrative, the narrative that was used was about losing a bag and looking for it.
The reason why I used this narrative was because the song is about losing a bag of drugs. I had to try my best to make the narrative as clear as
possible to the audience so that it does not come across as confusing to them. The process of trying to make the narrative as clear as possible was
quite a long one, the reason being because the feedback that I received from my draft music video mainly consisted of comments such as ‘the
narrative is not clear’. From this I was able to make changes to my product in order to try and get a better response from the audience and allow
my narrative to come across more clearly. Some of these changes were the color, the locations and making the videos present and past tenses
stand out.
Mise-en-scene – My product also consisted of a simple use of mise-en-scene that is representative of the type of song and the lyrics, therefore it is
suited to the song. When planning, it took into consideration which part of the woods and the house we should film in, this was in order to make it
more realistic and fit into the narrative more. I also thought about which clothes I wanted the actors to wear and also which props we should use.
For example we chose to use two bags in our music video, the reason for this is because one of the bags was the bag with the money in (the green
bag) and we wanted the audience to ask questions and have their own interpretation on the narrative. Also I enjoyed filming the product because I
liked the locations where we chose to film at.
Past Tense - Within my product I have reflected on past tense, the reason for this is because it helps when trying to get the narrative across to the
audience. I have shown this in a black and white effect to make it clear to the audience.
7. Conventions I Challenged
Voyeuristic treatment of the female body – This is a convention that I have not included in my product. This is because it does
not fit with the themes of my product as it is an upbeat song that is about the use of drugs. Also after analysing the song I had
planned to only use male actors as they stereotypically suit the meaning of the song. Therefore voyeuristic treatment of the
female body is not included within my music video because it does not fit the narrative.
Reflecting on existing trends – My product does not reflect on any existing trends, such as fashion. I purposely chose not to do
this because I feel that my product doesn’t need to focus on such things, instead I chose to focus more on the cinematography
elements, meanings and narratives. This in my opinion is more effective and relates to the product more than anything else.
Conventions I Developed
Close ups of the artist – In my music video, I chose to use various close ups, however they were not of the artist as the artist did
not feature in my video. I therefore challenged this convention that was stated by Andrew Goodwin by shooting close-ups of the
actor instead. By doing this it allows my product to get a narrative across and show the facial expressions on them.
Various use of colour – I feel as though I have developed this aspect because in my product I have used normal colour and black
and white shots. Many music videos, whatever genre don’t normally consist of this so therefore I have developed the typical
conventions.
8. What are the conventions of album
adverts?
Images – They are mainly images of the artist on the advert on the advertisement, this means the audience
can make connections to the artist. Again through being eye catching it will help the audience remember it,
and this will create a good impression for the album. It is normally a themed photo shoot.
Information – Advertisements always include relevant information to the product such as the release date,
title, name of the artist/album, reviews and where to buy the product from.
Social Media – Due to the rise in social media, the succession of media products have increased. It is a
convention that social media forms will appear on the advertisement. These will include twitter, Facebook,
websites etc.
Text – The text used is important and needs to be selected carefully so that they make the product look more
appealing to the audience. There are also certain phrases which conventionally are larger, such as the artist's
name is larger along with the title.
9. Album advert analysis
This is my album advert analysis of Kings of Leon's ‘only by
the night’. This helped me for when I eventually came to make
my advert as I was able to take some ideas from the layout
etc. An example of something that I took from this was the use
of the name of the artist at the top and then the name of the
album underneath as I thought it was effective. This
advertisement consists of some conventions that I stated on
the previous slide, these are: Images, text and information
This is another one of my
album cover analysis, It is
very different from the
previous one and the reason
for choosing this one to
analyse is so I could
hopefully take aspects of
both and then use them in
my own product. One
feature of this that stood
out to me when reviewing is
how it is very simple but
stands out clearly to me
which makes me want to
read it. By making my
products simple, it will have
the same effect as the Arctic
Monkey’s advert. This
advertisement consists of
some of the conventions
that I stated on the previous
slide, these are: Text,
information and images.
10. What are the conventions of album
covers/digipaks?
Main images – These are the main conventions that promote the product on digipacks. They must be eye catching,
relevant to the product, and contain important information such as name of the artist/album, song names, music
label and bar codes.
Relevance to the genre – The product music should be representative of the genre so audiences will be able to
identify them.
Reviews – Reviews will make the product look good to the audience, and this may influence the audience's buying
decisions who are a fan of the artist.
Colour scheme – The colour scheme used conventionally reflects the mood of the album or artist.
Information – The information included on digipacks may include track lists, artists, titles, basic background
information.
Text - The text used is important and needs to be selected carefully so that they make the product look more
appealing to the audience. There are also certain phases which conventionally larger, such as the artist's name is
larger along with the title.
11. Album Cover Analysis
This is my album cover analysis of George Baker
‘Little Green Bag’. This helped me for when I
eventually came to make my own version of the
songs album. From this analysis I was able to take
some ideas, one of them being the idea of
featuring the green bag in our own album cover. I
also looked at the conventions that are featured in
many album covers. This album cover consists of
some of the conventions that I stated on the
previous slide, these are: Main images, text and a
relevance to the genre, this is shown through their
clothing and hairstyles.
This is my album cover analysis of Gorillaz ‘demon
days’. Again like the George Baker ‘Little Green
Bag’ the analysis of this helped me when coming to
make my decisions for my own Digi pack. An
example of how this album cover analysis helped
me in the making of my own product was the idea
of it being colourful. The reason in why I liked this
is because it stands out to the audience and is not
boring to look at. This album cover consists of
some of the conventions that I stated on the
previous slide, these are: Main images, colour
scheme and text.
12. What conventions I used
This shows that I have used more conventions than not
Conventions I used Conventions I developed Conventions I challenged
Still Images Colour scheme Additional Information
Social Media
Text
Reviews
13. Conventions I used
Still Images – I have included this convention within my ancillary products because I have used a still image
for the main image in both of them. This convention was very easy to comply with as it took a simple
photoshoot to then put into my advertisement and digipack.
Social Media – Within my product I have included some references to social networking sites, this is allowing
the audience to know that they can access the album through this. By doing this I have therefore included
another convention of advertisements and digipaks within my ancillary product.
Text – I have conformed to the style of text mainly used for ancillary products in a good way. The reason for
this is because the variety of text fonts that my products present, across all aspects. This is particularly evident
on my advertisement, where it is important for certain sections of text to stand out from others to highlight the
importance and to separate them from the rest of the advertisement text. By doing this is also makes the
product more eye catching for the audience allowing them to notice the important parts easily and for it to be
remembered.
Reviews - Within my advertisement I have also included a review of the album and which magazine said it,
therefore the audience will see this and think very highly of the album which will grab their attention and
persuade them to buy it.
14. Conventions I challenged
Additional Information - I have not really included any additional information within
my ancillary products, the reason behind this is because too much text apart from the
artist name, reviews and artist album name can be too confusing on the eye for the
audience, therefore i tried to keep my products simple but effective.
Conventions I Developed
Colour scheme – I have challenged this convention as stereotypically, indie music adverts and digi
packs usually consist of quite a dull colour scheme, therefore on my ancillary products I have
added some brighter colours to develop these as a I feel the dull colours can sometimes be quite
boring for the audience and it doesn’t really grab their attention enough. The other reason for me
using some brighter colours is because they link in with the name of the song, ‘Little Green Bag”
and using dark colours would not have any relation to the song.
15. Overall thoughts
After evaluating my product, I have conformed to conventions more than not. This is
because after looking at real media products, it has influenced me to use the
conventions as it makes the products look more appealing to the audience. Also, by
researching real media texts, it allowed me to find out more about the conventions and
to decide which ones I liked and disliked and then edit into my product.
Also with the genre that I have chosen, it made it easy to decide on which locations,
clothing and props to use as I also like to listen to the same genre as my chosen song.
Also by using many of the conventions of this genre it allowed my product to relate to my
chosen target audience and didn’t divert them away from my product, this made my
product even more effective.
Overall I have enjoyed producing a music video, digipack and advertisement on the my
chosen song and also liked using some conventions but as well as this, adding my own
effect onto the products. Conforming to the conventions hit my target audience which
allowed them to connect with products and gain something from these.
