A2 Media

1. Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use
forms and conventions of real media
products?

2. What are the conventions of the ancillary
task (Digipak and Magazine advert)?
The typical conventions of a digipak will include imagery of the artist, with a barcode, name of production company, track
list, name of the artist or band and also additional information. All of the aspects that are included in the digipak design
allows the audience to recognise the product immediately and be familiar with what they have seen on other media
products. Having imagery of the artist and the artists name allows the audience to connect with the artist and feel as if they
know them before listing to their music. The design of a digipak is also important as it gives the audience a feel of what kind
of music is on the disc and what genre, by just looking at the imagery and colours used. Having a track list is an important
aspect of a digipak and it allows the audience to see the name of the songs before listening, as it will intrigue them more.
Some of the conventions used in magazine adverts are similar to the ones used in the digipak, which consist of a main image
of the artist, name of the artist or band plus reviews or response from other magazines or institutions and where it is available
to purchase. By using a main image of the artist shows a direct way of communicating with the audience so they can identify
and connect with the artist even before listening to their music. The name of the artist features on the poster to emphasis who
the artist is and is always in a different colour to everything else to stand out to the audience. The album title is usually very
visual on the poster which is promoting the artist and is a meaningful piece of information as it allows consumers and fans to
identify the artist with the album, and have a feel what the music is going to be about. Magazine advert posters also
introduce the shops that sell the album so the audiences clearly know where to buy and order their copies, which helps the
artist and the record label receive as many sales as they possibly can through this promotion. Another important convention
is to feature the issue date or release date for the album and when it is available to buy or download.

3. What are conventions of the
music video?
A main convention of music videos is the use of a lot of close ups of the main artists, which supplies for the
demand of the record label as it allows the audience to see what they have came to see, which is the
artist. The audience can also connect with the artist by seeing them frequently throughout the music video,
helping promote them and their music. There should also be links between the lyrics and visuals which
creates a stronger meaning to the music and helps the audience understand what is going on throughout.
It is also important to include genre characteristics in music videos as this allows the audience to easily
identify what type of genre music it is through typical conventions used. As my music video is the genre of
alternative R&B I made sure I included conventions to make this clear.
There are three different types of music videos which are performance, narrative or a combination of both.
My music video will be a narrative based video, which will consist of a girl who has recently broken up with
her boyfriend and is trying to forget about her feelings, by drinking and having fun with her friends. Some
shots will be tracking shots of her, whilst we will see other things from her point of view. This is so that the
audience can relate to what she is going through and feel as if they are the main character.

4. What are the conventions of
your chosen music genre?
A narrative is commonly seen in this genre as it is used to tell a story throughout the video by using a sequence
of images and videos that relate to the song. This can be done in a way that it makes sense to the audience so
they can follow and link it to the lyrics. There are many different story lines used to express a certain song and as
we found that in Alternative R&B usually focuses on relationships, love and lust between a male and a female
character, who are usually having problems. This is one way of making the music video stand out and make it
popular with the audience. There is also performance used in R&B music videos as the main artist which is usually
male is seen performing to the camera using single shots of them and close ups, which implies to the audience
that they are important and creates a connections between them.
Due to alternative R&B often having an urban look this can be created through the locations, props and also
their clothing. As we are usually shown the artist in nice locations such as beaches, expensive houses with
expensive cars. Always wearing expensive jewellery, with usually the males in jeans and topless, whilst the
females are sexualised wearing little clothing. The characters in R&B music videos are mostly seen partying,
drinking and taking drugs showing the audience that they are living a good lifestyle with no worries.

5. Where have you followed
these conventions? Why?
Throughout my music video I have applied a range of conventions linking to the genre of
Alternative R&B. For example, the narrative of my music video follows a girl who has recently
broken up with her boyfriend, who tries to forget about her feelings by getting drunk and having
fun with her friends. I have decided to do this as many people interested in this genre expect to
see a narrative like this and is one of the reasons why they are interested in Alternative R&B, as
they can express their emotions through the song and its narrative by relating from personal
experiences. The idea of being able to forget about feelings by having a bit of fun and drinking
also gives the audience a sense of escapism and they feel they can do the same and enjoy
themselves through the songs narrative. This also fits the lyrics to the song I was doing and I did not
want the audience to lose the meaning of the song and become confused to what they are
seeing, so I kept it simple and original. Using props such as alcohol and cigarettes helped connect
our video to the conventions used in R&B as they are always seen drinking and smoking which is
what the main character in my music video is doing to forget about her feelings. My music video
was also filmed at night in a low key lighting which most R&B songs are shot in to create a more
party feel, shooting at night also links to the name and lyrics to the song.

6. Where have you challenged
the conventions? Why?
I have decided to challenge the typical conventions of R&B music videos as usually the
women characters are sexualised, seen in little clothing and just objects in the music video.
However, in my music video I have not sexualised women and the female characters are
always shown fully clothed, this is because I wanted to create a positive representation of
women and that they shouldn’t always have to be seen in that way. The main character in my
music video is also female, which also challenges the typical conventions as usually in R&B
music videos the main character is male as they are represented as the more dominate role
whilst the female characters are irrelevant. I have used a female as the main character as I
wanted my music video to be more diverse and less stereotypical. Also having a female main
character connects more with the target audience as they are mainly female and as we are
using an alternative R&B song we thought it would be a good idea to play with the
conventions as it is not just normal R&B. I have also challenged these conventions by not
including performance in my video as usually in R&B we see the main artist performing the lyrics
to the screen, which I didn’t want to do as I wanted my music video to be more of a story.

7. What real media products (music
videos, digipaks) have inspired
you?
I researched a range of music videos that had a similar narrative of a break up, which led to drinking and trying
to forget about feelings. The music video ‘Marvin's room’ by Drake inspired this idea as the narrative in his music
video followed his relationships issues as he tried to solve it through going out clubbing, drinking and trying to
have fun. Which is the narrative I wanted to create in my music video and I thought it was the perfect video to
take ideas and inspiration from. The low key lighting and use of colours also intrigued me and thought it would
be interesting to do this in my music video. Another big inspiration for my music video was the music video
Nights (Enter The Void) by Frank Ocean. What I liked about this music video is that it was shot in a point of view
perspective and handheld which made the audience feel as if they was there and I wanted to apply this to my
music video. This music video also has the use of a lot of bright colours which I want to include in my music
video. I also looked at different digipaks to get ideas for my own, the ones I really liked were Frank Oceans
cover for his album ‘Blond’ because it is very simplistic, with just a focal image of him and the album name at
the top which. I also liked Drakes digipak for his album ‘Take Care’ as the colour scheme, props and imagery all
linked together and gave a feel of what the songs in the album were like, which I want to create when making
my digipak, so the audience know what type of music they are going to be listening to.