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1. Q1: In what ways does your
media product use, develop or
challenge codes and conventions
of real life media products?

2. • The song I chose to create a music video for was ‘California Oranges – Cigarettes
and SunnyD’. The song was written by a local band. The song belongs in the indie
genre, much like most of their other material. When researching the codes and
conventions of specific genres of music videos, I found that the most common
conventions for the genre indie are:
• • Low budget setting – due to a lack of funding, a lot of the music videos in
the genre are conducted in low budget settings. This also gives ‘edge’ to the
video, which in some ways can be very effective.
• • Trendy costumes – in order to link well with the audience, the videos
costumes will be relevant to the current trends in the time of release.
• • Live performance – usually showing the audience and artist interaction.
Makes the video feel more special and natural for the audience.
• • Special effects (lighting and sound) – the use of special effects makes the
video look more effective and sometimes ‘cooler’ due to it not being a plain video

3. • My music video follows the genre Indie. The video was filmed in a low
budget setting, which is one of the main codes and conventions for indie
music videos. The low budget setting was my schools main hall, which was
used as the main location throughout the video. However, the use of the
lights made it look more professional, and also the use of the props such as
the equipment for a show. These aspects helped set the scene of the video. I
received this influence after watching the video for ‘Catfish and the
bottlemens – Soundcheck’ (1) as it was just in a plain warehouse. As it would
be difficult for me to film in a place like this I chose to use my schools hall.
(2)

4. • My video also includes a performance, which runs throughout the video. The
performance includes individual shots of each band member as well as two
different shots of the whole band. Although the code and convention is a
live performance which includes seeing an audience, my video still follows
this convention as it looks as though the band are conducting a ‘sound
check’ for their concert. I chose to not include a live audience as it would
have been extremely hard to gather as many people, and it would make
filming of my video more complex. The room has been made to look like a
soundcheck due to some of the props which are located in the background
such as the light rack and the box (3) (4). I also found this influence in other
videos by Catfish and the Bottlemen, as they film a lot of videos using
similar things as props in their videos, such as microphone stands (5). This is
important as it looks effective in my video, and makes the background look
less boring. It also helps to understand who is the main artist in the band as
they are the ones who have extra props such as microphone stands.

5. • Two of the main codes and conventions of indie videos are special effects of
both editing and sound. I have challenged the convention of special effects of
sound by keeping the music the original recording, rather than adding various
effects to make it sound much different to how it is. I have done this in order to
show the band exactly how they are, which is more effective due to it being a
realistic representation to how the band are. I have also challenged the use of
special effects when editing as my music video has been edited simply by cutting
clips and making it look fast. The fillers in my video have been edited using some
special effects, as I have put them in black and white and slowed them down.
This was influenced from videos from Catfish and the Bottlemen due to them
using similar effects in their videos (6). They use effects like black and white in
order to make their videos look more interesting and dramatic, which will then
suit the songs as it makes them seem more emotional. Therefore I have used the
convention special effects throughout my video (7) (8). I have also used a red
colour tint on some of the shots, in order to have a clear link to my ancillary
tasks.

6. • The next code and convention I used is trendy costumes. The band
members are all wearing trendy costumes as they wore black whilst filming
(9), which is considered a trendy colour which links to the target audience,
as many people of all ages wear it which shows I have used this specific
convention. This means I have created a clear link to this convention of indie.
This links to videos by Catfish and the Bottlemen as they also wear black
clothing throughout their videos. (10)

7. • The codes and conventions for a digipak are:
• • 6 sided
• • Large eyecatching image which relate to the song or artist
• • Artist name presented on the front
• • Tracklist
• • Album artwork
• • Record label
• • Barcode
• • CD disk
• • Artwork which relates to the album name

8. • The digipak I have created is 6 sided (11), therefore it follows the code and
convention. The digipaks are 6 sided as it folds well when in the CD case,
displaying different images which are in some way related to the band or
album. The images used in my 6 side digipak are related to my band as they
are all edited images of the band, which also has the common theme of red.
The images inside show the band more, which makes it easier for the target
audience to relate due to them being the same age.

9. • The digipak I have created follows the main convention for all digipaks,
which is to have 6 sides/ each of the six squares on my digipak are different,
but also follow a common theme which links them all together. There is a
large eyecatching image (12) on the front of my digipak which relates to the
artist as the image is of them performing. I chose this image to be on the
front as it links to my video as it is an image of them performing. The image
has been edited heavily using various blending modes in order to give it the
outline effect. The artists name has also been presented on the front of the
digipak as it states whos album it is, which is important to the audience and
it is the largest text used. The font used also makes the words stand out as it
is in bold and looks like it could be used in the industry. The text is also
central, due to it being the most important information within the digipak.

10. • The tracklist is presented on the back of the digipak (13), in the same font
used for the album name. They are presented in the centre of the digipak,
which expresses how important they are as they are the first thing you look
at. The album artwork used for the back is the pattern which is on the front,
which ensures there is continuity throughout and also helps the audience
recognise the album artwork. I have also presented my record label logo
which is at the bottom of the digipak and the barcode (14), which is used to
inform the audience of who is distributing it. This also ensures my work
looks professional and buyable for the audience.

11. • Inside my digipak there is a CD which has an image of the band on in a red
outline and has the album name presented (15). This is to create a link
between them. The artwork used inside relates to the album / band as it
either has a connotation to love such as the love heart, or it is images of the
band. The text on the CD was the same as the text to state the album name
on the front of the digipak, which ensures there is continuity throughout.
This also helps us understand case the CD goes into.

12. • The functions of the magazine advert are to promote the artist, sell the song
and to be eyecatching. This is in order to ensure people are drawn in and
wish to buy it. The codes and conventions for magazine adverts are:
• Album title
• Artist name
• Album artwork
• Info about the album (hit single)
• Social media
• Release date
• Record label logo

13. • The album title is presented at the top of the band in a bold font (16), with
the artist name above. This is to ensure they are the first things you see
when you look at the advert. The artist name is also displayed which helps
the audience recognise who the album is by, which may influence them to
buy it. This is also bigger than any of the other text included in the advert.
This ensures it is the most important piece of information on the advert.
• The album artwork used is the same as what appears in my digipak (17),
which ensures continuity. The image has been heavily edited using blending
modes. As the image is well edited, this helps to draw the attention of the
audience in, as it makes the magazine advert stand out as it looks unique.
There is also continuity throughout as this ensures when the target
population see the advert they link it to the CD.

14. • The hit single (18) is written in the centre of the image which ensures it
stands out and is noticed by the audience. This helps to draw in the
attention of the viewers, as if they recognise the song they may be
influenced to buy the album.
• Social media information is presented at the bottom of the
poster, to inform the audience of where the target population
can find more information about the band and follow them.
This would help the audience keep up to date with any updates
about the band. (19)
Magazine adverts usually include the release date of the album. I have challenged
this convention as I have included the words ‘OUT NOW!’ in the centre of my
magazine advert. This advertises the album being released already which makes
people buy it. I have included my record label logo in my magazine advert. This
helps make the presentation of my magazine advert look professional by complying
to this convention.