3. The genre of the song that I have used to create my products is a hybrid between the genre
electro-pop and indie-pop, therefore I have used conventions and stereotypes of this genre
hybrid, while simultaneously creating a complete original style for my artist Elora.
MusicVideo Style (Firth – Performance, narrative, or concept)
Goodwin stated that music videos are generally demonstrative of the genre they belong to. My
genre typically displays a mixture of a narrative video and a performance video, which is a
convention I have kept to, as I have a mild romance narrative that relates to the lyrics of the
song, and then also a large amount of performance from my artist, which includes lip-synching.
Goodwin’s Theory of music videos, suggests that music videos always fall under one or two
categories, which are performance, narrative or conceptual vidoes.
- An example of a performance video is Passenger Let her Go, as here is is solely shown
performing on a stage, however a performance video can also be without a stage.This is
what I have done, as my artist is performing and lip synching to the song with direct eye
contact, however is not on a stage.
- A Narrative video could be a love narrative such asTaylor Swift Blank Space. I have also
included a love narrative in my video, which therefore makes my video a performance and a
narrative video.
- Then his final category was concept videos, which do not present a direct storyline or
meaning, instead they are far more abstract such as Daft Punk Around theWorld.
4. In consideration to the cinematography I have…
Used Establishing Shots:
My aim was to orientate my audience, ultimately from the beginning, to the genre and feeling of my video,
which I did immediately through an establishing shot of a landscape, which directly establishes the natural
atmosphere of the entire video.
The use of an establishing shot as the opening of a music video is very conventional in both my genres, for
example in Ellie Goulding’s song On My Mind, Aurora’s song Running with the wolves, Hayley Kiyoko’s song
Rich Youth, and many more.
Star Treatment:
Close Ups & Medium Close Ups:
The frequent use of close ups and medium close ups
is a convention of all music videos, as this helps
introduce the artist on a more personal and intimate
level and allows the artist to build an image and
reputation for themselves, as people will be able to
identify them more easily.
Therefore I have included a significant amount of
medium close ups in order to emphasise her
branding, and to help express her emotions.
5. Typography:
A less common aspect of music videos, is including a title or name of the artist. This is less
conventional as it gives a more cinematic feeling, however this definitely is a more common
convention of electro-pop videos and indie-pop videos. For example, in Ellie Goulding – On My
Mind, Hayley Kiyoko – This Side of Paradise & Rich Youth, CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share
many more.
The typography typically consists of either the artist’s name or the title of the song, but more
frequently just the title of the song.
The typography font used for these sequences are typically sans serif bold blocked letters, as
these are eye catching, straightforward and a conventional font for electro pop and pop
I have therefore also put a title in my music video on top of the establishing shot. The
typography is sans serif bold and white.
6. Special Effects (Slow Motion):
The genre indiepop generally doesn’t use a large range of effects, whereas
electropop typically does. An effect that electro-pop songs show regularly is the
of slow motion, to intensify the mood and feeling of the video/song, as slow
acts as an intensifier, fast forward, flashing colours.
As my genre is a hyrbid, and my song is on the mellow side of electropop, I have
used minimal effects as the brand I attempted to make for my artist was natural.
However slow motion was a convention of both of my genres, therefore I used
motion in my music video, however minimally as I decided to go more along the
natural side of electro pop and not the upbeat, and full of effects style.
The slow motion was specifically on the couple shots in order to emphasise their
and the intensity of their relationship
7. Flashing lights
This is a strong convetion of electropop
videos, however since my genre is a
hybrid between electropop and
indiepop, I chose to mellow down the
amount of flashing lights and bright
colours, and went further down the
route of indiepop.
I decided to make my artist far more
mellow and natural, compared to the
slightly more flashy characters in the
electropop genre.
Flashing lights can be seen in Selena
Gomez - I Want You to Know, Calvin
Harris - Summer
8. Heterosexual Narrative
The use of a heterosexual couple in music videos is a convention across most genres, however this stereotype is
being challenged in recent years, for example in Hayley Kiyoko’s Cliffs Edge.
However I chose a heterosexual couple due to accessibility, which therefore conforms to the convention
Laura Mulvey Proposed the Idea of a Male Gaze.
This theory is a concept that suggests that women do not have an identity in media, instead they are portrayed
as objects in consideration to their physical attractiveness.
I avoided this as I have not dressed my artist in revealing clothing, or used low angled shots of her behind, or
close up shots of other sexual areas. Although I tried to elimiate the male gaze, my artist is however a thin
beautiful blonde female, which is a normative of beauty in the western world which therefore does result into a
level of male gaze, however no sexual male gaze is intended through close up shots of sexual body features.
My genre has an element of male gaze, such as Haley Kiyoko’s video Cliffs Edge, however other songs such as
Hayley Kiyoko’s RichYouth do not have any sexual elements, as here she is far more tomboy.Therefore I have
kept to the conventions of my genre.
9. Layering of Shots
This is a very common convention of electro and indiepop, however also generally of music videos, as it adds
dimension to the video and makes it more interesting. I have used layering numerous times in my video, to
the narrative to the arist, and I did this by filming in front of a greenscreen.
Intertextuality
Goodwin also proposed the idea that a large range of music videos contain intertextual references to previous
media texts.
For example Lana Del Rey’s video for National Anthem has clear intertextuality with Marylin Monroe’s Dear
President. (This specific example is easily recognised which links to Stuart Hall’s theory of preffered and
oppositional reading)
Although intertextual references are often part of music videos, I have no included this in my music video.
Vernallis Theory - Editing
Vernallis stated that the editing in music is obvious due to the fragmented style. Music videos break the rules
continuity sequences and instead take on the rules of montage sequences.
And these montage sequences are often edited on the beat, as this creates a rhythm throughout the images.
I have kept to the convention as it is a very distinct element of music video production.
11. Front Panel
The front panel of a digipak conventionally consists of an eye catching medium close
of the artist or lead singer. An image of the artist allows for recognition and creates a
larger fan base as people would recognise the artist more easily if their face is on
products.
The artist is also conventionally making direct mode of address with the camera, in
to be intriguing and seeming more open.
On my digipak cover, I have included a side shot image of my artist, therefore she
facing away from the camera, and not making direct eye contact. This is counter
however after privately researching digipak covers in my genre, I came across
covers that did not make direct eye contact.
12. Front Panel Continuation
While researching I also came across the album cover for my actual song
my artist, and this was also an image where the artist was facing away
the camera. The image was a side portrait of the artist with her eyes closed
and with effects photoshopped on it.
I then found the actual original image, which sparked the idea I had for my
digipak cover.
Even though my artist is not facing the camera, her face is still recognisable
her hair is out of her face, so it is still an appealing image of the artist
convention.
13. Font
A convention of digipaks is to have a different font for the
artist’s name and for the album name, and also having the
artist’s name in a larger font than the album title.
This can be seen on Hayley Kiyoko’s A Belle to
and Marina and the Diamonds, Froot
The organisation of the titles vary widely, however I have
placed my artist’s name vertically on the left hand corner,
a much bolder and larger font than the title of the album,
which is therefore a convention.
The fonts I have chosen are both in white. The artist’s name
in a thick sans serif bold block letter font, and is one of the
most eye catching elements of the cover, and links to the
artist’s logo on her website.
Then the font of the album title, is also in a sans serif white,
however it is less conservative, as some letters are slightly
bigger than others, so it suggests a playful atmosphere,
also links to the font on the website.
14. Sticker on Front Panel
An additional sticker on the front cover is a convention of digipaks as it informs the
audience that there is something additional and special in this digipak, this could
of bonus DVD, or remixes. This intrigues the audience to buy the digipak as they
have access to rare songs.
I have included this conventional sticker on my digipak, exploiting that there are
bonus tracks and remixes on this album. The font used is again white and the sticker
an eye catching colour, in order to stand out from the dark background.
15. Rear Panel Image
The images of the rear panel are also quite diverse, as they
consist of only the track list and a block colour background, or
another could consist image of the artist that links to the front
image. The latter is most conventional of my genre, as the
is usually presented with a medium shot.
I have therefore kept to the conventions of my genre
as both genres present the artist typically through a
shot, facing towards or away from the camera.
My genre also often as a more sassy or energetic picture
the back than on the front panel, therefore I have chosen a
more energetic and wilder picture too.
16. Items on the Rear
Track List
This is vital to an album, as it informs the audience what
songs and how many songs are on the album. This is a
convention of all digipaks and CDs, therefore I followed
convention as it is simply a must.
QR Code
Due to the ever developing digitisation of media, the
incorporation of QR-Codes on the rear of a digipak is
becoming increasingly conventional. These QR-Codes
typically lead to the artist’s website, or to the website of
record label.
As this is becoming a more important aspect of
digipaks, I made sure to include a QR-Code as well,
linking to the artist’s website
More General Conventions:
Bar Code
Copy Right Paragraph
Record Label Logos
17. Spine
In cosideration to the spine, I followed all the conventions.
The spine conventionally is a continuation of the colours from the front or rear panel,
and includes the title of the album horizontally across the majority of the spine, then
he top the artists logo or name, and then at the bottom a unique catalogue number
in the shops, and then also the record label logo.
18. Rule of 3 Colours
A convention that I discovered while researching the
conventions of digipaks, was that the colour scheme
consists of three identifiable main colours.
For example in Meghan Trainor’s album uses blue, pink
yellow.
And Jessie J’s album uses black, white and gold as its 3
main overpowering colours.
This is a convention I have purposely kept to, as it keeps
album interesting however the audience is not bombarded
and overloaded with an immense amount of clashing
The colours I have chosen are green, blue, and white, as
these helped portray a gender neutral cover but it
Interesting.
19. Inner Panels
Conventionally, inner pannels consist of more images of the
artist/band, possibly with the same background as the outer
panels, however it is also quite common to have a different
background colour. Such as in Marina and the Diamond’s
the inner panels colour scheme changes to black and white.
For my inner panels, I decided to follow the conventions of
having more images of my artist – therefore on both the
and right panel there are images of her. On the left panel, I
have included four faded pictures of my artist, which
the sense of a journey, which emphasises the emotional
journey she has gone through while writing the album.
Then for the side where the CD will be placed on, I decided
put a more shocking image, as this is a fairly extreme close
of the artist making direct eye contact, which is something
she had not presented yet throughout the album. I did this
order to slightly shock and intrigue the audience even more
listen to the music.
The colour scheme drastically changes from the outside
panels to the inside, as the inside 3 colours are white, red
wood colour. I did this to create the concept of the outside
the album being the outside of a tree (hence the dark
forest background) and the inside is the wood of the tree,
hence the inside of the tree. This therefore metaphorically
suggests that the album allows her audience inside her
feelings, and inside her life.
21. Front Cover
The front cover of the lyric booklet, always closely mimics the
cover of the actual album. As seen on Marina and the Diamond’s
lyric booklet, the colour scheme is the same, the font is the same,
only the picture has changed.
This is a convention that I have mainly followed, as my lyric
booklet very very closely reflects my album. The main image is
almost identical but yet very different to the front of the
to create a sense of unison and branding.
Then I added a white frame boarder around the edge of the
cover, which directly links to the website as this is a
item on the website.
Then I adapted the colour scheme lightly, as now the colour
scheme is no longer white green and blue, but instead white
green and red.
22. Inside of the Booklet
The inner panels of lyric booklets
conventionally consist of numerous images of
the artist, where one is presented on each
with the lyrics surrounding it.
This is exactly what I have recreated on my
lyric booklet too, as I used the same colour
scheme as the inside of my actual digipak,
used images around the lyrics. The images
across all the pages, however still linking
together with the outfit, which is also a
convention.
24. Home Page
1) A major convention of music artist website home
is that the background image directly relates to their
newest single, or album, as this helps to heavily reinforce
their branding and shows their audience that they have
something new coming out or already out.
This is a convention I have followed, as my home page background image is
a wider and less edited version of the an almost identical image as on my
digipak.
Logo
Another convention of the home page is to have a clear logo and name present. I
did this through putting the artist’s name in her signature font right in the centre,
and as a logo in the top left of the screen of every page. The logo is a strong
convention across all artist websites, as it creates a consistent brand.
Automatic Audio
A convention that links directly to the electropop genre is that the artist’s newest
song automatically plays when loading the website. (This is shown on Hayley
Kiyoko’s album) Therefore I have also done this, however not simply by having
the audio play, but by automatically playing Elora’s latest music video. This
catches the audience’s attention immediately, and intrigues them to watch her
latest video as well.
Conventional Pages – Home, About/Bio, News, Tour, Music, Photos/Gallery, and
Merchandise/Shop
25. Social Media
A crucial convention of branding your artist, and creating a strong and good fan base for the
artist, is to have direct links to the artist’s social media pages, such as Twitter and Instagram.
is conventionally present on the top right hand of each page of the website, in the same
location, which causes easy navigation for the audience to visit the artist’s social pages.
For example, this is seen on Ellie Goulding’s website, Hayley Kiyoko’s website, and many
This convention is absolutely necessary and of high importance to engage with the
Therefore for social media I have included consistent links to my artist's Twitter,
YouTube, and Soundcloud, as this will encourage my audience to interact more with my
artist, listen to her music, and watch her videos.
News Page
A news page is a conventional page that goes in further depth on the artist’s social life,
their social media streams, and papparazi or gossip streams.
I have once again followed this, as my website’s News Page, has a gallery of Elora’s
and Instagram feeds, and has short notices from paparazzi and magazines, as this allows the
audience to be fully updated on everything in the artist’s life
26. About Page
This page can be found on music artist websites across all genres, as this is a crucial aspect
the audience to become closer to the artist, as this page typically includes how the artist got
music, how they achieved where they are now, and smaller fun facts about the artist’s
This section is typically relatively long, however it is written simply and therefore is easy and
lightweight for the audiene to read.
Taylor Swift, Hayley Kiyoko, both have the conventional bio pages.
I took this convention, as this is a very important aspect for the audience to get to know
artist, and exploit the artist’s personal life and personality in a semi sophisticated
The bio is conventionally also paired with a large medium close up image of the artist
it, which is also what I have done. The medium close up is once again more personal and
intimate, which is therefore suitable for an intimate page.
27. Tour Page
This page is the page that generally remains the most
simplistic, as its only purpose is to direct the
the tickets for the tour, and not offer any distraction
from buying the tickets.
The tour dates are typically presented in a table, with
the date first, then the venue, then the country/city,
and then the button to purchase the ticket.
Halsey’s website is a perfect example of how the tour
page is kept simplistic and to the point.
I have definitely used this convention of simplifying
the page, as it is important for that page’s crucial
to be to sell tickets, and not offer many
Although the page should not offer to many
distractions, I have decided to make this page
vibrant than the rest, and chose turquoise and
yellow, and a more enthusiastic main image. This
was done intentional to create a very excited, and
positive feeling when entering the page, which
would excite the audience to buy a ticket.
28. Various Background Images
The consistency of one main background image is a convention of artist websites, however varying each
page’s background is also a convention. Therefore there are no concrete rules to whether music websites
a consistent background or inconsistent background.
For my website, I chose to have an inconsistent background image, and to instead change the image
mood of the page.
- For example, my Home Page directly links to the digipak cover, which is crucial in the marketing of
artist.
- Then for my About Page, the image is a medium close up, in order to reinforce the intimacy of the
biography.
- And for my Shop Page, I chose a marble image, as this forces the audiences’ focus to be on the
merchandise and not on the image of the artist in the background.
I have therefore taken a slightly more niche convention of changing the background images, compared
the more mainstream convention of keeping the background image the same.
