2. QUESTION 1: THE MUSIC
VIDEO
In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media products?
3. CONVENTIONS – MUSIC
VIDEO THEORIES
Following Goodwin’s theories
on conventions of the music
video, our music video includes
a mostly disjunctive narrative:
• The narrative itself has very
little to do with ruling the
physical world, as the song
originally suggests, and
instead focuses on the inner
control of the mind’s world:
the boy rules his world.
This latter point suggests that
he video contains an amplified
narrative, as it focuses on
ruling one’s internal,
psychological world instead of
the physical one.
4. CONVENTIONS – MUSIC
VIDEO THEORIES
The music video does not
feature Lorde herself, and
as such does not lend itself
to the demands of the
record label. By this logic,
the music video becomes
more of a piece of art than
advertisement for Lorde.
Similarly, there is no artist
specific element of
voyeurism or fetishism
present due to this.
Nevertheless, the music
video is in itself follows
Lorde’s abstract-styled
music videos, similar to that
of Team (2013) and thus
adds to her meta-narrative.
Lorde – Team (2013)
5. CONVENTIONS – MUSIC
VIDEO THEORIES• In relation to the alternative pop scene,
our video is mostly unconventional, with
elements that are otherwise not present
in pop music videos. Nonetheless, the
music video does contain some
cinematically conventional elements:
• The use of a narrative structure
challenges the conventions of
music videos of the genre, as they
are predominantly conceptual
with elements of performance,
making our video post-modern.
• The use of a young male actor instead
of featuring the singer is not as
unconventional as has been. Similar to
that of Woodkid’s music video for Run
Boy Run (2013), our music video follows
a narrative wherein the main artist
herself is completely absent, save for
their grain of voice.
• This expands upon Lorde’s meta-
narrative. It raises awareness for
domestic abuse, and as such suggests
Lorde’s positioning of the audience in
relation to realistic topics.
Woodkid – Run boy Run (2013)
6. AUDIENCE READINGS
• Audience readings – The preferred reading of the
music video is that a young boy is neglected by his
violent family, and he hides away from the hurt this
causes in an imaginary world.
• However a negotiated reading might arise from
someone who is not of the target audience, and who
would be more inclined to view the protagonist as a
troublesome boy who hides from his responsibilities by
hiding in his bedroom, asocial and irresponsible.
• However, it could also be possible that the elder
audience would see how arguments held in the home
impact the younger members of their own family, and
thus would accept a negotiated reading of the music
video.
7. SEMATIC CODES
• The sematic codes present in the music video feature concepts that are mostly a
part of a more western cultural code. This is perhaps mostly evident in the locations
and props present in the music video, in which a western-cultured audience would
relate.
• Another aspect of these sematic codes is the proairectic code; this subtle feature is
found in the link between the realism sequence and the dream sequence in the
shape of props:
• The LEGO Figure held in the hands of the protagonist, which links to the costume
worn further on in the video.
• The use of the colouring pencils and LEGO bricks act as a way of connoting
imagination and creation. As such, they become part of the semic code, giving an
insight into the protagonist’s character.
8. SEMATIC CODES
The sword fighting sequence holds some element of
symbolism, alluding to the symbolic code. The brothers
fighting represent the conflict between the two, but put
into a less serious scenario.
9. SEMIOTICS
The tunic worn by the
protagonist resembles
that worn by knights of
the middle ages.
Knights, in a European
context, usually
connote acts of
bravery, loyalty, honour
and adventure –
essentially becoming
an indexical sign. In this
respect, the tunic worn
by the protagonist
signifies the latter
element, which is
further enhanced by
the use of the sword-
prop.
10. REPRESENTATIONS
The representation of the
child protagonist presents
a somewhat stereotypical
view of children as
innocent and victims of
their surroundings – in this
case, an alcoholic family
(as shown through the
props in the first scene). His
non-verbal language
further connotes his
position as a “victim”, in
that fear and frustration
are shown in his reaction
to the different members
of the family.
11. REPRESENTATIONS
By contrast, the older
brother a more regressive
representation of
teenagers, as shown
through the non-verbal
language and character
blocking. The fact that he
steals money from the
purse acts as a
connotation of this
regressive representation.
Additionally, his position
from across the room in
relation to the protagonist
highlights his dissimilarity to
his younger brother.
12. REPRESENTATION
• In essence, the two brothers act as binary oppositions within
the narrative, emphasised through use of props and non-
verbal language:
• The older brother uses technology, distancing himself from
the wider issues. In some respects, this establishes the brother
as a form of negative pastiche of the protagonist.
• the more creative and guiltless protagonist uses pencils and
toys for imaginary characters and world, connoting his
innocence.
13. REPRESENTATION
Most importantly, however, is the representation of families and
domestic issues. In the case of the music video, the music video
challenges the stereotypical representation of middle-class
families as being more ideal than lower- or upper-class. In
essence, middle-class families suffer from domestic disputes as
any other family, and are no exception to the rule. The music
video attempts to show this through location, non-verbal
language of the parents and the use of middle-class-associated
props
14. CONVENTIONS – CAMERA
• The majority of the
screen time in the
music video feature
the protagonist. This is
seen in the constant
use of close ups,
tracking and shot-
reaction-shots. This
creates a stronger link
between the
audience and the
protagonist, and thus
helps promote a
preferred reading of
the music video, as
we are positioned
with the protagonist.
15. QUESTION 2: THE PRINT
PRODUCTS
How effective is the combination
of your main product and ancillary
texts?
16. DIGIPAK
We set out to create a
cohesive band image to
promote the album
through the use of a
consistent style across a
range of promotional
material, such as the
constant relation back to
the subject of the music
video, the young boy. The
boy himself carries
connotations of innocence
and bravery in the face of
adversity.
We support this through our
promotional material to
affect how the customer
interprets the product, and
to show Lorde as being a
supporter of the younger
generations, but in a
constructive
17. DIGIPAK
• The digipak itself was largely
inspired by the Japanese cover of
Lorde’s Pure Heroine album,
conforming to the conventional
representation of the female
artist. However, this is diminished
by the use of the protagonist of
the music video instead of Lorde
herself, thus becoming
unconventional.
The crossed keys
from the artist
Woodkid served as
another source of
inspiration for the
medieval themes
and inner pane.
The artist Woodkid
was one of our main
sources of inspiration
when it came to the
actual production
itself.
18. DIGIPAK
The digipak adds points to the star image of Lorde:
• Lorde herself does not feature on the front cover of the digipak,
while her iconic typography and her grain of voice in the song itself
do feature. As a result, she is both present and absent from the
digipak, conforming to the theories presented by Richard Dyer.
• In addition, the intensity of the front cover image (left) resembles
that of the Japanese cover (right), and as such the lack of
negative space gives the image an emotional intensity.
19. DIGIPAK AND PRINT PRODUCT
We decided to turn the crest from
the boy’s costume into a visual
motif which would be seen
throughout the promotional
material and the back pane of the
digipak. As said under semiotics,
the concept of a crest – and thus
the tunic – is something which has
connotations which would provide
some intertextual reference and
semiotic meaning.
For example, a crest signifies family
or unity, but the boy’s family is
present as being broken.
Furthermore, as mentioned under
semiotics, the crest connotes the
imagination of a young mind,
which we thought was an
interesting signifier to add to
Lorde’s otherwise mostly teenage-
oriented meta-narrative.
In addition, the golden colour of
the crest adds to the Royals (2013)
meta-narrative.
20. THE PRINT PRODUCTS
We agreed early on in production that we wanted to be
able to appeal to multiple audiences, and as such
decided to create two print products: one for a
mainstream audience, and one for the alternative
audiences. However, given that we had no access to
Lorde herself, we decided to link the print products to
elements of the music video and digipak instead.
21. MAGAZINE ADS
• The alternative cover was designed
to be less detailed and appeal to a
more “knowing” audience. Its
minimalistic design reflects that as
seen on the western album cover of
Pure Heroine (2013), with the use of
the iconic typography featured on
the same album and on other
pieces of promotional content.
• Composition-wise, the crest acts as a
leading line towards the artist name.
Combined with the typography, the
white space is minimised and thus
the same intensity featured on the
front cover of the digipak is
achieved.
22. MAGAZINE ADS
The mainstream was smaller, designed to be a half
page spread, rather than full as the alternative.
The mainstream ad was designed with a less
knowledgeable audience in mind, with the text
displaying obvious pieces of information such as
“out now”, Lorde’s websites and Twitter tags. As
such, we cover the paradoxes established by Dyer:
• Lorde’s name is present, alongside her website’s
address, hashtag, the large font and iconic
typography, yet is absent from the advert itself.
Lorde featured on Billboard magazine, a
more mainstream magazine
24. BLOGGER
• The element of research was
crucial to understanding the
concepts of Dyer’s star
theory, Goodwin’s music
video conventions and
Barnes’ semiotics, and
applying them to the pre-
production phase, as well as
in the latter stages of
production. Blogger allowed
us to accumulate our
findings onto one continuous
blog, providing us with
content to discuss the
different aspects of the road
towards the final piece.
25. BLOGGER
• The use of the blogger
website became far more
prominent this year, as we
collectively had to consider
any and all opportunities
and issues together. The
increased size of the group
meant that we had to
gather our findings together
and promote a stronger use
of the blog.
• As such, our A2 production
was more concise and
organised, and has played
a vital part of the planning,
construction and
evaluation of the
production. The
commenting ability was
specifically used to
communicate these ideas
and concepts
26. BLOGGER
While most of the
planning took place
on Facebook’s
messenger, the blog
created the
opportunity to have a
webpage ready for
easy reference for the
risk assessments that
were then discussed
or considered on
social media.
27. BLOGGER
We collectively kept updates as
to the progress of the music
video on the blog, which meant
that we always could keep track
of what had been going on in
the post-production phase and
refer back to our own
contributions in these steps
towards the final piece.
28. SURVEY MONKEY
Survey Monkey provided us with feedback for our concept,
which we promoted through Facebook. This allowed us to test
our concept to a wider, more trustworthy target audience,
which produced positive results for us to consider during
production.
29. PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop CS3 was extensively used in the creation of the digipak
and print products. It allowed us to create and produce effective
pieces of work, though not without some level of practice and
prior knowledge to how each of the individual tools functioned, as
well as understanding the process of image size and resolution.
30. PHOTOSHOP
• Most importantly, however, was the
selection tool, which enabled me to
take specific sections of an image and
change it without altering anything
else on the canvas.
• In order to finalise the image layer, I
also adjusted the image through the
curves tool, which allowed me to
change the shadows, midtones and
highlights.
• If I needed an additional shadow,
midtone or highlight somewhere on the
image, I could use the burn or dodge
tool to take smaller sections and
change them there.
• In the case of the full page spread, I
made use of the clone stamp tool to
make the image I had used slightly
larger, tricking the viewers’ eyes into
thinking that it was a larger piece of
cloth.
31. SOCIAL MEDIA
• Social media was used
primarily to check up on
any missed work, but also
for checking possible
location recce dates and
filming dates.
• In addition, we used the
files-sharing tool to pass
PowerPoint presentations
between us, as well as
adding in http websites to
share information or
videos with one another.
• Furthermore, we shared
ideas of how the print
work could look, whilst
referencing any artists
that we had researched
that could influence our
finalised print work.
32. CHALLENGES
• The largest challenge of the use of ICT was the speed of the editing
software. This was mostly due to the processing speed of the computer
we were working on, which was becoming slower by the edit.
Nevertheless, we managed to finish the final edit in time for the colour
grading. The only setback of the colour grading software was the lack
of experience with it on our behalf, but we finalised the music video in
time for the deadline.
33. CHALLENGES
• Another, small
technical issue that we
encountered was the
ISO speed on the
camera during the
night-time shots. This
was tackled by the use
of Isaac’s LED lamp,
which proved useful for
when the torch that
Tristan was carrying
was running dry.
