Evaluation 1

1. In what way does your
media product use,
develop or challenge
forms and conventions
of real media products?
3blokes1project-
Guy Pollard

2. Conventions of the song
• Can’t pretend is Tom Odell's first single which came out in
2012, the song reached 69 in the top charts.
• The song has been very popular for creating powerful
messages in adverts and films, appearing in the open
university advert and ‘the blacklist’ season 2.
• The song falls under the music genre of Indie-pop, and attracts
a young audience.

3. Narrative alongside
performance
• Narrative has long been the best method of putting across a powerful message to the audience. If
the audience can make a powerful, emotional connection with the music video, it will increase
their desire for the song which will ultimately increase the sales of the song. It is all about
creating a strong visual that works in synergy with the music, so the audience can imagine the
song in their head better. There have been many examples of successful music video narratives
which audiences have embraced. Hozier’s song Take Me to Church hit the charts in 2014 and was
a huge success making the top 10 in 21 different territories around the world. The music video
centres around the discrimination of a gay couple. This was a fitting narrative considering the
song title. The church is commonly assumed to be looking down upon and discriminating against
gay people and this added a powerful conflict to the song. This music video complimented the
artist and his soul genre songs which proved incredibly popular with his audience.
• In our music video, we decided to emulate this fine art of using narrative visuals to promote Tom
Odelle’s Can’t Pretend. We give the visuals a cinematic feel so that it looked professional and well
constructed. It is important not to have any mistakes in the music video as people will care about
what is wrong with the video more than what is right with it; continuity is very important. To
make the visuals impressive we had to use lots of close ups and montages to create a powerful
connection with the sport we were representing. With the recent 2012 Paralympics people are
still very much inspired by sport generally, so we are effectively using the wheel chair basketball
to promote the song. Instead of idolising the lead artist, the audience is encouraged to connect
and relate with the main character in the narrative. When the viewer sees the powerful and
emotional trauma he is going through they will begin to empathise him, as they will want him to
succeed as they develop an emotional connection with him.

4. Lyrics and music
In the music video it was vital that the visual and the music worked in synergy together to create a
powerful message that actually had meaning. When we chose the song Can’t pretend we had to make
sure that the lyrics mimicked the actions in the visuals. Furthermore, for the video to have emotional
impact on the audience there would need to be well placed climaxes and beats to emphasise actions
within the visual. Can’t pretend was a good basis to start off with because of the multiple beat changes
which had both high and low moments in the song. The soulful genre of the song made sure that song
would have a emotional connection with this piece of media.
We begun the open the narrative with the shots changing to the same beat of the music. From the
beginning of the film we are showing the audience that these two pieces of media are supposed to be
together. This became a reoccurring theme throughout the video, especially in the basketball montage.
Here we saw split screen footage of the match changing to beat of the drums. We also see one of the
basketball players bouncing the ball to the beat of the song. These two highlighted elements
demonstrate how the visual can compliment the song. When the audience sees these actions they will
find the song more catchy as the song beat is emphasised. In the film we used other methods such as
the musical climax. At this point we see our character struggling to reach for a bottle of Jack Daniels
(which is an element of product placement), the climax of the music exaggerates the struggle of the
character, so the audience can almost feel his pain. When the character underwent his transformation
into becoming a better person the song was in an instrumental. This shows the audience that the music
video and our character are developing into something good and happier.

5. Camera and editingCamera and editing dictate the pace and the feel of the film. It is important to get it correct as it can reflect if
something is action packed or soulful. To have perfect continuity and synergy between the visual and the
sound we decided that the song would decide the pace of the editing of the film. This involved the first half
of the song being a much darker and depressing version than the second half. In the first half we have our
character trying to deal with his depression and this is reflect with dark lighting, slow shots and lots of close
ups to show the emotion of our character. Putting the sad narrative at the beginning allows the audience
make a bond with our character as they begin to sympathise for him and create a bond. Having established
this connected between our character and the audience means that in the second half they can feel very
happy that the character has found his passion and a new lease of life. In the second half of the film the
audience will find a much faster pace of editing in visual to represent the action involved with the game and
the change of pace in music. We use Go Pros to give the audience a POV shot, so that they can imagine what
it is like to be in the position of our character. This helps the audience feel the rawness of the sport. Jump
cuts were used to summarise the path our character had been on, all in a few seconds. This is an effective
way of reminding the audience what has happen and reiterates the powerful message. In the wheelchair
basketball scene we used a split screen montage to split up the action sequence. This is a creative way of
giving the audience something impressive to look at and enjoy. The soulful nature and the impressive
sportsmanship will promote the music.

6. Can’t Pretend shots
1-3
4-6
7-9

7. Shot comments
1. In a music video we have many moments throughout where the music/lyrics had links between the visuals. You hear the
words ‘My skin is rough but it can’t be cleansed’ which has the song talking about our character like a disease which cannot
be cured. Even the song title Can’t Pretend suggests to the audience that our character cannot be the person he once was
and he has to stop pretending. In the shot we have chosen we see our character reaching for a bottle of whiskey as the
music climaxes. You can clearly see he is in immense struggled and the music only emphasis this so the audience can feel his
pain.
2. It is hard for us to represent the artist in the music video as it is completely narrative and it is all about our character. Our
music video decides to take the role of televised bard which is a theory from Sven Carlson. We have chosen the scenery to
represent the artist and his characteristics. In this shot the graffiti is an excellent way of showing the audience the hipster
nature of the artist. The art is a modern expression of individual mystery which the artist is all about.
3. In this shot we are using the character to show the deepness of the genre. The audience can clearly see that this character is
deep amongst his thoughts and this is the same vibe which the soul / indie pop goes for. Adverts for this genre of music
often have someone showing no expression to so that they have deep thoughts.
4. From our basketball match we have taken many aspects from other media texts. Our main inspiration is from the 2012
Paralympics, which we want to continue inspiring people with this video. If you look at any basketball scene in films or
movies such as Coach Cater you will see cliché shots such as the basket match on action and team unity which is a very
important development stage for our character.
5. Just like when you producing a new product you have to give your video a USP. This means finding unusual camera
techniques that make it stand out from the crowd. We chose to use this time lapse because it brings an interesting and
innovative shot which you do not see often used like this. Furthermore we use this shot to show the audience how isolated
our character is. we can see him below everyone as they are moving quickly passed him, as they get on with their lives and
he is stuck.
6. We wanted to create a clear divide between our characters two states in life. We did this with the use of lighting. When the
character was feeling depressed we used the natural evening lighting to our advantage. it provide our character with a dark
and gloomy nature to show the clear divide between we he is alone and with the basketball team.
7. Through out the music video we try to use every opportunity we have for mise-en-sence to show how hard it can be to be in
a wheelchair. The shot I have chosen to highlight is the famous Kingston phone boxes. This is an iconic part of the town and
lots of people will recognise the landmark which will get their attention so they can see the meaning. As we see our
character moving past the boxes we can see the boxes falling. This symbolises our characters life falling down as he moves
forward, making it all the more depressing.
8. In this shot we have our character falling out of the chair in his desperate struggle. These moments can get a lot of sympathy
for the audience which helps create a bond between the audience and the main character . These shots are always shown
in disability media texts to highlight some of the pain that is involved with the chair. This similar shot can be seen in Waiting
all night which is about a man who keep falling by trying to ride his BMX bike with a prosthetic limb.
9. In a lot of media text when you see a character going through a development stage you will see them in a gym to better
themselves. This again can be seen in waiting all night which has an important connection with out video. In these shots we
see both the two characters trying to better themselves to overcome their disability. This is a powerful message for the
audience as they star willing the character to succeed.

8. Shots from established music
videos1-3
4-6
7-9

9. Shot comments• In Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Californication you can clearly see the connection between the lyrics of the song and the visuals. In the
song there is a good balance between narrative and performance. The lyrics of the song tell the story of the narrative. The lyrics
‘Space may be the final frontier, but its made in a Hollywood basement’ tell the story of a digital man running through a Sci-Fi
scene being shot in Hollywood.
• In shot we see the cliché performance videos which Flo Rida is so keen on. It has become known that the Majority of his videos
are an ego statement and how his life is better than everyone else's. Wild Ones is no exception where we see the artist living
every males fantasy, being the centre of attention with no shortage of booze, money and girls. Flo Rida is acting out Andrew
Goodwin's theory which is that performance should dominate narrative to increase repeatability. Flo Rida is being represented
as the epitome of coolness and power.
• It is important for the visuals of a song to meet a genre to improve repeatability and synergy. Tom Odell’s Cant Pretend is a good
example of this. The colours and filters are very similar to the digipak which show the genre well. They are showing the Indie
pop industry and have the artist in a cool and moody light which is stereotypical of the indie pop genre.
• Geri Halliwall’s Its raining men is a famous example of a music video using intertextuality. in the music video they beginning by
telling the same narrative from the film Flash dance. They use the narrative from the famous audition scene before the song
goes into a performance. Geri puts a sexualised twist on this famous scene by wearing almost no clothes to improve the male
gaze. Showing off her body will be a factor which will sell this song. Furthermore linking the song with this popular film will
increase popularity as they reach out for a wider audience.
• Catfish and the Bottlemen create a well crafted underground football match in their music video Pacifier. Here they use a good
mixture of slow pace shots to bring in added tension and fast paced shots to show the frantic nature of the sport. This shot I
have used as an example is a slow motion low angle close up shot where the audience gets to see the raw nature of the sport.
We can see the technique the players are using and it boosts popularity for the band as there is a huge football fan base which
would like this video.
• Coldplay’s heart felt song The Scientist is an innovative narrative and performance video which is played in reverse. This song
has a dark nature and they cleverly used lighting as the mystery unfolded. When we see the artist getting closer to the disaster
they use very dark lighting to symbolise the mystery and the tragedy that the audience are about to witness.
• Ed Sheeran created a fascinating music for his song Lego House in which we see the narrative of an obsessive fan. In this they
music video explored issues not many people know about so the theory on the plot alone was enough to sell the music video.
Through out the music video there are multiple shots which have their own hidden mise-en-scene messages. In this shot we the
character own his own surrounded by lamps. Not only is this weird but is represents how alone he is so he looks to star idols.
• Rudinmental’s Waiting all night has very clear links with our music video. They have a similar plot about someone who is
disabled trying to overcome his disability. We both highlight the struggles of being disabled with the character falling over and
struggling to function.
• Looking at the same music video we that both characters both have the redemption stage where the characters are trying to
better themselves. This is an important stage which the characters have to go through to allow the plot to develop. As well as
developing their bodies physically they are changing their state of mind in becoming a better person.

10. Lighting
In this action sequence we wanted to use
the natural bright lighting so that we could
keep the sport as raw as possible. The much
brighter lighting represented the characters
feeling as he himself was feeling much
brighter. His personality was being brought
out in the sport and we need the lighting to
reflect that. Furthermore we needed the
natural lighting to make the sport look as
real as possible. we did not want any
artificial filters obscuring the look of the
sport.
In the first sequence we had the challenge of
showing the struggle of a minority to the
wider audience. We had to use lighting to our
advantage by using dark lighting. This natural
dark filter caught in the evening shows the
perfect colour we needed to show the
depression of our character. We decided to
use this colour for the rest of the depression
sequence and we did this with the use of
Final Cut Pro where to would make a filter to
match this exact colour. We then placed this
filter on the remanding outdoor scenes.

11. Inspiration
To begin with we always wanted to choose a narrative which would tell the story of a smaller
minority to a wider audience. We had two main ideas which would either represent mental
illness or the physically disabled. Ultimately we chose to show the struggle of an individual
who had been paralysed from the waist down and what it would be like to face a future
wheelchair bound. We started our research into investigating what the hardest things were
about being in a wheelchair and actually got Toby to spend a few days in the wheelchair so he
could tell us what he found the hardest. Obviously we wanted our narrative to have
progression and light at the end of the tunnel for our character so we looked into ways that we
could make his life more enjoyable. Naturally being at a sporty school like Shiplake we wanted
to show the happiness and friendship through sport. With the 2012 London Paralympics in
recent memory we saw basketball as one of the most impressive spectacles. We where keen
to emulate the sport within our video and begun searching for a local basketball team to film
with. We took the progressive nature of Rudimental’s Waiting all night. We wanted the
audience to see character development in a personal way. We wanted to create a feel good
factor for the audience which by the end of Rudimental’s video they had achieved.

12. Intertextuality
With the recent Paralympic games there was the opportunity for us to continue the magic that
the games provided. This is prime time to show such a sport because people are now much
more conscious of people who are less fortunate now. When we show the wheelchair
basketball people will be instantly reminded of the games and continue to associate the song
with this great event. In turn the music and the games will continue to promote each other as
the two are associated with each other. Of course though we had to give our narrative some
plot and progression as the basketball game would not have the soulful meaning we were
looking for. Our video follows the example set by the film Coach Carter. This film is centred
around basketball but critically it has the plot of the characters going through change. Instead
of battling depression and loneliness they are fighting crime and poverty. In both the film and
our music video we see that the characters are able to change themselves into better people
by playing basketball. There is further intertextuality with our music video. At the beginning of
the film we see our character with his top off this brings in an element which is not often
exploited known as the female gaze. This is the sexualisation of men bringing in a wider
audience. An example of this is the diet coke advert, where a man is using his body to sell the
product. We are using the same philosophy as this advert but to a much less sexualised scale
as we do not want to ruin the message we are sending.

13. Representation and mise-en-
scene
As we were trying to make a soulful and meaningful film to reflect the genre of the song we had
to include a lot of representation and mise-en-scene. We had to use subtle ways of showing the
character emotions and depression. We did this by using dark lighting and dark clothing. This was
emphasising how alone and sad the character was. When our character was in town we chose to
use the surroundings to create meaning. We used the falling down phone boxes to represent the
characters life. As we see the phone boxes falling down we can see his life falling down around
him and as he moves forward it only gets worse and worse. Further on in the music video we see
him trying to find relief within whiskey bottle. The music climaxes when we see our character
trying to reach for the top shelf. It is like that this is his last chance to find relief in his life. To
signify his difference between our character and the normal society. We used a time lapse of our
character in the middle of the street walking passed him. We did this to show how alone our
character is and as normal people move on with their lives, he is stuck in the chair. To brighten up
the mood of the second half of the film we had to bring in brighter lighting to cheer up the mood.
We wanted the character to feel as if he was part of a team. We showed this by seeing his team
mates helping him up when he was down and having true interaction with his new friends.