1. Evaluation Question 1
TRY AGAIN VIDEO
http://jonathan-gale.blogspot.co.uk/
April 16, 2012
Authored by: Jonny Gale

2. Evaluation Question 1
TRY AGAIN VIDEO
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
I knew straight away what artist and genre I wanted to work with from the word go. I had to pick an
unsigned artist whose music would appeal to a wide range of audience. Knowing his music already,
I found it easy to get stuck in with his songs and himself as an artist. Tom Cox is a Singer
songwriter, which is a particular genre which has developed so much over these past few years
from Jack Johnson to Ed Sheeran.
Today‟s music normally succeeds and trends by the feelings and rhythm the band creates for
their fans. The Charts of 2012 mainly consist of bands like „LMFAO‟ and „Jessie J‟ with their pop
genre with attitude lyrics and catchy beats which are simply but catchy. Some audiences are
attracted to the song rhymes and beats like „Dubstep‟. Other audiences prefer the lyrics as their
main reason for their chosen genre. For example songs about „Love‟ would connect people to
„Westlife‟ and „Take That‟, „Partying and sex‟ would connect people with artists like „Chris Brown‟
and „Pitbull‟. However in the last few years more and more people have began to follow and listen
to „Indie‟ bands and „Singer songwriters‟ (Acoustic solo artists). It called out to me that people were
beginning to enjoy more soulful music with that rock edge. Tom‟s genre is acoustic but has a slight
twist by having changes in melody and pace in both music and lyrics.
Goodwin‟s Theory
“ Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics and music. Genres often have their own
music style/iconography. Close-ups should always be included. The artist/ band might want to
develop their own star iconography, which becomes their star image. Voyeurism is a common
theme within music videos. Intertextual reference are also popular. Goodwin argues that the
female performer is frequently objectified principally for display purposes, often through a
Evaluation Question 1 | 4/16/2012
combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised
treatment of the star.”
I have looked at many acoustic artist‟s videos and came to the conclusion that most like to use
Goodwin‟s Theory of the relationship between music and visuals. At the very start of this project I
wanted to stick to Goodwin‟s theory and make that connection between the two. An example of
this theory can be seen with Ed Sheeran‟s video for „Drunk‟. However most of the videos go in
and out of the connection, although I wanted people to recognize the elements, with my video I
wanted to bring something which isn‟t normally thought of. And that‟s making a story out of the
song and engaging the audience to follow it and be enticed in the story, feeling the emotions going
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3. through Tom‟s mind/lyrics. Comparing this theory with my music video, the connection between
them is visible from start to finish. Connecting this idea with the video by the „Arctic Monkeys‟
called „When The Sun Goes Down‟. This also follows the concept of a Video visualizing the song.
The song told a story which grabbed target audiences attention making them watch it from start to
finish, which was my target for my video.
General Theory:
“ This is where the lyrics establish a general feeling and a sense of subject rather than a meaning.
The tempo of the music often drives the editing. The Genre might be reflected in types of mis-en-
scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles. Camerawork, has a major impact on
meaning, the movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the
artist/band (for example the use of close-ups will show inferiority and importance). Editing the
most common form is fast-cut montage, rendering many images impossible to grasp on first
viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play
with the original images to offer a different type of pleasure to the audience. Intertextuality, not all
viewers will recognise a reference which would not detract them from their pleasure in the text
itself,but if he viewer was to realise the reference it should increase the audience's engagement
regarding the product. Lastly exhibitionism, this is where the powerful independent female artists
portray a image where the woman is being sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and
inviting a sexual gaze.”
I can link my video with this theory by the visualization of the piece sends the feelings across to the
audience. I wanted the audience to be engulfed by the video and the music so the sense of the
subject came out to them rather than the meaning. On the other hand there are lyrics such as
„Mary Jane‟s locked in the bathroom‟ which is a strong visual lyric which I couldn‟t help but use in
my product. So I tried to blend both theories together for my product which hopefully was
successful.
Music: Luckily the music has a rather strong rhythm so you can see
the videos tempo and editing is mainly shaped around that factor.
The storyline is also based upon the lyrics which with my Evaluation Question 1 | 4/16/2012
imagination created this in depth story line connecting emotions
with actions.
Genre: Connecting the mis-en-scene with the lyrics sets a
feeling of sadness and vulnerability for the characters.
This sense of „what happens next‟ for them keeps the
audiences eyes glued to the screen. I decided to use
footage of Mary building up tension of committing
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4. suicide, with shots of her eyes crying and her face linked in with the noose.
Camerawork: with the camera I wanted a range of still shots and handheld shots to show the
variation in feeling and movement between the two characters. I wanted the camera to act as a fly
on the wall, breaking into someone‟s relationship and problems. At the breaking point when she
almost commits suicide we see her break the forth wall and connect us with her problem and
decision. As if we are the ghost facing her straight on and crying out to her not to do it.
Editing: As mentioned earlier, the editing blended in with the song, however like the character of
Mary Jane breaking the rules of love and life in rebellious fashion, I subtly made the editing join in
with her and go against the music‟s strong set rhythm. There are pictures in Planning Music Video
of the time line I have made.
Evaluation Question 1 | 4/16/2012
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