My answer to evaluation question 1

1. Evaluation Question 1:
In what ways does your
media product use,
develop or challenge
conventions of real
media products?

2. USE OF NARRATIVE
EXPLANATION EVIDENCE IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO
EVIDENCE IN EXISTING MUSIC
VIDEOS/MEDIA PRODUCTS
When brainstorming the ideas for our narrative, we gathered inspiration from a variety of
places.
We decided that we would focus the narrative of our music video around relationships and
relationship breakdowns, as these themes are a common convention of most genres of
music video. We got our inspiration from a variety of sources, of which some of the music
videos included ‘Sleep On The Floor’ by The Lumineers and ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. We
thought that forming our narrative around the theme of relationships would make the piece
engaging, as it would be relatable for the audience, We chose to present a stereotypical
teenage relationship, as our teenage target audience would be drawn to the piece.
However, our inspiration to include LGBT+ relationships and a focus on sexuality in our
video came from a combination of two things; Alfie Arcuri’s video for the song “If They Only
Knew” and also from the fact that issues surrounding the LGBT+ community are very
topical within society and the media. We believed that including this topical issue in our
video raised awareness of the trouble that certain LGBT individuals experience with
accepting their sexuality due to there still remaining a proportion of society that are
prejudice. We thought that providing this exposure to the emotional trauma that people go
through, may help to shape some of the populations views. Additionally, we thought that
the happy ending for our character would help to reassure individuals within the LGBT
community that it is ok to embrace who you are. We hoped that it would inspire some
people to work towards and embrace self-acceptance. The Alfie Arcuri video follows a
narrative that is similar to ours. It focuses on an individual that is hiding his sexuality
because he is afraid of the prejudice he may encounter if he were to express who he is.
LGBT themes are becoming more common in music videos as the subject is becoming
more talked about in society. Examples of videos that have LGBT themes that we also took
inspiration from are; “Girls/Girls/Boys” by Panic! at the Disco and “Girls Like Girls” by
Hayley Kiyoko. We thought that including a topic that is unconventional, would help to draw
in the attention of the audience, particularly as the topic arises in such a way that it could
be construed as a plot twist.
The themes of self-conflict and emotional trauma, and subsequently, alcoholism and
smoking, were inspired by the alternative music genre itself. The genre frequently
references these subjects, and they can often be found in music videos, whether as
imagery, or as narrative. Additionally, these themes coincide with that of the topic of mental
health. Though we did not want to attempt to dominate our music video with too many
topical issues, we did decided that we wanted to focus slightly on mental health. We did
this by the inclusion of the break down shots and behaviours, and we thought it was
important as this is also a topic that is viewed by society with a stigma. An example of a
song that focuses on the topic of mental health is “Numb” by Linkin Park, which is what
gave us the idea to lightly include the topic in our music video..
At the beginning of the process, we decided that we wanted to make a narrative genre
music video. We found that this was a common convention used for the alternative music
genre, with examples such as “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood and “Chocolate
by The 1975. We conformed to the conventions of narrative music videos by using a linear
narrative, and the narrative of our video fitted with that created by the lyrics of the song.
However, we did challenge conventions of narrative music videos, as we did not include
any lip syncing in our video. We chose not to include lip syncing for a few reasons. We felt
as though including lip syncing would take away from the storyline of our music video,
which we did not want to happen. We wanted the audience to fully focus on the narrative of
our piece, due to the important topical issue that is covered within it. Additionally, we did
not think lip syncing was fitting to interweave in our video, as we thought it would leave the
final product appearing clunky. After assessing the software we had available to us, we did
not feel as though we would be able to link the audio track up with the visuals effectively, to
give them a smooth finish. We did not want to include lip syncing simply to pay lip-service
to the convention, when we believed that our final product would be much better without it
included.

3. USE OF MISE-EN-SCENE
EXPLANATION
EVIDENCE IN OUR MUSIC
VIDEO
EVIDENCE IN EXISTING
MUSIC VIDEOS/MEDIA
PRODUCTS
The use of mise-en-scene in our piece had a variety of functions.
We have used bright and colourful lighting in the later part of the piece
to signify that our protagonist has begun to embrace her sexuality;the
colourful lights are also representative of the rainbow coloured flag, that
is the symbol the LGBT+ community. We were influenced to include
colour to represent sexuality in our video by the music video “The
Greatest” by Sia. This was factor what influenced us to include as much
colour in the second half of our piece as we could. The colour is also
representative of Hannah’s transition from misery to happiness, and how
her world has been enhanced now that she embraces who she truly is.
In our piece, we attempted to use clothing symbolically. In scenes with
Josh and Hannah’s characters, we made sure they were dressed in dark
coloured clothing, to represent the protagonist’s misery. To provide a
contrast to this, in scenes with Hannah and Jade’s characters, we made
sure that both of them were dressed in colourful clothing. Much like
incorporating the bright and colourful lights, we thought that this could
reflect the protagonist’s happiness, and her new found confidence to
embrace her sexuality.
The use of colour in our piece would also help to engage the audience,
as it makes the piece visually engaging. Bright and colourful mise-en-
scene is stimulating to the eye, which makes it appealing for people to
watch. We were inspired to make our video include lots of colour
towards the end, when we watched the music video for “Ghost” by
Halsey. This video also encompasses an LGBT+ theme. The use of
bright colours is not conventional in alternative videos, which means that
our piece goes against genre conventions. Instead, this convention can
be more stereotypically seen in pop music videos.
We attempted to use mise-en-scene to our advantage in terms of the
narrative of our piece. By using locations with similar scenery, and by
using the same locations, we aimed to provide a comparison between
the protagonist’s relationships with Jade and Josh’s characters. The
juxtaposition of these shots helps the viewer to establish the difference in
their relationships, particularly in the shots where the actions that the
characters are carrying out are very similar.
In our piece we have included alcohol cans and bottles, to demonstrate
the protagonists attempts to cope with the inner conflict that she is
experiencing. We have also included cigarettes and smoking in the
piece for the same effect. This iconography is conventional of alternative
genre music videos, as drinking alcohol and smoking are common
elements weaved in amongst narratives.

4. USE OF EDITING
EXPLANATION
EVIDENCE IN OUR MUSIC
VIDEO
EVIDENCE IN EXISTING
MUSIC VIDEOS/MEDIA
PRODUCTS
In our music video we used a combination of cross fades and jump cuts to transition
between shots in our piece. We used a mixture of quick cut editing and slow motion shots
in order to demonstrate a change in mood in our piece.
In our music video, jump cuts are the most commonly used technique to transition between
two shots. In music videos, this is the most commonly used editing technique, as it helps to
establish clear differences between shots, and can create some very fast paced
sequences to engage the audience. Cross fades are not so conventionally used in music
videos, though they do appear. They mostly feature in sections that are memory
flashbacks, to represent a dream or to represent a character feeling overwhelmed. This
can be seen in Tom Walkers “Leave a Light On” video.
We used quick cut editing during the latter sequence of the piece, in which Hannah is seen
to be beginning to express her true self. Fast paced/quick cut editing is a convention of
real media that is used in order to demonstrate an upbeat mood, or to build suspense. It
typically complies with Goodwin’s theory of ‘thought through beat’, where the shots change
on each beat. An example of a video that inspired our use of quick cut editing in Panic! At
The Disco’s music video for their song “Miss Jackson”, because we thought it was
executed very well. In this video, it was used to demonstrate the characters emotional
instability, to build suspense in the audience.
Slow motion is used in music videos to create a variety of effects. It can be used to create
a dream-like effect, be representative of the protagonist feeling like time moving more
slowly than it is in reality, or to build tension. It is a common convention of alternative music
videos, that to include this effect, and we decided that it would fit with our piece very well.
We wanted to use it in the first half of the piece to be reflective of how when Hannah’s
character is wither boyfriend, time moves slowly, because she is not happy or fulfilled. It
also reflects her clouded mind, and how everything seems hazy to her. We also wanted to
use slow motion towards the end of the piece during the scenes with Hannah and Jade in
Winter Wonderland, to make the sequence of shots look more dreamy and give the
impression that the protagonist now looks at life in awe and wonder. Our idea of creating
this dream-like effect via slow motion was influenced by the sections of Vance Joy’s music
video for their song “Saturday Sun”, in which there are sections showing a couple on a
beach together, having a good time. The shots are in slow motion, and this allows the
audience to interpret the happiness of the characters better.
The first half of our video is in black and white, to symbolically represent the protagonists
melancholy during the time in which she is with her boyfriend, and the time that she is
suppressing her sexuality, and attempting to cope with the emotional trauma. We wanted to
feature this to create a contrast with the end sequence that includes bright lights and
colours, that represent the characters’ new found happiness. The use of black and white
effects on music videos is a common convention of the alternative music genre, as they are
typically centred around a grunge aesthetic. An example of a video that combines the use
of black and white effects and the grunge type aesthetic is the video for “Take Me To
Church” by Hozier. This music video also encompasses an LGBT theme, which inspired us
to make use of the effect in our video. A contrast between black and white effect and
normal coloured footage is unconventional of a media product.
We have edited in titles during the very first shot of our music video, as this is a common
convention amongst most music videos. As music videos are made as promotional
material, to promote the song and the artist, it is important that the video identifies the
names of both of these things. We took the inspiration for our typography from the
typography that the artist uses as part of their official branding. We also took inspiration
from the layout of the artists titles, stationing the artist name above that of the name of the
song. Doing both of these things when considering typography proves that our piece is
conforming to conventions of real media products.

5. USE OF CAMERA
EXPLANATION
EVIDENCE IN OUR MUSIC
VIDEO
EVIDENCE IN EXISTING
MUSIC VIDEOS/MEDIA
PRODUCTS
In our music video, we made sure to feature a variety of shots, camera angles and camera
movements. We knew that a range in cinematographic technique keeps the audience
engaged with the piece they are watching, as it is more interesting.
The most significant shots in our music video mainly consisted of close up shots. These
shots allowed us to focus on the emotions of characters, and to also put emphasis on
certain elements of the video that helped shape the narrative. We used multiple close up
shots of hand holding within our video, as hand holding was symbolic within our video; it
portrayed to the audience the relationship between characters. We also used close up
shots to get the audience to focus on Hannah’s phone as she deletes the photo of her and
Josh, and it switches to one of her of Jade. As it does this, the video turns to colour, which
is symbolic of the fact that now he is out of her life, she can be happy again. As this is a
key part of the narrative, yet a small detail, it was important to use a close up shot to make
the audience focus on what you want them to.
We used extreme close up shots as a further method of getting the audience to focus on
elements of the video. We filmed an extreme close up of alcohol bottles, to highlight the
intensity of the protagonists growing dependence on alcohol to numb her emotions.
We open the piece with a canted, long shot that features the protagonist walking towards
the sea. This shot also acts as an establishing shot, as you can see the scenery that
surrounds Hannah very easily. We featured a long shot here to show the loneliness of
Hannah’s character, and to highlight that there is no one else in the immediate vicinity,
which immediately pinpoints themes of isolation. We chose to film this shot at a canted
angle to reflect how the protagonist feels she is different from the norm. It also is symbolic
of the confusion that she feels, and as though she can’t see the world for what it is
anymore.
As our piece is a narrative style music video, we need the audience to be able to connect
with the storyline and the characters, as this would allow them to better understand it. To
do this, we used a combination of point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots. The
point of view shots we used intended to give the audience an insight into the narrative from
the eyes of the protagonist. It prompts them to put themselves in their shoes, and
subsequently, they become more invested in the storyline. The shots we have included
allow the audience to see both Josh and Jade’s characters from the perspective of
Hannah’s character. The over the shoulder shots help to show a connection between
characters, as you are able to see the body language of the person, and how close
together they are standing. We used this to demonstrate Jade and Hannah’s characters
becoming closer, and to hint to their developing relationship.
We used a tracking camera movement in which the camera moves backwards as Hannah
walks towards it. This shot was intended to make it clear to the audience that the
protagonist was leaving Josh, as you were able to see him stood in the background of the
shot. This shot is also a close up of Hannah, which does place focus on her emotions
which would be a conventional feature shortly after/during an argument scene.
To make the cinematography interesting in our piece, we have used some reflective shots.
We filmed one in a puddle, which was inspired by a shot of a similar nature featured in
AJR’s “Sober Up” music video. We thought that this would be a quirky way to demonstrate
her isolation. We filmed shots in mirrors, of Hannah looking at her reflection, as we thought
this added dimension to the piece. This was inspired by shots of a similar nature that are
featured in the “Miss Jackson” music video by Panic! At The Disco. The repeated shots of
the protagonist looking in a mirror is meant to symbolise how she is constantly paranoid
about how she is perceived. However, more importantly, it is reflective of her insecurities in
who she is, and how she is trying to search for answers in her self.