How did you present genre?

1. QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?

2. THE TITLE OF THE ARTIST AND SONG
The title of my artist, album and song are conventional to the indie genre
as they were based upon other existing indie products. Most indie artists
have unusual and quirky names which they use to brand their music, often
these names aren’t their real names. My artist is called Skyla, which
originates from Dutch and means that you are excited by change,
adventure, and excitement which is perfect for my hypothetical artist. The
song that I created a music video for is called ‘Youth’ but for my artist I
renamed it ‘Lost’ and is all about finding ourselves. This meant that I
needed an album name to support the vision of the artist, ‘Be Free’
seemed like a suitable option and from my audience feedback there
wasn’t a problem with the name.

3. SETTING/LOCATION
The locations used within my music video are also conventional to my
genre as I used a lot of woodland locations, water and a studio-like set
up. Not only were the locations used to film in conventional to the genre,
they also reflected the lyrics within the song so that the music video is
more exciting to watch. Another independent artist that uses water within
their music video is Ben Howard and his ‘Old Pine’ music video (see
photos below). I took inspiration from a lot of independent artists that I
looked at before creating my product to ensure that I would create
something that my target audience would really like; one of my main
inspirations was Billie Marten and her music video for the song ‘Bird’ that
uses a range of indoor and out door locations to film in.

4. COSTUMES AND PROPS
My music video doesn’t contain props as such apart from a scene where
my artist blows glitter into the camera to signify being free which links to
the album title. The costumes however play a huge part within my music
video as my artist is intended to be seen as a trendy, fashionable artist
that they can look up to, which is very conventional for artists to inspire
and become role models to their fans. The make up is also an important
part of the music video as it allows the artist to express herself creatively,
many artists express themselves through their makeup in their music
videos, just like AURORA does in their music videos. I did not challenge
any conventions through the use of costume and props as it would mean I
wouldn’t fulfil the likes of my target audience.

5. CAMERAWORK AND EDITING
My music video consisted of varied shots from extreme close ups to long shots. To make
my music video conventional to my genre I used a lot of close ups and mid shots of my
artist where she is centrally framed or just off centre; this is because independent artists
use their music videos at a platform to promote themselves, so they are the main feature
within the music video. I also used tracking shots to portray the journey my artist was
travelling throughout the music video, the use of tracking shots also allowed to audience
to feel like they were travelling with the artist throughout the music video. Regarding the
editing of my music video, it contained some creative edits to make the music video more
interesting to watch. I had all of the flashbacks in the music video black and white to add
more emotion to them, I also slowed most of them down so that the audience had more
time to understand what was happening. I also overlaid shots so that I could show the
contrast between the two narratives at once. My music video was shot and edited
conventionally to fulfil the needs of my audience. Most of the shots faded into one
another so that the running of the music video was slow and didn’t disrupt the pace of the
music video as it is a very calming song.

6. NARRATIVE
After researching into indie music videos, there isn’t a conventional
narrative to follow; some may have full stories that include characters like
Billie Marten’s Bird music video and she tells the narrative by the song
performance. Whereas some music videos don’t necessarily tell a story
but go on a journey that compliments the song like Ben Howard’s Old Pine
music video. I decided to take my audience on a journey with my artist; it
was about being lost (hence the song title) and trying to find herself. This
benefitted my music video as it looked similar to other media texts making
it more believable that it could be professional.

7. GENRE AND HOW IT IS SUGGESTED
The genre of my music video was indie and the music video fulfilled many
conventions within the indie genre; one of the main conventional things that I
challenged was to include an additional character within the music video.
Instead of doing this I just had my artist alone for the music video to portray
the message that you can walk alone and be fine. Another way genre is
suggested is through the locations featured within my music video; the use of
woodland locations, water and a studio-like set up. Not only were the
locations used to film in conventional to the genre, they also reflected the lyrics
within the song so that the music video is more exciting to watch. . To make
my music video conventional to my genre I used a lot of close ups and mid
shots of my artist where she is centrally framed or just off centre; this is
because independent artists use their music videos at a platform to promote
themselves, so they are the main feature within the music video.