Evaluation Question 1

1. Question1
Real media products often conform to the conventions theorized by Andrew Goodwin, with some,like
the two door cinemaclubs musicvideo–are we ready, beinga perfectnarrative andperformance video
to detail the relationshipbetweenthe lyrics and visuals,beingbuiltlike anadvertisingproductto entice
the audience and allow them to guess what the next lyric will be, as well as following Stuart Hall’s
dominantreadingas there is a strong connectionbetweenthe propsand lyrics that forcesthe audience
to understandthe impliedtext. Similarly,we alsofollowedthe themesof lonelinessandisolationin‘Why
Won’t TheyTalkTo Me? ‘s lyricsand theirconnotations,choosingtojointhe lyricand visual of ‘me’with
shots of our protagonist on her own, following the record labels requirements of the artist’s face and
conformingtoa real mediaproduct. AsseeninGomez’svideo,the openingincludesestablishingshotsof
the Mise-en-scenetoallowthe audiencetoformaconnectionandsignificance betweentheartistandthe
lyrics,usingpropsthatwill laterbecomeof importance aswell ascuttingonthe beattokeepthe audience
entertained. Withinourownmusicvideo,we alsousedthe opening toshow the establishingshotsof our
protagonist and explicitly show her being rejected by the headphones users, making her seem isolated
and playing on an amplification of the title, Why won’t they talk to me? This allowed us to show the
significanceof the headphonesrightfromthe start,creatingtheideaof herbeingblockedoutfromsociety
and trying to fit into their world.
The psychedelic genre can be shown in many ways in music videos. They tackle the themes of ‘tripping
out’ or being on drugs, shown by the incorporation of animation within some of the sequences. For
example,inBorns’video,animationisshownto detail the artistlosingcontrol of her love and becoming
physicallyfuelledbythe electricithasgivenher.ItlinksexplicitlytoGoodwin’stheoryof lyricsandvisuals
and the animation is used to explain the ideas more clearly for the audience to accept the Dominant
reading and follow Hall’s theory of audience reception. This video in particular by Tame Impala follows
Mulvey’stheoryof the Male Gaze, however,flipsthe ideaon itshead as it is shownthroughthe female
artist’sgaze both onscreenand to appeal more soto that audience asitis inside herhead. Othervideos
thattackle thisgenre alsoconformtoGoodwin’stheoryof looking,withthecamerausingslowanglesand
framestobecome likeavoyeurandexamine thefemalebody. ThisvideoalsoconformstoMulvey’stheory
of the Male Gaze, beingmore explicitasthe anglesbefore the animationare slow andfocusingmore on
her bodyand thenshowthe female havingcontrol over the boyinthe animatedsequence. We followed
conventionsof thisgenre bycreatingour own animateddreamsequence toshow ourprotagonistlosing
control and finally figuring out what the map means to her, challenging this convention slightly by
immersingthe audiencewithinthe sequence themselvesandshowingthemlookingatthe mapalongside
Joss,aswell asbreakingthe forthwall toshow hercomingbacktorealityandestablishingtothe audience
that she knows what it finally means. Conventional music videos in this genre also seem to include a
dream-like sequence to show the protagonist losing themselves in some form or another, building up a
narrative video to accompany the lyrics. Our music video does this in the same way, creating a story of
the isolatedgirl whofindsamapthat leadshertoa chestthat appearsto have everythingshe needsinit.
Music Videosintheirgeneralisationstendtohave someelementsof cuttingonthe beat,whetherthatbe
to the lyrics or to the actual underlying drum beat in the song. This helpsmassively to create a pace for
the music video as well as clearly establishing the genre that the video is in. Cutting to the beat of the
musicisseeninperformance basedvideossuchasthisone byGreenDay. It allowsthe producertomake
the whole setupappearalotmore visuallypleasingthanone straightcutall the waythroughthe video.It
keeps the audience’s attention maintained on the visuals and the messages they are trying to convey,

2. helpingaidHall’stheoryof preferredreadingtobecome more widelyaccepted.Withinourownvideo,I
triedtoconformtothisconventionbyalternatingbetweenexplicitdrumbeatcuts,suchaswithinthe end
sequence of Joss running, but also within the constraints of the lyrics, using the syllable to cut on ‘pre-
tend’andto cuton ‘me’whenshe opensthe doortocreate anexplicitconnectionbetweenhercharacter
and the map. Our animation sequence also conforms to this idea, having shapes and lines appear to fit
the beatof the musicorthe base line,makingitsubtlymore pleasingforthe audiencewhoactuallynotice
this little detail. We also did this right at the beginning of our music video using the shot of the chest.
Throughusingan additive dissolve,we craftedthisshottobe affectedbythe light,cuttingoneachsound
effectandaimingtoput the audience ina trance like state,hopingtoabsorbthemwithinthe ideaof the
chest and remember it for the ending of the video.
Most musicvideosalsohide some connotationsfor theaudiencetoworkoutforthemselves. Forexample,
in Maroon 5’s music video, the use of the bright colour has connotations of being childish and playful,
showing him as an outcast and lonely monster,finding a character he can relate with at the very endof
the video. Similarly with The Fray’s music video, they tackle the issue of mental issues and a more
depressingly real agenda, using the pale and faded colours to have connotations of the patient’s bleak
view on the world as well as resembling that of a hospital room, with the crowd of people being used
perhapsto representthose whoare visitorsorattendingthe funeral of the lifetheywere unable tosave.
We presentthe ideaof colour havinga strongside meaningwithinourownvideo,usingthe brightlights
emanating from both the chest and map to show an uplifting side as she has finally figured out the
meaningof itall.We usedbrightercoloursandalighteratmosphere,suchasthe fogtocreate this feeling.
Incontrast,we alsoshowamore depressingsideof the video,usingdull and darkcoloursthatfocusmore
so on the reasonfor herbeingout-cast: the orange jumper,at the verybeginningof the video.Thiswas
to showtotransitionof hercharacterandhow she learnstoacceptherself once she hasfoundthe means
to do so, complying to the narrative style of the video.
In terms of a marketingperspective,thisgenre isn’tas popularas the more conventional pop,indieand
rock songs.However,due to its uniqueness,itisable to sell and draw in a massive targetaudience who
can all relate to the lyrics and visuals in such music videos. This also allowsthe record label or band to
produce ancillaryprojectsthat helpto re-enforce the themespresentedinthe videoand to be more on
the ‘wacky’ side, almost hypnotising its audience intoa trance and getting them to buy the product. To
market our own music video, I tried to use shots that focused more on the obvious themes of isolation,
lonelinessandself-acceptance,usingthis bothas a way to explicitlyrelate withourtargetaudience,but
also showing with a contrast between the extras and the protagonist at the very start of the video, and
thenheavilyfocusingonour protagonist andherorange jumpertodetail herisolation.We alsofollowed
the conventionsof animationwithinthe video,usingittoshow Levi-Strauss’theoryof binaryopposition
and the twosidesof ourcharacter lateron.This unique featureallowsittostandout andappeal more to
our target audience due to how unusual and unexpected it is, presenting unansweredquestionsfor the
audience to want to work out and subtly manipulating them into buying the product to find out the
answers.
When making my Digipak, I considered how to show the psychedelic genre of the song within the
packaging,as well ashowI could representthe bandmembersandcreate a sense of continuitybetween
all of the images. I considered the use of drawing in my protagonist, finding that this was a little
overwhelmingandmade the theme of isolationseemalittle tooconventional.Ioptedinsteadtodrawin
my extras in the background as this created the separation of worlds between the protagonist and

3. everyone aroundher,allowingherto explicitlystandoutand juxtapose the rolesof becominganimated
within the video. This also allowedme to explore Levi-Strauss’theory of binaryopposition in an explicit
manner, showing the two sides of the story. This drawing also enabled me to comply within the
psychedelic genre, keeping the colours as realistic as possible in this frame to make the genre become
more normalised and accepted,perhaps being completely undetected by some audience members and
making the transition become a lot more shocking and interesting. I enhanced this further by also
including tiny bright drawings of shapesand various lines that would grab the audience’s attention and
convince them to purchase the product in order to find out why they were included. I showed this
throughout the digipak, varying the design on each panel to show the uniqueness of the product and
furtherdetail of the confusionof the map,aswell ascreate adirectlinktothe musicvideo.Iincludedthis
to explicitly allow the audience tobecome part of the productthemselves,beingtakenintothe mindof
the protagonistand alongside herjourney.This allowedme toconformto a real mediaproduct as many
media institutions try to directly appeal and relate to their audiences so that they can market towards
theirneedsandinterests.Ialsocoupledthisbykeepingthe colourschemeandstyleconsistentthroughout
the product,usingthe same fontson the side,frontandback panelsto appearprofessionalandrealistic.
Thisisan importantfactorwithinprojectsasitallowsthe audiencetocreate alinkbetweenproductsand
cement the brands identity or motif clearly.Much like a real product, I displayedthe artists name,song
and albumonthe packagingtofurtherenhance theiridentitytothe audience,allowingthemtoassociate
the protagonistwe have constructedwiththe genre andstyle of the song or band.Withinthese panels,I
wantedtorepeatthe motif of the map. AsI had more explicitlyshownthe isolationandthoughtof being
cut off on the frontpanel,I wantedthismap to onlyfeature the protagonistas it was linkedexplicitlyto
herand the solutiontoherproblems. Byincludingthe mapon3 of the panels,ithintsatthe ideaof being
importantand necessaryto the story, keepingthe audience insuspense asto exactlywhatit meansand
how it is relevant. I also kept this realistic by including the small print for the artist’s band, record label,
locationandwebsite forthe audience tofindoutfurtherinformationif theywere soinclined. Thisallows
me tocomplywithinthe marketingstandardsas itexplicitlytargetsanaudienceof psychedelicenthusiasts
and includes references to the band and their links to promote them further.
When making my magazine advert, I wanted to make it consistent withinthe product, using a similar
colourscheme andfontthroughoutbothancillarytexts.Ialsodisplayedthepsychedelicgenre bydrawing
the protagonist’s hands and part of her facial features to emphasise how she had been affected by the
map in a more physical and visual way. I wantedto make this subtle, however,also conforming to Levi-
Strauss’theoryof binaryopposition byshowingthe twosidesof myprotagonistasare representedinthe
music video. I showed this more explicitly in my second advert, drawing a near half and half divide
between the animated form and the real protagonist, allowing her to continue to stand out from the
outsiders and be a complete individual. This also allowed me to link it to my music video by following
Barthes theory of enigma codesand getting the audience to question what the chest is for in the video,
but alsowhat the relevance tothe animatedcharactershows.Withinbothadverts,I includedthe artists
name,albumtitle anda photoof the protagonistrepresentingthe bandtoconformto Goodwin’stheory
of the demandsof the recordlabel,aswell asthe commonconventionsof amagazine advert. Imade sure
to include the same small-printdetailsaspreviouslymentionedonthe digipakpanels,choosingthe white
logofor the record label asit again bestsuitedmyproductand its theme.Ialternatedfromthe common
conventions of an advert on my secondary ad by disregarding the more crucial information such as the
reviews for a sense of authenticity and the release date of the digipak. I did this as I envisioned the
secondaryadvertto be a replicate of the first,beingusedonlyto re-enforce the ideaof the band and to

4. furtherpersuade my audience togo out and purchase the product.I alsoagain chose to use the map as
the main propfor my adverts,drawingthe audience inbygettingthemtoquestionwhatitwasthere for
and its use to our protagonist, enticing them to again purchase the product and find out, boosting
marketingsalesbyusing such subtle items.Itook mostof my inspirationforthe creationof the product
from a variety of psychedelic adverts, noticing how they focused particularly on wavy drawings, bright
colours and bold fonts to stand out from the packed advert. This allowed me to see how a real media
productfocusedontheiraudienceand marketedspecificallybymakingaboldstatementaboutthe genre
of the music. By having a similar technique on my own product, it appeals to my audience as they can
guess exactly what the genre of the cd will be and its contrast to other more popular genres, making it
unique and stand out, aiding sales and becoming a successful real media product.