Question 1 of the evaluation.

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

2. Music Video
For our music video, we tried to follow the conventions of a rock music video. I identified some of these conventions during my
research for use within our music video.
Don Broco - Priorities
Kids In Glass Houses - Peace
I think that the most important convention that I identified and used in my music
video is the band performance shots. I found this convention to be prevalent in rock
music videos during my textual analysis, as well as being mentioned by my
interviewees and in my survey as something that the audience likes to see. The band
performance shots are very important in the rock music genre, as they embody its
identity. Bands in the genre pride themselves for their authenticity. They play their
own instruments and write their own songs, which discuss real feelings and situations. By
including band performance shots in their music videos, they are promoting this idea of
authenticity, as the audience can see them performing. These performance shots usually
include the band playing instruments to further convey this authenticity, however the
Beggars music video showed that this convention could be broken. Andrew Goodwin stated
that music videos all demonstrate genre characteristics, and these shots are an example of
this.
Our music videoMallory Knox - Beggars
We followed this convention in our music video, as it
was clearly a major part of the genre. We included
shots of the band performing the song and playing
instruments throughout the video as we wanted it
to be recognisable within the genre. The inclusion of
this was also in response to our audience research,
as the majority of responses said that they wanted
to see the band performing.

3. Music Video
Goodwin also said that music videos often feature close ups of the artists
performing. This is related to star appeal and promotion of the band or artist. By
including close ups of the artists, what they look like becomes recognisable to an
audience. This gives them promotion, as the audience is then more likely to
recognise that artist elsewhere, like in another music video, the album cover, or a
performance. If the audience like the song and music video, then recognise the
band in another media product, they will be more convinced to watch or
purchase the other products. This recognisability also gives the band or artist star
appeal. As they become more well known, their products will be much more
widely promoted.
This relates to the Uses and Gratifications model by Denis McQuail. The audience
are getting information on what the band looks like, which they potentially may
have had curiosity about if they had previously heard of the band’s name. They
are able to learn more about the band through the way that they are presented in Don Broco - Priorities
Kids In Glass Houses - Peace
Mallory Knox - Beggars
Our music video
the video. This benefits both the audience and
the producer. The audience gains information
which will help them discover more about the
band and they promote the band, which benefits
the producer.
Our music video has followed the convention of
using close ups as we decided that it was an
important factor.

4. Music Video
Kids In Glass Houses - Peace
Don Broco - Priorities
A common convention seen in music videos of all genres is a voyeuristic portrayal of women.
This relates to the male gaze, and how the female characters or styled to be looked at in a
sexual manner. Laura Mulvey discussed the male gaze, and how the audience perspective is
usually male, meaning that women struggle to relate to the text and view it from a secondary
perspective. This creates hegemonic ideologies.
Two of the music videos in my textual analysis contained shots representing women as sexual
objects. It’s much more subtle in Peace, as the woman isn’t acting in a provocative matter.
However, she is stood being stared lustfully at by a male character, and there’s close ups of her
Our music video
body, which have sexual connotations. Her role in the video also represents this as
she is the love interest of two male characters who both want to be with her. The
portrayal in Priorities is much more obvious, with a female character dressed in
lingerie posing seductively for the camera. This does contrast her role in the video,
as she turns out to be an undercover police officer, however the shots are still
there to create the voyeuristic portrayal of women.
In our video, we’ve challenged this convention as the female character (Sue) is never
represented as a sexual object. She is always fully clothed and we haven’t included close
ups of her body. However, her role in the video is as the love interest for the male (Ben),
and the focus is on the male character’s emotions. While we have challenged this
convention as she hasn’t been represented sexually and under the male gaze, we have
also followed it slightly by including her as a side character to the man’s story.

5. Music Video
Tzevtan Todorov’s theory states that there are fives stages to a conventional narrative. I can apply
this to the plot of our video.
1) Equilibrium
The first stage says that there is an equilibrium to the story.
This is the normalcy at the beginning of the plot. In our video,
this is the male character walking through the woods. His
surroundings are calm, and there is nothing out of the
ordinary.
2) Next, there is a disruption to the equilibrium, which is where the initial conflict in the
narrative is introduced. In our video, this is the appearance of the ghost of Sue. Before her
appearance, everything is normal. However, it’s her appearance that kick-starts the rest of
the narrative. She is the disruption.
3) The third stage is recognition of the disruption. This is where the conflict in the
narrative is recognised by the characters. Ben recognises that it’s Sue’s ghost, and begins
to chase her in order to find out exactly what is going on. He also experiences flashbacks
which remind him of what happened.

6. 4) Then there is an attempt to repair the damage. This is where the characters try to fix
the problem. In our music video, this is where Ben runs away from Sue. He tries to
escape from her so that he can escape from his memories, as remembering what
happened is causing him emotional distress.
5) The last stage is a return to equilibrium or a new equilibrium. This is where the
problem is fixed and normality is restored. In our narrative, this comes in the form
of an unhappy ending, as the new equilibrium is shown as Ben finally letting his
feelings about Sue’s death take over him, and he is left crying in the woods.
Todorov’s stages of narrative apply to our music video well. While we haven’t used a traditional “happy ending” narrative, the
main plot points fit into these stages, with a new equilibrium being created throughout the video.

7. Digipak
Area 11 – Modern Synthesis Mallory Knox – Asymmetry Kids In Glass Houses - Peace
In my digipak research and planning, I looked at
different album designs from bands within the same
genre as Area 11. First, I looked at the front covers,
and found that a photograph of the band wasn’t used.
Instead, a photograph of other characters or a form of
graphic art was used. This is representative of how the
rock genre is more about artistry. The bands try to
represent real situations and feelings in their songs,
also reflected in their use of instruments. As they focus
more on the artistry, the album cover being an artistic representation of the album fits with the genre.
We followed this convention and used this style for our own digipak as we wanted the album to appeal to fans of the genre, so
that they would be interested in purchasing it. However, we decided to develop the convention. Most albums in my research
used a graphic art style on their front cover, with an image created on the computer to represent the album. The image isn’t
always a direct link to the actual music, and is more of an interpretation. We decided to expand
this by using a photograph and linking it directly to our music video. In the photograph, we have
used the teddy that Sue threw at Ben in the flashback sequence. We also shot the photo in the
same location as the music video. This creates a direct link between the two, which fans will be
able to spot. Sonia Livingstone said that “specify different 'contracts‘ to be negotiated between
the text and the reader... which set up expectations on each side.” To meet these expectations for
our audience, we needed to make our product fit with the genre of music and the conventions
that are attached to this genre. We also used the band’s logo, making it more recognisable. The
text is all in a large font and is white to contrast the background, so that it stands out and catches
the eye of the audience. Our digipak

8. Digipak
Area 11 – Modern Synthesis Arctic Monkeys - Humbug Don Broco - Priorities
The back covers of albums in this genre
seem to have less of a design than that
of the front covers. They are styled to fit
with the colour scheme and design of
the front cover. The main convention of
the back cover is the track list. This is
also the place of the information
deemed as “less important” like legal
information, the barcode and the record
Our digipak
label’s logo. All of these things can usually be conventionally seen on the back cover of an album.
We followed these conventions on our digipak. If the audience are looking for the track list of the album, they will automatically
turn to the back cover, as this is such a common convention. To challenge this convention could confuse the audience, as they
will be expecting to find it here. It is recognisable of an album, so we followed this convention.
We also followed the convention of having the legal information, barcode and record label’s
logo on the back cover, as they are still important, but not quite enough to go on the front
cover. The image and colours that we’ve used fit in with the style of the front cover, creating
cohesion between the two covers. Overall, our back cover is very conventional, as it will be
easier and more recognisable for the audience, who will be expecting to see these conventions
when they pick up the album.

9. Digipak
McFly – Radio:Active
Although we didn’t use a photo of the band on
the front cover, we did use one on the right
inside flap. The band are a small, lesser known
rock band, so their faces and look aren’t
famous. By including a photo of them on the
inside flap, we are helping their iconography,
making them more recognisable as a band. This
helps with marketing the band and their
products, and increasing their fame.
Our digipak
In my research, I found that the disks in the albums conventionally don’t use a
photograph either. The image is usually artwork that fits with the rest of the
album’s design. This is sometimes the band’s logo, like with Modern Synthesis,
and sometimes it’s just an image related to the rest of the album, like with
Humbug. We decided to use the band’s logo for the disk, as they have done this
on their previous two albums and we wanted to fit with their existing style. This
is following the convention. We differentiated between the two disks by using
different coloured backgrounds. The black and white colour scheme for the disks
fits with the black and white effect that we used for the band shots in our music
video. This creates a link between the two.
Area 11 - Modern
Synthesis
Our digipak
Arctic Monkeys - Humbug

10. Magazine advert
The main convention that I noticed about the magazine
adverts in my research was that they use the same image
used on the album cover as the main image for the advert.
This creates a recognisable image, as the audience will see
the magazine advert and remember the photo, so when
they see the album they will recognise it. This helps with
marketing, as it ties the two products together. The
magazine adverts also often use the same or similar fonts
for the text, usually just resizing the album and band names
so that they’re larger and will therefore be more
noticeable.
We followed this convention as we wanted to ensure that
the album and the magazine would be a successful part of
the promotional pack. Using the same image, which has the
icon of the teddy bear from the music video, creates a link between all three products so that they promote each other. We
also followed the convention with the text, as the album name is in the same font as on the album cover, but we moved the
positioning in order to add the featured songs. Raising the text higher up the page attracts the audience’s eye to it, so they will
read it instantly, then recognise it when they see the actual album.
In these ways our advert follows the conventions that I identified in my research.
Our advert Advert for The Wombats

11. Magazine advert
Adverts tend to show critic’s reviews of the product, usually from well-known
companies. In the case of an album, the reviews are from popular music
magazines that discuss the genre of music that the album is. This is a persuasive
technique used to show the audience that buying the album will be worth their
money as it is a good album. These reviews are often one-liners accompanied by a
star rating.
We challenged this convention by not using reviews on our magazine advert. This
is because in our audience survey we found that only a small percentage of the
audience liked to see them. As we wanted the products to appeal to the audience,
we decided to follow the information that we obtained in the survey and
challenge the convention of including reviews on the advert.
Another convention that I identified was the release date. All of the adverts in
my research included the album’s release date, and from my audience survey I
found that this was the most important thing to my audience, so it was
necessary to follow this convention. The release date allows the audience to
remember the date, so that when it comes around they can go out and
purchase the album. It is very important for marketing the album, so we
followed this convention for out magazine advert.
Advert for Kasabian
Survey response – question 9
Advert for Fall Out Boy
Advert for Kasabian
Advert for The Wombats
Our advert

12. Summary
My media products all use a lot genre conventions. Conventions are important to genre
as they help to make the products recognisable as a part of the genre. The conventions in
form also make them recognisable for the product that they are. For example, having the
track list on the back cover on an album is conventional so that you can recognise the
product. We didn’t want to challenge too many conventions and make the products too
separate from their genre as this may be confusing to an audience and may not receive a
positive response.
However, we did still challenge some of these conventions.
Steve Neale said that “genres are instances of repetition
and difference.” That difference helps the genre to
progress so that the audience don’t get bored. By
challenging some conventions, we are following what Neale said. The differences in our media
products will help to keep the audience engaged with not only our media products, but also with
the genre as a whole. So while we followed a lot of conventions in form, like the track list on the
digipak, we challenged other conventions, like the voyeuristic portrayal of women in music videos.
By challenging this convention, we are presenting a new idea to the genre and creating a
difference.