The document discusses how the author analyzed existing music videos, magazines, and albums to identify common codes and conventions. They then applied these conventions, such as shots of the band performing and lyrics matching the visuals, to their own music video, magazine ad, and album cover while conforming to an indie genre. Some conventions were challenged, like not showing the artist's face on the cover or having the male body as the object of voyeurism, to widen the target audience and show nonconformity to mainstream styles. Research into other products informed creative choices to connect the author's pieces and engage intended explorers and reformers as an audience.

2. In order to use existing codes and
conventions I first had to analyse what
they were using real media products in my
research and planning to impact my
creative decisions for the outcomes of my
products.

3.  I analysed real existing music videos, music
magazine advertisements and digipaks – identifying
the expected/common codes and conventions by
referring to theories such as Andrew Goodwin,
Richard Dyer and Sven E Carlsson.
 I also analysed how conventions are challenged in
relation to brand identity, the artist’s
representation and marketing techniques.
I then applied these codes and conventions into my
own media products, still conforming to my chosen
genre – indie.
Research and Planning

4.  Linking to the indie genre, frequent shots of the
band performing shows the audience they’re
more concerned about musicianship and not all
about the ‘star image’.
 ‘Fade to black’ effect was used at the end of the
music video which is a common convention
used to end music videos to give a chilled ending
fading away along with the music.

5. In the music video, direct mode of
address was used from the artist looking
at the audience through the camera – it’s
an engaging common convention.

6. The website link and ‘Available on iTunes’
on the music magazine advert shows the
audience where to purchase the product –
similar on most media products.
Same location and beach theme used
throughout video – sense of continuity
similar to other music videos in the telling
of a narrative.

7. The artists are all wearing chill casual
clothing – links to the relaxed indie genre
– not obsessed with the ‘star image’.

8.  The Kings of Leon ‘Back Down South’ music
video has influenced me to use lots of close
ups of the artists instruments and shots of the
band performing
 This gives the audience more of an insight to
what the band are like other than just their
voices - could encourage the target
audience to go to one of the band's gigs –
typical convention of the indie genre.

9. Gorillaz music
Magazine advert
Stereophonics music
magazine advert
My music
magazine advert
• Through research into music magazine adverts
of my indie/indie rock genre and other genres I
discovered that all adverts used the same
convention of presenting a sense of exclusivity
in announcing the new album release.
• This excites the audience and gives a sense of
urgency to purchase the album. I therefore
adopted this convention into my own product to
achieve the same goal.

10.  The shot of the artist lying with a girl on the lyrics
‘Another day lying with you’ – follows Goodwin’s
theory of lyrics matching the visuals. This can
also link to
Sven E Carlsson’s term
of audio-visual poetry.
 The waves crash down on time of
the exact drum beats – following
conventions of music matching the visuals.
 Linking to concept of Performance and Genre –
repetitive shots of artist singing outside e.g. on
the beach – links to indie natural genre.

11. I applied Julia Kristeva’s term of
intertextuality ("a mosaic of quotations;
any text is the absorption and
transformation of another”) in my music
video as I include close up and medium
close up shots of surfboards with their
names on which would interest members
of the target audience who surf.

12. Also the main artists shoe brand is
featured in an extreme close up which
advertises the brand ‘Puma’.
The logo on the artist’s wetsuit promotes
quiksilver as a brand as people may see it
and want to be like the artist so buy
wetsuits from the same shop.

13.  I have developed the power of continuity in my
music video by not just having a sense of
continuity within the narrative but throughout
the other products.
 For example, I have used the same location and
shots in the music magazine advert and the
digipak with the music video to make the
products more recognisable to the audience.

14. The repetitive shots of the beach location mirrors
the calm chilled tone of the song and follows the
typical codes and conventions of an indie chill
genre.
Although these locations are similar they each
have a different atmosphere which helps target the
intended audience of explorers and reformers.

15.  From my research I decided to challenge the male
gaze theory by having the object of voyeurism as
the male showing his body which adheres to the
indie genre of heavily showing the singer but
challenges the indie genre by having him in a
state of undressed – widens my target audience.
I also challenged the codes and
conventions of a digipak by not
having my artist/band’s feature on
the front cover to show they’re not
obsessed with the ‘star image’.

16. Michael Shore said how music videos
are ‘surface without substance’ and he
is critical of the ‘recycled styles’ so I
decided to challenge codes and
conventions by focusing more on the
conceptual part of the video and not
having my artist’s face features on the
ancillary products.

17.  Also on the music magazine
advert, the artist gives no direct
mode of address and is facing
away from the camera. This goes
against the typical codes and
conventions of a music magazine
advert as the majority of music
magazine advert’s I researched
had direct mode of address
(Example) which shows my artist
doesn’t conform to the
mainstream and mediates to the
indie alternative genre I intended.