Bethany Smith created an original music video, magazine advertisement, and digipack for a music project. She closely followed conventions of real media to make her pieces feel professional. For the music video, she studied other music videos and incorporated direct eye contact, narrative elements, and specific camera shots and movements to match the emotion of the song. The magazine ad and digipack also used conventions like close-up photos and continuity across pieces. Bethany tailored elements like clothing, lighting, and social media inclusion to represent the song's message and target young female audience.

1. Bethany Smith
Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
Music Video
As part of my A2 coursework, I made an original music to Demi Lovato’s
‘Stone Cold’ which would be categorised in the pop genre. Due to the fact
that the song I chose was part of such a mainstream culture, I found it quite
straight-forward to follow and adapt to the typical forms and conventions of
real life media products, especially as there were a lot of examples that I could
take inspiration from. Specifically, I found inspiration in how I wanted the
protagonists in my video to look and where they should place their attention.
After watching various real music videos, I gathered that it was quite powerful
for each person to give direct address rather than avoiding looking into
camera. Before I had looked at other music videos, I wasn’t sure if I wanted the
protagonists to look directly into camera as I sensed it looked quite forced
and harsh but after watching a lot of videos I found that it could actually
emphasise the emotion meant to be felt and help to create a deeper
connection with the audience. Additionally, those music videos belonging to
this genre share a lot of similar qualities and follow a similar structure, which is
something I found very useful when trying to find out what exactly makes a
good music video, especially one fitting to the mainstream pop culture.
Typically, there are three different styles of music video, these being;
performance, narrative and conceptual, but a lot of successful videos seem to
include a mix of at least two of these styles. My music video is mainly
performance as I have two females performing the song itself but I think that
it also includes a strong sense of narrative as there is a clear storyline which is
partially reliable on interpretation. I decided to go with this kind of approach
because I myself find performance the most interesting when watching other
music videos but I thought that making sure the video told a certain story was
important in order for the audience to feel something for each protagonist
and actually understand the narrative that they’re involved in.
The vast majority of real music videos have a strong narrative or at the very
least some kind of narrative where the music video tells a story and goes
somewhere. This is an aspect which I though was very important as I needed
to keep audiences intrigued throughout the whole video. The narrative which I
chose was that both of the girls in my music video were under the impression
they were the only one that the boy loved, until they both uncover that they
are ‘the other woman’. Furthermore, that they boy went on to leave both of
the girls and move on very quickly, whereas the betrayal has left both girls
broken and distraught, but they both have the hope of being able to move on
and be happy eventually. However, whilst this was my anticipated narrative

2. Bethany Smith
and the one I hoped my audience would grasp, it is open to interpretation,
depending on how the audience view the music video. I think that this is also
very important, as every person watching the music video will have the own
preconceptions regarding gender, age, sexuality or something else, and their
own views about what is happening throughout the video. As well as this, all
of my music video was shot in the same location and so I believed that some
kind of narrative was important so that my target audiences remained
entertained for the duration of it. To an extent, the predicted narrative for my
music video links with Todorov’s narrative theory, as before the revelation of
the male’s infidelity, the two females are happy and in a state of ‘equilibrium’.
However, when they each find out of his disloyalty to them, their lives are
disrupted and they are unable to return to a state of equilibrium for the
duration of the video.
With regards to camera, I think that the specific shots and the camera
movement are incredibly important in terms of reflecting the emotion and
meaning of the song. Depending on the line itself and the timing of it, I knew I
needed precise shots and different movements in order to represent each
performer in an exact way. In order for this to happen, I carefully planned out
the type of movements that I wanted and how I would need to use camera in
order to show these movements. When filming, the two leading females in my
video remained seated in the same position during the entire process, and it
was the camera that revolved around them which I think further ensured that
they were the main focus. I researched into how professional music videos
were shot as I thought this was going to be something that I would struggle
with. I found that close ups seemed to be a very powerful and common way to
show those featured in the video in a strong and emotive light. Due to this, I
made sure that I had a lot of footage and takes of the song shot purely from
the shoulders upward. However this was only the case for the females in my
music video as I wanted to ensure that they were shown in a softer and
sensitive light in comparison to the male protagonist. When I was filming the
leading male, there was more of a variety of takes as in some he was further
away, standing up, sitting down and walking towards camera. I think that it
was more important for him to be shown in an agitated and destructive way
as it was these kind of actions which hurt the people who cared about him
most. As well as this, because the song is slow and relating directly to
heartache, I knew all of the movements included had to be soft and slow so
that they didn’t look out of place when paired with the song. The look of the
video is fairly simplistic and I believe that this aids the message of being
picked apart and in a sense, destroyed. As for the girls in the video, they have
nothing left because the love of their life has broken their hearts and then
abandoned each of them. The way that I chose to film the video meant I

3. Bethany Smith
excluded the need for extensive imaginative ideas, as I thought that the lyrics
gave the audience a storyline to interpret.
In terms of mise-en-scene, whilst all music videos differ in what is exactly
involved, as Stone Cold is a slow and fairly emotive song, the general idea that
I had for mise-en-scene was quite simplistic and laid bare. Therefore, in order
to adhere with the expected conventions of a music video of this genre I
ensured that both girls were dressed in purely black clothing so that it
highlighted their sadness and despair, as well as how dark and broken they
feel on the inside. The male protagonist in the music video is dressed in a
burgundy top because this colour, alike red, has connotations of lust and
passion; something which I wanted to make clear the boy had acted on. I
thought that it was very important for each of the females to be shown as sad
and low, whereas the male needed to be shown as superficial and uncaring
about other people’s feelings in order for the right message to reach my
target audience. I had planned what I wanted each person on camera to wear
before each shoot, as I knew it couldn’t just be random and the clothing that
they wore needed to represent something bigger; not just what they were
wearing. Additionally to clothing, another aspect of each shoot which I styled
was the lighting and blackening of the studio when I filmed the entire video. I
needed the only source of light to be from the key, back and fill light; I didn’t
want any natural lighting to be included in any shot, in order for the darkness
of the female’s emotions and the isolation that they feel to be broadcasted.
Overall I believe that I adhered to and developed to the expected forms and
conventions of real music videos in my own original music video. Some
reasoning behind this is that as I have two strong female leads and one strong
male involved, they act in a way that tells a story whilst camera follows them
throughout the entire video. Additionally to this, I think that the way I have
manipulated speed in various places of the music video has been really
effective and managed to clearly display the sheer emotion of each character
involved. Specifically I have slowed down parts of the two leading females,
where they are just sitting in front of camera as opposed to miming along to
the song. I have also manipulated speed in footage of the male in the video,
so that the footage is faster where the song is faster, and then the same
footage is suddenly slowed dramatically when the song gets slower. I think
that the black clothing for the females, the burgundy clothing for the male
and simplistic and basic makeup on the performers, especially helped to
adhere to the conventions of what was expected of such a poignant and
emotional song. Generally, I strongly believe that my music video successfully
used the forms and conventions of real life media in such a way which meant
that I created a professional and effective music video.

4. Bethany Smith
Magazine Advert
During the process of creating my magazine advert, I was able to follow the
typical forms and conventions that I already knew of from being a consumer
of real magazine adverts. Due to the fact that I knew what makes a successful
and effective magazine, I then knew what was needed to be included in my
own in order for mine to also be successful. I found my prior understanding of
real life magazine adverts extremely valuable as I adapted various aspects and
layouts to work with my own idea for the advert. A specific aspect of real
magazine adverts which I took inspiration from was the use of close ups that
they used. As I found that this was a common style of photography used, I
decided to apply it into my own advert. This is why my magazine advert has a
structure layout, featuring a close up of all three of my performers, one below
the other. On top of this, the background of each picture I used in the
magazine advert has a blackened background, as that’s the same location of
the video and I think that continuity is very important. Something else which I
found very useful was the fact that I myself fit into my target audience and so
what I liked and didn’t like, could potentially be what I could base all my ideas
round as I represent my target audience. One thing which I valued especially
was the fronting of social media. As my target audience is generally young
women between the ages of 15-25, this particular demographic is quite active
on various platforms of social media so I knew that I needed to include this in
the advert. Due to this, I ensured that the artists twitter username was
featured at the bottom of the advert as well as the official website for the
artist. I think that providing these two links directly relates to my target
audience whilst using the expected forms and conventions of a real magazine
advert. However whilst this was an important aspect, I knew that the main
focus needed to be the images which I included. As the images I used are the
main attraction of the advert, this follows what a magazine advert is typically
expected to do. I made sure to include all three people featured in the music
video, in the magazine advert. The shots I used were close ups from the
shoulder upwards of each person in the video, each placed one below the
other in a collage style. As well as this, I have the text of reviews, the album,
single and the artist’s name going over the photos I’ve used. I think that
overall, not only have I adhered to the conventions of a real magazine advert
but I have also developed various forms slightly in order get across an
objective and emotional message which relates directly to the song and artists
intention. At the very top of the advert, I have two five star reviews of the
album running along the top from Entertainment and Q Magazine to further
broadcast the popularity of the album, song and artist.
Digipack

5. Bethany Smith
The creation of my digipack was the last aspect of my production which I
made so I wanted to ensure that it matched the theme of the music video and
the magazine advert. This was incredibly important because I needed all of the
products to link well and clearly be recognised as related products. Therefore,
because of this I intended all of the images I used across the products were
very similar and of the same style. I did this by ensuring that each photo of my
actors had the same lighting and continuity of clothing and mise-en-scene.
This allowed for each of my products to be instantly identifiable as the same
overall package. Typically, digipacks tend to feature eye catching pictures so
that they grab consumer’s attention straight away. My digipack was made up
of six individual pages and one thing that I kept consistent was my use of
close ups. I think that this adheres to the style of images that is expected to be
on a digipack. This particular aspect was kept the same in my music video,
magazine advert and my digipack. I think that the closer I showed each
person, the more meaningful they looked and the more emotion got across to
the audience. Which is why all six pictures used in my digipack are close ups;
one of each girl and four of the boy featuring in the music video. Another
aspect of my digipack was the amount of pictures of each person. Even
though I want my music video to be centred on the emotions of the two girls
in the video, it’s clear that the digipack is focused around the only boy. I’ve
done this because I wanted the digipack to represent the situation from the
girl’s point of view where they are purely focused around the boy and not
from the audience’s perspective. Another piece of continuity kept similar in
both my magazine advert and digipack was the style of font that I used. I
didn’t want to overcomplicate either product and so whilst products clearly
look different and use different images, the main font is in the same style, this
being Century Gothic and Nixie One for the majority of text included. However
some parts were styled differently; either in italics, bold or different sizing
which makes some of the text look like they’re in different fonts when they are
actually just presented differently.