2. Introduction
• For my Advanced Media Portfolio project inA2 Media, my group and I
decided to produce a music video constructed around a track of our
choice. As well as this we had to produce 2 ancillary products which
were: a band website and a CD cover, back, spine and booklet.We had
previously attempted a much briefer yet similar task of recording
some lip syncing practise towards the end of the AS year and received
remarkably positive feedback.We therefore decided to choose a song
from around the same era and with the same positive vibe as
“September” by Earth,Wind & Fire.We believed the combination of
the songs production era and a modern day parody aspect would form
a wide target audience spectrum where anyone aged 15-60 would at
least enjoy it.The following slides will be analysing my A2 music video
and linking it to evaluation question 1.
3. Question 1: In what ways does your
media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of
real media products?
4. The Editing Process
• The majority of our editing, whether it’s the cuts, filters, pace, effects or any other aspect, tend to go hand-in-hand with the
conventional way of editing a music video due to it’s simplicity.Whilst a more modern song would of allowed us to use
more bright, modern, even futuristic edits and effects, my group and I kept our techniques and style on a simplistic basis
due to our single choice being released in 1972. Had we chose a song from 2015/16 I can guarantee the ways in which we
constructed and adjusted our piece would have been entirely different. For example when recording we used a high quality
camera (Nikon D3300 DSLR) and we could have used our equipment to our advantage and set out to get some really
technical, yet aesthetically stunning shots with the focus pull or zoom lens. But instead, due to our singles production era
and the need/want to get a similar vibe and visual effect, we refrained from taking any complex shots as that would not
have happened during the 1970’s, mainly due to the technology at that time not being as advanced.
• In terms of filters we adjusted the saturation and colour scheme of the shots, in particular the band shots as they were
especially bright and colourful to begin with, in order to get that more old fashioned, grainy aspect to our piece.This choice
of filtering is conventional in the sense that it’s what other music videos of our genre (folk rock) would do in order to suit its
music and audience but unconventional in the sense that, in the modern day of age, filters tend to aim to enhance the
quality, brightness and colour of the shot, whereas ours does the complete opposite.
• When it came to cutting down our product and making a decision on how frequent cuts would be put in place, it was
debatable as to whether or not we make the frequency of our cuts a modern or classic aspect of the music video.Whilst
both Reservoir Dogs and Stealers Wheel don’t use that many cuts or a considerably fast pace, the whole idea behind our
piece was to put a modern spin on a classic recording. For that reason we decided to interject a fast pace and frequent cuts
and to also maintain the attention and enjoyment of the audience.This feature was complimented in our audience
feedback so we feel we made the right decision.
5. The Album Cover
• The album cover forThe Bike Locks – ‘Stuck InThe MiddleWithYou’ follows all the conventions and forms as professional, real,
existing covers. Now although it’s not a photo, the cover is one large shot of the band with the band title (The Bike Locks) and the
single title (Stuck InThe MiddleWithYou) written in large text. Potentially arguable unconventional aspects of the cover is the lack
of real life graphology.Whilst the structure and layout of the album follows the typical conventions, the more specific details such
as the edited artwork twist on what would have been a real life shot of the band stood in the same positions act as an alternative
and not so conventional viewpoint.The entire inspiration for the album cover stems from ‘StealersWheel’ album cover that was
designed based around the ‘Reservoir Dogs’ film poster/cover and that’s how the entire product and ancillaries were produced,
with the interlinking of both the track itself and the film the track is played in and renowned for.Visual comparisons are easily
made when placing each cover side by side. In order to fully grasp the design and layout of the album cover we wanted to replicate
and put our own twist on we looked no further than ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘StealersWheel’ when designing the front cover. As our
cover shows a lot about our band, this follows the conventions of album covers. However it is once again arguable as no facial
features are presented which results in the artists identity not being fully shown, something that doesn’t typically occur.
• The back follows some conventions as it does have the typical track listings in a chronological order as well as the production
company name; however that particular aspect isn’t displayed in the conventional manner as it’s hidden, yet really obvious
through the positioning of it being on the registration plate of the Mini Cooper. Other detail such as barcodes, titles, logos,
copyright claims or anything else of a similar concept are also evident therefore following the typical conventions of a CD back
cover. However these details were purposely made quite small and light and this was an intentional decision by the group as we
felt it drew the audiences attention more to the artistic side of the cover.This hand drawn aspect was a key feature in attempting
to make our ancillaries more unique and distinguishable against other projects.
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6. TheWebsite
• The website we created for ‘The Bike Locks’ followed all the forms and conventions of real, professional music based websites. It was designed and structured in a
way we feel ‘StealersWheel’ would have done so if they were a band in the present day.The template, added details and design adjustments were made whilst
taking into account the genre of the single and the mise-en-scene of the group. Before we began creating and editing the website we did some research into
other, current band websites, both of a similar genre to our track and those on the complete opposite end of the scale; mainly to see if there were any features
that were specifically put up for the fans of a certain genre.What we did recognise was that the websites features were mainly fan demanded; so if there was a
key element such as ‘tour dates’ or a link to ‘ticket sales’ missing, the fans would pick up on that, mention it via email or through some form of a fan forum and
the site managers would create/include whatever was missing or in demand.
• We made all the appropriate and typical pages that music based websites have. Pages such as: home, band bio, gallery, tour dates and locations, listen in, watch,
win and merchandise. All pages to allow fans or new comers full access to whatever it is they want. It’s very conventional of band websites to also allow a more
involved and personal experience for their fans, so features such as social media links to both the band and the individual band members were hyperlinked for
easy access on all platforms such as Facebook, Instagram andTwitter. Each site whether it was a social media, a music, a merchandise or an advertisement
platform, linked to all the other sites, allowing easy movement and guidance between the official sites of the band, a feature that’s also included in real music
websites. Every page of every site was designed with the same colour scheme of a mainly toned down black and white shade in order to get a sense of
regularity and continuity in the product. In addition navigation points, logos and information was available throughout. All these features are present in
professional band websites so we felt the definite need to incorporate them into our sites.
• The only arguable and opposing aspect of conventions within our website is the format of the site itself.We used ‘Wix’, a flash site generator.Whilst researching
through real band and music based websites we never found one site produced by ‘Wix’ or any flash site generator for that matter.This could mainly be due to
the band or music company hiring skilled website constructors who don’t need pre-set templates but that’s obviously money, a skill and a trade in which we
didn’t have any experience or possession of, so templates were needed to just help us begin the sites production.
• Based off of our research into other professional music websites it did become apparent that the majority, if not all of the bands and artists didn’t have artwork of
themselves and instead just had photographs.This reveals their identity in a more realistic and correct way as artwork can sometimes tend to emphasise
certain features and not look identical to the actual person. For example if a new fan of ‘The Bike Locks’ was to have only seen the artwork of us below, I highly
doubt they would be able to recognise us in person. Similarly our logo is rather unconventional as the name of the band doesn’t appear to be the focus of the
picture. Big enough bands such as ‘Bring MeThe Horizon’ have logos without their name as their known well enough on a global scale to have that logo
recognisable.Whereas a small, upcoming band like ‘The Bike Locks’ would tend to have their name as the key element.
7. TheVideo
• When linking our final product to theorists such as Laura Mulvey andAndrew Goodwin it becomes apparent that a different points within our video contradict and coincide
with different aspects of each theory. For example Laura Mulvey talks about ‘Male Gaze’ and how the audience can be put into this viewpoint or perspective of a male
character. Before watching our piece but after realising it consists of 4 male characters you might expect this theory to come into play as it would have been an easily
interjected viewpoint from a camera and a narratives point of view. But there’s no inclusion of a female at all throughout the film, removing any potential of a male
perspective in order to gain “visual pleasure”. The reversed theory of ‘female gaze’ could potentially be coincided by the music video as the camera is regularly hand held
and could be seen as being a female POV as its attention/focus is consistently on the male characters.Whether or not it has any relevance or potential to be for “pleasure”
is debatable as there’s only band performance shots, behind the scenes and parody references throughout the piece.This handheld aspect of the video is a frequently used
concept in music videos as it immerses audiences and fans more into the video as it gives off that more first person aspect. An aspect that allows the audience to feel
connected and up close and personal with the band members (especially in the behind the scenes shots because they consist entirely of hand held shots).
• In terms of interlinking Andrew Goodwin's “Codes and Conventions theory”, it becomes apparent straight away that the video, and in particular the band performance shots,
were going to consist of the typical codes and conventions of a music video. More specifically our video makes easy comparisons and similarities as those produced in the
1970/80’s as that’s the era in which our single choice was produced. All the shot variations such as: wide shots, extreme close ups, close ups and establishing shots allowed
the audience to never hit a sense of boredom and that’s why we incorporated them into our piece and we’re assuming that’s why ‘StealersWheel’ and other
bands/musicians from that era and in the modern day include such a wide variety of shot types. As our music video is partly made up of the ‘Reservoir Dogs’ parody aspect,
it’s arguable that our video partly contradicts the “Codes and Conventions” theory as a humorous twist isn’t regularly incorporated into music videos and acts as a focus
point change within the piece from the band itself and their musical performance. Instead it reveals their acting abilities and personalities. An aspect that the fans might
like as audiences tend to want to feel close and personal with the individuals and this sense of reality and non-musical link could extract the band from their typical day-to-
day lives of music and instead puts them into a new scenario where the audience can see them in a different light.
• Making reference to the ‘hypodermic needle’ theory, our video seems to follow typical conventions in terms of having fun and messing around as that what the band is
evidently doing throughout the piece and that’s what they want their audience to do. But at the same time the danger element, especially when Frank is shaving me with a
cut throat razor, isn’t a usual convention of a music video and isn’t something we originally intended to become influential on the audience as that part of the video is a
replication of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and the whole parody aspect. But as many audience members won’t have seen the film, they could interpret that scene in many ways, one
being that we think it’s a good idea to go and dangerously mess around with lethal equipment. So our injection of ideas and thoughts into the audience, both intentional
and unintentional contradict and coincide with the codes and conventions of music videos.
