A2 Media, Evaluation. Gideon Breman

1. 1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL PRODUCTS?
By Gideon Breman

2. Codes and conventions for Rap Music/ Grime music videos
The codes and conventions that are used in rap videos are simple and
add elements of realism compared to other genres such as Pop or R’n’B
music, where it is in an artificial setting or a storyline for the music video.
This is because they want to promote the artist(s) to familiarise their
brand to an audience. This is because it is a niche genre in the music
industry. There are some rap songs/grime music videos where they
subvert the traditional stereotypes of rap/grime songs, where the topic
is of a sensitive nature, such as our song My Story by Krept & Konan. This
attracts audiences because it shows different attitudes of artists, and
gives them an insight to their real feelings to an event or to a topic. This
is mainly from American and British culture, that tend to dominate the
rap/grime genre.
Use of showing their
face & bodies to
promote themselves as
artists.
Wearing dark /informal
clothing, to familiarise
audiences with their
normal attire.
Use of low angle shots
to show that the artists
are in a powerful
position.
It is usually men that
rap about their life,
money, beef,
upbringing or women.
Sexualise gender,
especially females, to
gain male gaze from
audience.
Dark or Natural
lighting is used to
show the realistic side
of the genre.
Their body language is
being comfortable in front
of the camera, and in
powerful position (camera
angles).

3. Andrew Goodwin’s Theory relation To My
Music Video
1) A relationship between the
lyrics and the visuals either
contradict or amplify the
lyrics.
2) Goodwin looked at the
relationship between the
lyrics and the music video
visuals.
3) Genre related to the
iconography and style is
shown.
4) Use of close-ups of the artist
creates a brand or image
that promotes them as
artists, and instantly
recognised by audiences
instantly.
5) Voyeurism or ‘looking’
particularly at the female
body.
6) Intertextual references to
other media texts.
In progression from our rough cut, and feedback from the audience, I have been able to
compare the final cut in relation to Andrew Goodwin’s theory. For the first step of his
theory, we had a clear relation between the lyrics and the visuals. This shows that
Goodwin believes music videos either show what the lyrics mean, prove the lyrics being
said, or don't mean what is being said. In terms of the final product, we wanted to
show the repercussions of an incident instead of the actual event because we wanted
to steer away from the original version. For example, shots of family coming together,
a doctor covering a dead body, the mother suffering, the family hearing the news; and
how it effects them. This shows we took into consideration Goodwin’s theory.
1) A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals either contradict or amplify
the lyrics.

4. The second point he makes is that music videos have a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals . This is what we
conformed because we wanted to put the flashbacks on-time with the beat, and also we had listened to the lyrics, to
know what we wanted to use as mise-en-scene for our music videos e.g. shot of hospital, then the progression in the
music industry. The shot here shows that this was the turning point, to help them get them to where they are in the
music industry. And through editing, this quickened the tempo of the flashbacks as the song was beginning to pick up
speed towards the ending, but had flashbacks to show the progress form rags to riches. This shows that the artists
never gave up, and becomes a gripping story for the audience to talk about because there is a narrative and a
performance, therefore there is more to look at for the audience even though it is a serious topic. The use of mise-en-
scene we used was precise, as we wanted to look like the artists (Frank and Fabz) came from nothing, which is
inspirational to audiences watching this, and make it relatable to many issues in society.
2) Goodwin looked at the relationship between the lyrics and the music video visuals.

5. 3)Genre related to the iconography and style is shown.
This means that within a genre, there is a conventional meaning or symbol in that genre. A common one in Rap/Grime music
is the talk of guns in the lyrics, because of issues having a gun on screen creates big problems. My group had mentioned that
we did not want to show the event happening because we wanted to steer away from the original music video, therefore we
used flashes in the editing through final cut pro. Songs such as 50 Cent - Many Men, Potter Payper - The Mrs have the lyrics
talking about pain, a gun, and how they came back, even Krept & Konan – My Story. I had mentioned in my risk assessment
that we would not show a gun in public nor on-screen because of the issues that comes with it. This is through mise-en-
scene. However, in terms of iconography, rap has many different faces from the UK and the USA. Giggs who had been in the
rap game for a long time has also used the theme of talking about violence, and on some occasions guns and women. This is
because the genre as a whole is known for this, about violence, sexualising women and progression of the life they used to
live, before they were successful. There are many artists that are known in the rap genre, because it is such a niche genre; it
has many artists trying to be the icon within the genre. Artists such as Skepta, Eminem, Drake, Stormzy, Krept and Konan have
all released songs/albums, that are known in the scene, and made them popular.

6. 4) Use of close-ups of the artist creates a brand or image that promotes them as
artists, and instantly recognised by audiences instantly.
Close-ups work for artists such as Beyoncé, because it has an effect on audiences
that they will instantly recognise her face because she is promoting herself as an
artist. Her album and her website have a similar theme, which show is using this
tactic to promote herself as a brand. In many of music videos in Grime/rap, there
are many close-ups in many of her videos, and that promotes her as an artist
because the audience become familiar of her image. I have used Gigg’s website as
an example because he uses his album cover for both his website and his YouTube
channel to familiarize his brand with audiences, so once they see the logo or his
name, it makes him more popular and known within the audience. We have used
this strategy for our website, digipak and music video using the theme of black and
white to create a synergy, that makes our brand more popular within the public
eye. We used close-ups for all the ancillary products to promote ourselves as
artists.

7. Our Website
Our Digipak
Our music video

8. 5) Voyeurism or ‘looking’ particularly at the female body.
Because of the nature of the song, we did not sexualise women to fit with this theory, we subverted it
because of what the topic beholds. According to Laura Mulvey, Mulvey argues that the second possibility in
which a woman is portrayed is as a "sexy whore". This is called the virgin/whore dichotomy, where women are
displayed in media as ‘Whores or a Virgin’ to attract the gaze of males. However, we subverted this because it
is about a mother who lost their son through violence of living in poverty in London. We also felt that it was
not appropriate to sexualize women in this music video because the topic is serious, and subverts stereotypes
of women in music videos in the genre of Rap/Grime. We tried to show the
Pain that the other is going through close-ups and the mise-en-scne e.g.
Dark lighting, which signifies that she is in a bad place and wants a place to
Cry, scream or shout. This indicates to the audience that she is in pain, and
Question whether or not if she can overcome this. We made it similar to the
Original version of my story to amplify the pain she is going through.

9. 6) Intertextual references to other media texts.
​The final made by Andrew Goodwin is the intertextual references
to other media texts. This indicated that music videos ideas can be
obtained by other pieces of media on different platforms. We had
taken inspiration from other music videos to come up with our
final ideas, as we had suggested this in our vlogs, pitches and
research and planning, however we did not use intertextual other
media to lead mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing in my final
product. We subverted this because we wanted to steer away
from the original version, and come up with our own ideas
through our research and planning.
For example, in the video 'Fancy' Iggy Azalea is wearing an
outfit very closely to the one in the clueless movie, where she
is sitting in the classroom. This shows the same elements
(Clothing) but distributed on different platforms of
media. Clueless was released in 1995 but Iggy Azalea released
her music video in 2014; which shows different audiences will
see the same elements but on different platforms, and her
audience would be able to relate it to Clueless. She has done
this because audiences love appreciation of when they enjoyed
media, so it is aesthetic for them.

10. In my music video of Frank X Fabz – My story, in terms of cinematography, we conformed to stereotypical use of low angles, to
show the dominance of the artists. This is because it not only promotes them as artists, but shows how they overcame all the
odds, and are now successful in the music industry. This was mainly used in the performance section, to make them more
powerful to the audience. I had made comparisons to a song by Meek Mill & Ricki Ross – Ima Boss, to show how effective the use
of low angle shots is. We had taken inspiration, because we had recognised that the target audience is similar. Therefore, this
shows that we conformed to the traditional stereotypes of cinematography that Rap/Grime behold. Rap genre often wants the
subject(s) be apparent to the audience that they are in control, and have a power because of the angle of the shot.
Use of Cinematography – Low angles

11. Use of Cinematography – Mid Shot
Medium shots are used in music videos to show an artist, as they give the viewer a partial view of the background and also
show the artists' facial expressions, as well as their body language. We used mid-shots because it gives a more direct address
from the artist to the audience. This is because of what the song is about, where it is about Frank’s brother dying, and his
friend (Fabz), going through gang life, drugs, women as their upbringing, and how they overcame this to be successful in the
music industry. I compared my music video to Stacks – Hard times, a former colleague at my sixth form because he has similar
elements to my music video as he has both narrative and performance to describe his own upbringing in his song. This shows
that we conformed to the genre’s stereotype of effectively using the mid shot to show how the artist is telling a story, in our
music video. The location also had a part to play because, the red lighting from the black-box studio, made one side of the
faces red and black, because of the topic, and what the lyrics being said mean.

12. Use of Cinematography – Side Shot
The use of side shots was used by our group because we conformed to the use of side-shots, because the effect makes the
scene more realistic, as the audience has a different view of what is going on, on screen. Devil's Playground by Krept & Konan
was a good example, as they were rapping as if the camera was not there. The song also is like a story about their upbringing, as
they drive through their area, reminiscing about the times they had growing up. This is similar to my music video, because it is a
serious topic, therefore the use of side shots shows their true emotions, which connects with the audience. We conformed to
the genre’s stereotypes of using side shots to portray the artists true feelings in an environment from both natural and an
authentic perspective. It invites the audience to the real feelings that the artists are feeling.

13. Use of Mise-en-scene - Clothing
An element of mise-en-scene that can be seen in our music video is similar to other forms of Rap music videos.
Dark coloured and day-to-day outfits worn by the artists throughout the music video. This type of clothing suits the
genre because it is a genre that does not focus on appearance to an extent, but shows how they dress on a day to
day basis. Devil’s playground – Krept & Konan is a good example of how this element is represented, where both
Krept & Konan are driving through their neighbourhood rapping about the pas they've had and the people they
have left behind. They wearing dark clothing in every scene of the performance, and wearing the hat in a natural
setting. This is appealing to audiences because it shows their real feelings and how they are on and off the camera.
This attracts audiences as they are not in an artificial setting, or wearing generic clothing that pop and R’N’B artist
wear.

14. Use of Mise-en-scene - Props
Props are considered to be anything movable or on screen, to display a meaning that relates to actors, scenery, costumes or just
being there. The use of props were used very effectively as we did not flood our production with many props. WE used props to
show something significant that happened in either the progression or the repercussion of the death. For example, we used a
bin-bag to show a murder has taken place, and has an effect on the audience of what the mother is going through. The use of the
phone and the text message that is embedded on it shows that they have progressed from the incident. Even though it has been
difficult. It is like a sigh of relief for the mother because they want to put it and leave it in the past. The use of the microphone
and headphones suggest that the progress into the music industry has kicked off because they are in a music studio. This makes
the audience wish them the best after was happened to them, and how they overcame it. The use of champagne popping
signifies they are celebrating something, and it is good news because of the struggle they went through to get it.
I think we conformed to the amount of use of props for
our genre, because we did not want to follow exact
word for word for the lyrics, as that was one of our
areas for improvement after receiving feedback from
the rough cut.

15. Mise-en-Scene Props continued
The Revival by Bugzy Malone shows how he uses
his day-to-day surroundings around him to make
his music video more realistic, as he feeds his dog,
because it is what he has to do when looking after
his pet. This shows that he did not need an
extravagant props to ensure success of his music
video. Also the difference between my music
video and The Revival by Bugzy Malone has a
different topic but same genre of music. This
shows we had to ensure that we knew which
props to use, and not make the music video seem
non-authentic.

16. Mise-en-scene – Lighting/colour
For our music video, we used half of the performance section in a red artificial black-box studio in our
school, and the other half in a natural location, where it allows the artists to be expressive with their
linguistics instead of sitting down on a chair. The reason why we chose to have a red and black for one
part of the performance section is because of the connotations that link with both colours, and how they
compliment the lyrics. Red and Black both have similar connotations of being dangerous, and so we
thought that was suitable for the audience and one half of the performance. The flashbacks are in white
and black to show that it is in the past, and makes it more clearer between the narrative and
performance.

17. Editing – Flashbacks
One element of editing is through the use of a flashback is which individual(s) has a
sudden, (powerful), re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past
experience. These experiences can be happy, sad, exciting, or any other emotion one
can consider. We decided to make the past a sad experience because of the events
that took place on that night. For example, the one where Frank is running down the
stairs after seeing the death of brother witnessed by him right in front of his eyes. This
shows that the audience empathise him because what he went through with his
friend. We had subverted stereotypes of grime music using flashbacks. We used final
cut pro (transitions) to add the cross fade to fade in-between scenes smoothly, and
give more things for the audience to look at.

18. Editing – Narrative & Performance Cross Cutting
Another element of editing that we had used in our music video, conforms to grime music cross cuts. We had both
narrative and performance cross cutting in-between narrative and performance scenes. We wanted a clear distinction
between the narrative and performance. This is taking the audience from narrative performances to the actual
performances throughout the music video. We found this an effective way to show the transition of the past experiences
for the audience to understand what they are saying, and what it means to them through body language and linguistics.
Compared to Danny Billz – East Side Story, the use of editing of cross cutting between the performance and the
flashbacks, have very similar elements to our music video. This shows a clear division between the performance and
narrative sections. It also shows that we conformed to the conventions of cross cutting between the narrative and
performance section, because we wanted to the audience top view both repercussions of the lyrics and extra visuals
(narrative).

19. Forms & Conventions- Song Choice
This song choice stems from a sensitive topic, as it was originally about a boy called Konan losing his dad to gang violence,
and displayed the actions that took place that night. We changed the story into the artist Frank losing his brother to gang
violence, through using both narrative and performance sections to gain empathy from the audience. This song subverts
elements as other grime videos because it comes from a nature where it is personal and takes a lot for a rap/grime artist to
come out to show what happened, and how they progressed after that. They received a lot of sympathetic messages from
fans in the comments section and on social media because of the loss of a father, and what it meant to him.

20. Conclusion
In conclusion, I have mentioned how my music video has either
conformed, challenged or subverted music videos in the genre it fits in.
This music video is a sensitive topic of how a brother dies, and so some
elements have kept elements from rap and grime music video, but also
subverted some elements, because it is not a normal rap/grime song.