1. IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA
PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR
CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?
Before the construction process I
investigated the forms and conventions of
existing products to apply to my own. I
investigated this by researching theorists
and the genre ‘indie’, which required
studying music videos belonging within
this particular genre. This broaden my
knowledge and understanding, making
sure my media product more successful.

2. Narrative
structure
Music video
Joan lynch stated that there are three basic video
structures; performance, narrative and concept. I felt
that a narrative structure would suit the song best
and capture the emotion/friendship that I planned on
creating. A narrative structure is also very
conventional for the indie genre, it’s left up to the
audiences imagination.
A relationship between the lyrics and
visuals- Goodwin
A relationship between the music and
visualsI decided to be conventional and pair the music
with the visuals. I did this by editing the visuals
in time with the beat of the music, adjusting its
speed. I mainly stuck to decreasing the speed of
shots to match the calmness of the song,
especially towards the end.
I opted to be conventional and follow
Goodwins theory, by relating the visuals to
the lyrics. The main way I did this was the
storyline, the song is called ‘Tonight’ so I
based my idea around the transition
between day and night. My music video is all
about friendship, I showed this by fitting the
group in the same frame when the lyric
‘Together’ was sung, portraying the
importance of. ‘You bring me to life’, I
reflected this with the use of sparklers,
which have been lit and brought to life, just
like each person in the group in affected by
one another; light is also symbolic of life.
Reflecting the lyrics and visuals together was
Andrew
Goodwin
To the left are some
examples of the shots
I have edited to fit the
music.

3. Genre
Music video
Editing
Most indie genre videos would
incorporate special effects to
either make it run smoothly or to
create an effect that makes the
audience feel engaged and part of
the music video. Shots are usually
cut fast or slow to reflect the
pace/beat of the song, which links
to Goodwin's theory. Effects are
commonly added over the top of
the video to create an old and
worn out look. I have gone against
this popular convention as I
haven’t used any effects, only
natural lighting. I felt that my
music video didn’t need added
Particular music genres have their own music video
style and iconography- Andrew Goodwin
The home video style in which my
video is filmed is commonly used
within the ‘indie’ genre. I tried to
portray my video in a way that
documents friendship, keeping the
filming as natural as possible and
not staging anything.
Throughout my research I investigated
the conventional ways to make my
music video fit within the correct
genre. To follow this convention I
collated information from mise en
scene to editing.

4. Mise en scene
Throughout my research I
looked at costumes that were
conventional to the genre.
Stereotypical costume for
indie music tend to be smart
casual, generally involving
clothing such as jeans and
shirts. The clothing reflects
the artist giving them a
relaxed carefree look; indie
artists are not all about
appearance unlike somebody
such as Lady Gaga, who is
known for the way she looks.
This is convention I have
followed by getting my cast
to wear casual and denim
clothing. When the audience
see the clothing they are
An example of this
convention conforming this
convention is the band
kooks; their clothing
matches the genre of
music.
Location
Indie music videos are
known to be quite low
budget, using locations
which can be accessed
easily. The settings are
kept simple because it is
typical of indie music
videos to focus more on
the artist/performance.
It is key to chose the
right location, this will
create an atmosphere
and feeling that is
enhanced by the music. I
think I have done this
successfully as I have
followed the
conventions of an ‘indie’
A real media
example of this
convention
(location) is Ben
Howards song ‘Keep
your head up’. The
location reflects the
genre and calming
atmosphere of the
song.

5. Representatio
n
Music video
Teenage
stereotypesAfter gender and ethnicity, age is the most
obvious category under which we file people, and
there are a whole range of instant judgements
which go along with that categorisation; violent,
careless, hoodies etc. I have challenged the
convention of the portrayal of youths as I have
reflected them in a positive light, although some
aspects of my music video some might say follow
this convention. The male actors appear to be
wearing hoodies towards the end of the video and
some of their actions can be seen as dangerous,
such as walking of bridges and using sparklers
and fire. However this convention is portrayed
differently in my music video, as these actions are
hidden behind the enjoyment and friendship that
is shown. The youths featuring in my music video
are not doing any harm, or showing a negative
‘Running’ by Lust for youths, is an
example of a real media product
reflecting and living up to the
negative representation of youths
in society; drinking, smoking,

6. Enjoyment
My music video is aimed at 17-
19 year olds, by casting people
of a similar age I have created a
connection between them and
my demographic. This then
becomes more personal to my
target audience as they will be
experiencing similar situations
in life as my cast. The timeline
of friendship shown throughout
my video depicts the ‘perfect’
fun day/night out, which my
demographic will be inspired
by and possibly want to re
create, they will then feel
similar emotions shown in this
group of friends.

7. Conventions of layout
Ancillary products
For an upcoming artist you
would except to see alot of
information displayed on the
advert and digipak, due to the
fact that their fan base would be
small and in need of expanding,
so giving more information to
possible fans is important.
However I have not included a
vast amount of information, only
what I think are the main points.
The reason for me doing this is
because I wanted to follow the
convention of a minimalist
design within the ‘indie’ genre. I
have created a level of mystery,
Integration of text and
image
Font
During my research I found that the use of fonts was basic
and the variety was limited. Often the artists name would
appear in their own typography and the rest in sans serif so
that it doesn’t take away the power of the artists name and to
prevent distraction from the visuals. I have followed this
convention as I have used the bands current logo found on
Google and only used one other font style for the rest of the

8. Conventions of panels
The front cover of digipaks tend to have
a large eye catching picture, something
that portrays the artist and has
relevance to the song, I have conformed
with this in my design. Again, I kept the
layout of the back panel conventional by
having a track list, image, record label
and copyright logo. Also social
networking logos as in todays society
social media is very popular and the
majority of my target audience use it,
therefore I included social networking
sites such as Facebook to make them
aware of sites the artists are active on.
Lastly, including the obvious
conventional feature, a barcode so that
my digipak can be purchased.
Conventions of a Magazine
advertLike my digipak I chose to follow all
conventions strictly, by including
release date, album title, artist name
and record label. I also included the
place of purchase, iTunes, due to
this being the popular music site as
my demographic have more and are
closer to technology. During my
research I found that it’s
conventional for the album and
advert image to be the same, as you
can see I have complied with this
too. I felt it was important to show a
connection between the two
products.
Colour
Blue is the colour
of the sky and
sea. It is often
associated with
depth and
stability,
symbolising trust
and loyalty. I
chose to
photograph my
image during
dusk to capture
the different
shades of blues
which reflect the
calmness and
relaxation of the