1. 1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?
2. Before embarking on the production process, it’s vital to identify the generic codes and
conventions of real media products because this would allow me to adopt a familiar
format to my products.
I did this by analysing a variety of different media products – music videos, digipaks and
magazine adverts all from the pop genre.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/music-video-analysis.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/research-music-video-analysis-4.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/analysis-of-music-video.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/music-video-analysis.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/music-video-analysis.html
DIGIPAK ANALYSIS
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/research-analysis-of-album-cover-1.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/research-analysis-of-album-cover-2.html
MAGAZINE ADVERT ANALYSIS
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/research-analysis-of-magazine-advert-2.html
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/research-analysis-of-magazine-advert.html
3. Codes and conventions of magazine adverts…
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/research-codes-and-conventions-of.html
4. Codes and conventions of digipaks
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/research-codes-and-conventions-of.html
‘Title’ by Meghan Trainor
‘Who You Are’ by Jessie J
5. Codes and conventions of music videos…
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/after-analysing-variety-of-music-videos_25.html
6. My music video and ancillary products…
FINAL MUSIC VIDEO
MAGAZINE COVER
ANCILLARY PRODUCTS
MIDDLE COVERS
FRONT COVER BACK COVER
7. • Throughout the production of my music video and ancillary products, I
have adopted a hegemonic framework by using many codes and
conventions of real media products to produce my media products.
• I have embraced Henry Jenkin’s theory of poaching to poach ideas
from existing media texts and developing these in my products. I have
adopted a similar structure, as stated in Henry Jenkins book titled
‘Textual Poachers’ to poach existing ideas.
• I poached the idea of balloons from Meghan Trainor’s music video ‘All
About That Bass’ and used this in my music video.
8. For example when producing the magazine advert, I poached the typography
structure of the magazine advert from an existing magazine advert and
changed the image to best fit my target audience.
9. When creating my DIGIPAK, I poached the simplistic style of Meghan Trainor’s
CD, ‘Title’ because I thought the simple background was effective in making the
main image of the artist stand out. I liked this simplistic design and decided to
replicate the style in my own DIGIPAK.
10. MAGAZINE ADVERT
• Main image of artist that takes up the whole page
• Artists name and album name
• Where the album is available to access – CD /
download + ITunes
• Date of album release
• Website links to the artist
• Record label
• Iconic features + brand identity
12. MAIN IMAGE
• Most of the magazine adverts that I looked at had a main image of the artist that dominated the page.
• I found this convention to be the most important because it visually allows audiences to recognise who has
produced the artist.
• I have used direct mode of address to create a relationship with between the artist and the audience. The eye
contact personally addresses the specific reader reading the magazine and forms a connection with them.
• The image stands out amongst the writing because it gives the audience something to look at instead of
reading.
13. NAME OF ARTIST AND ALBUM
• Every single magazine advert that I looked at showed the name of the artist and the name of the album
that the artist had produced. This is a very important convention because it tells audiences what the
name of the artist is and the name of the new album.
• The positioning of titles varied in different magazine adverts. However I saw that the artists name was
more common where I had positioned the album name (towards the bottom of the page). I developed
Jenkins theory of poaching so I positioned the name of the artist at the top because I replicated the
codes and conventions of the format from an existing product.
Artist names all at the top
14. • I think the positioning that I have chosen is most effective because it places a larger emphasis on the name of
the artist, rather than the name of the album. I poached the layout of the typography from Katy Perry’s
PRISM CD cover.
The bold font and plain pink background behind the artists name makes the artists name
stand out the most amongst anything else.
The use of iconic fonts was another code and convention that I adopted. I used these
iconic fonts to uphold the artists star image and the bright colours to represent the pop
genre.
16. • In a lot of the magazine adverts for an album that I looked at, dark colours were a common theme.
• I have challenged this convention because I wanted my magazine cover to be different and to stand out by
using bright colours to amplify the cover.
• I used a bright colour pink because it constructs my brand identity, but also so that it would maximise the
effect of appealing to teenage girls aged 14-17.
Magazine advert for CD covers from artists that produce POP music I have
challenged this
convention by
using bright
colours – pinks
/ yellow to
make it stand
out which
would maximise
audience
engagement.
COLOURS
17. DIGIPAK
FRONT COVER MIDDLE COVERS BACK COVERS
• Artist name
• Album name
• Main image of the artist in the
middle of the page
• Simplistic design
• Colour palette (yellows / pinks)– to
fit the genre of the product – POP
genre.
• No writing editing onto pages
• Bright colours – represent POP
genre.
• Shots from the music video
• List of song titles
• ‘FT’ – to promote other artists
• Barcode in the bottom right hand corner
• Image of the artist
• Institutional information – record label,
production company, copyright
• Logos to illustrate institutional
information.
In iconic
fonts
http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/product-digipak.html
Shot from
music video
Artist name
Album name
Image of artist
in middle of
page.
Simple design
with bright
colour palette.
Bright colours
which represent
the pop genre.
SFX used to add more
colour to page
No writing edited onto pages
only a song title from taking
the shot.
Song titles
with ft.
Image on
back cover
– similar to
front cover
– poached
layout
from
Meghan
Trainor's
album
Institutional information
Logo’s –
break
writing up.
Barcode .
19. Front cover
• I found that the CD covers have a variety of layouts but they all contained the same information: album /
artist name and an image
• The most important convention I recognised were the uses of the main image, album name and artist name.
All of these 3 features makes it clear to audiences who produced the album and what the album is called.
• I adopted this code and convention so that audiences would easily recognise who made the album and the
album name. This information is a key feature to successfully promote the artist.
• The image breaks the text up on the page and allows audiences to look at something else instead of just
reading the text.
20. Middle covers
• As with many digipaks that I looked at, the middle covers contained no text
therefore I chose just to use pictures to show the middle covers.
• I chose 1 image that appeared at the end of the music video
• The second image I chose, I added special effects to with a variety of bright
colours to further represent the pop genre.
No text in the
middle covers
Image from the end
of the music video
Added special
effects
21. Back cover
• The song list is the most important convention that I identified because it informs people of what they will be
listening to if they buy this album. I made a song list of 10 songs and for one of the songs I wrote ‘FT Lady
Gaga’ showing that the song featured another artist. This was another convention that I identified within the
song list section. This is an effective promotion technique both for my artist and Lady Gaga. This widens the
audience of the album, because it attracts audiences of Lady Gaga and the artist which I have created.
• Similarly another important code and convention I identified was the institutional information containing
information about the record label and production company. All of digipaks that I looked at, had logos. Logos
break the writing up on the page and give audiences something else to look at.
Institutional information Institutional information
‘FEAT’
23. Back covers tended not to have an image of the artist on the back cover.
However I have put an image of my artist on the back, challenging this code
and convention because I poached the layout from Meghan Trainor’s CD
‘Title’ and because I thought it was effective in selling the artist.
26. Andrew Goodwin – music video theory
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance
in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative,
amplifying, contradicting)
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close
ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across
their work (a visual style)
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking
6. There is often intertextual references (to films, TV programmes, other
music videos)
27. 1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g.
stage performance in metal video, dance routine for
boy/girl band)
• Previously on my blog, I listed the codes and conventions of pop
music after researching Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory.
• http://emilyilettadvancedportfolio2064.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/pop-
music-conventions.html
• Throughout the production of my music video, I kept this list in mind
and adopted a number of codes and conventions.
28. Artist is portrayed as happy and enjoying life …
Dancing around
Messing about
Smiling
29. Mise en scène – the artist is wearing fashionable, mainstream clothing
throughout to anchor the basic nature of POP music.
Plain white T-shirtStriped top
Black parka jacket with red tartan scarf
Yellow striped top
30. Bright bold colours to signify pop genre
Bold pink lips Purple / blue SFX
Yellow / pink SFX
Bright orange top
Pink background, yellow
striped top Pink, yellow, orange,
green balloons
31. 2. There is a relationship between lyrics and
visuals
“Cos we want this night to last”
“We’re ready for the
afterglow” – the lips
stand out and glow.
“smoke and lasers”
AMPLIFYING
ILLUSTRATIVE
32. 3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
Fast paced upbeat music
– hand held camera –
shaky, jumpy shot.
Fast paced
visuals goes
with upbeat
music.
Slower paced music – artist
is sitting down throwing
balloons in slower motions
compared to when the
music is upbeat where the
artist is dancing and
throwing balloons quicker.
33. 4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of
close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur
across their work (a visual style)
34. 5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking
In all of these shots, the
artist is looking at
herself in a mirror.
35. 6. There is often intertextual references (to films,
TV programmes, other music videos)
• I have made intertextual references to the beauty brand No.7 to promot
• I have made intertextual references to my ancillary products to create a brand identity.
• One of the middle covers in my digipak is the same image as the last shot on my music video
right at the end.
• Also the main images for my digipak and album appear multiple times in the music video
when the artist sings ‘Afterglow’ – the artist is wearing the same clothing as has the artists
iconic make up on the lips.
Middle cover
Music video
37. NARRATIVE
• I don’t have a straight forward story to my music video.
• I have challenged the hegemonic framework of having a boy and a girl which most pop music
videos have. This gave the music video a strong narrative in a lot of the videos that I analysed.
• In a lot of the music videos that I looked at, their narrative often included a second person to be
able to narrate and represent a theme, typically of love.
• I challenged this convention because I aimed to create a music video that represented happiness
instead of love.
• I also chose to challenge this because my target audience of girls only, was different to many
other pop videos which had an audience of boys and girls. therefore I didn’t feel the need to
include a male and create a narrative about love.
