2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Goodwin’s (Andrew Goodwin, Dancing in
Distraction Factory, 1992) critical
framework: When relating Goodwin’s
theory of critical framework to our music
video there are many consistencies.
For example, the and the lyrics as well as
the audio and visuals.
The lyrics “The left side of my bed” are
met with the image of George (male
protagonist) laying on the left side of the
bed, for example. The effect of matching
these two components gives both the
visuals and the lyrics a deeper meaning.
3. The notion of looking was used to
generate the effect of voyeurism for our
chosen artist. The camera follows him
around in private moments such as the
opening bedroom scene, walking through
the woods and the graveyard scene. This
is a very personalised treatment of the
artist, as reflected through George, the
actor representing Jack Garratt. This
could be seen as effective through its
technique in presenting the idea of loss
and creating a relatable, as well as
emotional, narrative.
Using Goodwin’s Critical Framework
4. This shows how we have been
consistent in portraying the
artist’s visual styles in general,
but have slightly altered the
relationship between lyrics and
visuals in our music video.
We also have contradictions
between the lyrics and the visuals.
The lyrics “By the sounds of women
I’ll never meet” suggest the
preferred reading of this song is
about a girlfriend of wife, however
our narrative is based around two
brothers. Despite this, other music
videos by Jack Garratt such as
‘Weathered’ display similar themes
about friendship and brotherhood. A
similar style and theme is also
shown in Jack Garratt’s ‘Chemical’,
featuring a teenage obsession,
similar to the relationship between
the two brothers in our narrative.
Using Goodwin’s Critical Framework
5. We also have a parallel between the audio and the visuals, evident through how the
cutting rate matches the beat of the song and also how the character on screen
matches aggressive bass notes with aggressive actions such as throwing an object.
Using Goodwin’s Critical Framework
6. The effect of having an amplified relationship
between the audio, visuals and lyrics add more
depth to the meaning of the music video.
Through the analysis of various music videos
by Jack Garratt (such as ‘Weathered’ and
‘Chemical’) we interpreted a style we could
reflect through our campaign.
For example, the narrative of ‘Weathered’ sees
two brothers playing throughout the entire
video with intercuts back to the older state of
the artist, similar with what we accomplished
when filming and editing.
Using Goodwin’s Critical Framework
7. The form of the music video is constructed
with a series of present day shots
intercutting with shots set in the past. This
style is not necessarily uncommon, however
the way in which we have portrayed the past
and present is, in that black and white colour
grading has been used to depict present day
whereas the past is shown in vibrant colours
The effect of this is to illustrate a
sombre mood following the death of
one of the brothers. This is further
emphasised by the colour grading,
which strips the video of colour to
convey depression.
Form
8. Audience Reading
According to Stuart Hall’s concepts of audience
readings, we found our preferred reading to be
two brothers, one of which had passed away.
We distributed questionnaires to individuals
who had watched the music video and were
asked their interpretation of the narrative.
Approximately 90% agreed with our chosen
narrative.
The Negotiated reading of our final piece was
that the two characters were lifelong friends,
rather than brothers
A preferred reading is an agreed meaning and
interpretation between the audience and the
intentional narrative.
9. Our narrative structure revolves around two
brothers, shown in both the past and the
present day.
Todorov’s theory of disequilibrium can be
applied to out music video, since the absence
of Harry in the present day shots reveal him to
be dead.
Since our video does not resolve this
occurrence , it challenges the conventions of
music videos in this genre, as well as Todorov’s
theory.
Narrative Structure Example of Todorov’s cycle
10. Binary Oppositions
The main binary in our video is the
difference between childhood and
early adulthood. Adulthood is shown to
be a lonely state of life, whereas a
youth and childhood are shown
positively. Furthermore, the idea of
family is therefore culturally marked in
a positive fashion, since without his
brother, George shows himself to be
depressed.
11. Semiotics
The visual signifiers in our media products are
paradigmatic. The clothes George wears
(specifically the black jeans and coat) reflect the
sombre, depressed state he is in.
Furthermore, the locations of the woods, the
park and the graveyard are all very pensive and
idealistic.
The colour grading is also very symbolic of the
sombre theme we aimed to create in the present
day depictions of George, following the brother’s
death.
12. Advert
Our advert contains an array of colours,
and continues the theme of red and green
that we used across our digipak designs.
These colours oppose the colourless
grading used in many of the shots in the
video, since the image is of he two boys
when younger, which was represented as a
happier time.
We were also consistent in the location of
the woods, simply to keep the image
relevant to the primary media product
13. Digipak
The digipak is, as previously mentioned,
in keeping with the themes of the video
and the advert.
The ‘dreamy’ location of the woods was
utilised across the inside pane,
personified by stretching it across two
panes.
The image of the man with the beard and
the hat is iconic of the artist ‘Jack Garratt’
in which he features many times in a
similar fashion.
