1. Evaluation Question 1
In which ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media
products?

2. In our music video we intended on using, developing and challenging forms and
conventions of real media products. Andrew Goodwin reflects on some of the images
related with music videos. He believes that artists, as well as listeners imagine images
when listening to music. He refers to the model developed by V.N. Volosinov who
describes the interpretation as ‘inner speech’. This varies for every listener but at the
same time is socially coded. This means it is learnt through experience and society.
When learning about synaesthesia we decided to complete an audience research task
asking a target audience to listen to our song and imagine what they thought an
appropriate storyline could be. We as the producers could not complete this task as we
had written a storyline before the song was written and so already had ideas.
From our results, our target audience believed the song sounded sad and that our video
would involve a friendship. Another idea was that a “guardian angel” would appear and
solve everything for the person affected.

3. We developed E.A. Kaplan’s theory about the requirement of returning to a close
up of the singers face as a key anchoring motif, we included this in our production
as the video keeps going back to Yaron singing. This was also done to appreciate
the “star persona” of the lead singer, like Andrew Goodwin states.
Another convention of real media products we used and developed is the
semiologyof an image discussed by Roland Barthes. He breaks down the
myth as a type of speech into three components. I feel that elements in our
music video can be interpreted in such a way relating to his theory. We
included a variety of different signs in our music video. The first being an
iconic sing where photographs of Yaron’s mother are shown. The flashlight of
the report card explaining his mother’s illness is an indexical sign as it has a
direct connection with the object. Lastly, the video showing Yaron as lonely, sad
child can be inferred as being signified, as he is lost and misunderstood at the
beginning, but later becomes thankful.

4. Utilising Allan Cameron’s theory that an anachronic narrative includes
regular flashbacks where all the parts of the narrative are just as
important as each other, we used a black and white effect when
editing to emphasise the flashbacks to when Yaron was a child in
school. This black and white effect also links to film noir that we studied in
class; this was influenced from films like Psycho and The Woman in the
Window.
Furthermore, typical feminine icons were used in our video as props to
make it easy for the audience to understand. Guy (young Yaron) gave
his teacher these gifts to say thank you. The lyrics were amplified in
our video as the song says “Thank you my guardian angel”, and the
teacher says “Thank you” to Guy.

5. Another way we did this was by using the digital technology we were provided with to
blur Yaron’s eyes where he sings “You opened my eyes when I almost went blind”. We
did this by using the cross dissolve transition under the video transitions menu.
Mise-en scene played a large part in our music production, we chose appropriate
clothing for young Yaron, as we wanted him to stand out and emphasise that he was
different from all the other children. After hearing our audience feedback, we
received a criticism; the teacher wears the same clothes during the scene where she is
teaching and also when she receives the thank you card from Yaron. We realised we
should have changed her outfit to emphasise this was years after when Yaron was
getting married.
Making Guy (young Yaron), stand out from the other children was an element we
wanted to portray in our video. We made sure all the other children dressed the same
in smart shirts, ties and a blazer, whilst Guy wore a faded plain white shirt with grey
trousers.