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2. The coursework for A2 media was made up of a multitude of different tasks but all of the tasks worked towards achieving one common
goal, the creation of media products. The media products were made up of a music video, which was the main product and then two
ancillary products, which were a digipak and magazine advert. All three had to be linked and coincide with one another. I chose to base
my media products on one artist and the genre of music that was performed was acoustic. As mentioned before, tasks had to be carried
out and completed in order to achieve the end result. These tasks were separated into a number of different subsections, which were
research, planning, construction and audience feedback. The journey that led to the creation of the music video was completely
separate to the ancillary products but I found that the ancillary product’s journeys tended to interlink and overlap at times. As a part of
my research I had analyse pre-existing music videos, digipaks and magazine adverts.
Through this I was able to establish the basis upon which the stereotypical forms and conventions have been built. I also focused upon
the thoughts, opinions and theories of certain theorists, which were, Andrew Goodwin, Jon Gow and Joan Lynch. Each of the three have
studied music videos and have established their own theories regarding the forms and conventions of typical music video. By looking at
their different theories I was able to identify how I would like my own music video to either challenge or develop the typical forms and
conventions. Furthermore, I was able to establish both how I was going to do this before I began to plan and construct my music video
and then how I had done so once the music video was completed. In terms of my ancillary products I turned to analysing existing
digipaks and magazine adverts, which belong to famous bands and artists. Moreover, I was able to establish the typical forms and
conventions of digipaks and magazine adverts and was able to identify how I would and had either developed or challenged the said
forms and conventions when analysing my own products.
From this point onwards I will be highlighting and evaluating the ways in which I either developed and built upon the forms and
conventions or challenged them in terms of my music video, digipak and magazine advert. Much like the tasks were subcategorised, I will
also do the same in the sense that first I will evaluate my media products in the order they were created, stating both the ways they
either follow or disregard the forms and conventions.

4. One way in which my music video developed upon the forms and conventions of
real media products could be seen through looking at other acoustic music videos.
Through my analysis of other acoustic music videos it became clear that the visual
aspect tends to base itself heavily around the focussing on the artist and the
instruments involved. In other music videos this could be mainly seen through the
use of close-ups and mid-shots of either the artist or the instruments that featured
in the video. For example, in Asking Alexandria’s acoustic cover of the song
“Someone, Somewhere” there were an array of close-ups that focussed on the lead
vocalist, Danny Worsnop but the guitarist in the background were also brought to
the attention of the audience too and the guitars that they were holding were
always in the centre of the frame.
Another way in which my music video followed the forms and conventions of real
media products was through the way in which both the audio and visual factors
were mainly of a slower tempo but also set a more darkened and meaningful tone.
Admittedly, this would have been more obvious from an audience member’s
perspective through the visual aspect of the music video as the footage was shot in
black and white and was overall quite dark and underexposed throughout. The
combination of the black and white effect and the unlit visual display has been
known to effectively create a more moody tone in terms of pre-existing music
videos. If my music video had been shot in colour and had contained a lot of bright
and bold colours then it would not have fit with the song nor would it have helped
to create the tone and tempo that I was striving to create.

5. A third way in which my music video followed the forms and conventions of real media products could be
established through the mies-en-scene of the music video, especially the clothing that the performer was wearing.
Through my analysis of Asking Alexandria’s music video it became clear that those belonging to the heavy metal
genre tend to have a certain style. The situations in which Asking Alexandria covered their song and my performer
performed his are almost the same. Both Asking Alexandria and my performer are performing acoustic covers of
songs that were originally supposed to be performed as a high tempo, heavy metal style. Furthermore, I noticed
that Asking Alexandria were all dressed in reasonably loose, dark coloured clothing. The lead vocalist had another
band’s shirt on. This style tends to also apply to the stereotypical audience member of the heavy metal genre, which
I found out while carrying out my audience profiling research. This is why I decided to have my performer dressed in
a similar manner.
As mentioned before in my introduction I also researched the opinions of theorists. When comparing my music
video to the different forms and conventions laid out by the different theorists I found that there were no links to
neither Jon Gow nor Joan Lynch as my product completely contradicted their theories. On the other hand there
were a couple of links that could be made to Andrew Goodwin’s typical codes and conventions. Goodwin stated that
“the artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which, over time, becomes part of
their star image.”
In my music video I ensured that James wore a bandana
through the majority of the filming and the photoshoot for
both the digipak and magazine advert. The intention behind
the inclusion of the bandana was for the audience to establish
it as a part of the performer’s iconography. So that if the
audience member were to see the bandana, they would
instinctively link it to James Conner, the artist in my music
video. I am unsure as to whether my efforts were worthwhile
or not as the bandana was not mentioned in my audience
feedback. On the other hand there was another code of
Goodwin’s that my music video followed, which was “there is a
relationship between the music and the visuals.”

6. The audience feedback backed
up this as multiple
participants who partook in
my peer feedback commented
on the relationship between
the music and visuals that
were presented in a positive
way. They also commented in
a way that justified the fact
that there was a relationship
between the visuals and music
and did so unprompted.
Moreover, when editing the
music video I ensured that the
music and visuals were in time
and that the rate in which the
footage chopped and changed
matched the temp set by the
music. I did so by adding
markers, shortening footage,
increasing or decreasing the
amount of cuts between
footage and either increasing
or decreasing the speed of the
footage on the timeline. It was
rewarding to hear that my
peers recognised this in their
feedback.

7. Joan Lynch is one of the three theorists that I
previously mentioned and she had a theory in
terms of the forms and conventions of music
videos. She believes that there are three basic
music video structures that music videos can be
categorised into. These structures are called
narrative, performance and concept. The majority
of music videos tend to follow a narrative. Although
my performer can be seen walking to different
locations there is no obvious narrative to my music
video, which was the intention. Acoustic music
videos also tend to have a solely performance
based structure but my music video does not
comply to that structure either and nor is it
conceptualised as it is not overrun with special and
visual effects and nor is it abstract enough. This
means that in this sense my music video challenges
the forms and conventions set out by Joan Lynch
and of real media products. Admittedly, there is
footage of James playing his guitar and although
this could be counted as ‘performing’ he is not
performing to anyone or crowd in particular and the
audience cannot hear any live sound from the
footage as the audio was recorded separately and
then added later in the editing process.
From the analysis of Asking Alexandria’s and Angel Haze’s acoustic covers, it was quite apparent that
both videos were recorded in colour. Furthermore, most acoustic music videos are filmed in colour as
the purpose of the videos is for the focus to be fully on the artist and the music and other factors that
may distract; such as special effects, visual effects or the footage being filmed in black and white tend
to be unwelcome as they have a tendency to distract the audience’s attention. I did consider this
while planning my music video as I made it clear in my music video proposal and my music video
treatment that I wanted the audience’s attention to be fully on the artist above all else but I decided
that if filmed right that it would not affect nor distract the audience’s attention. Moreover, that is
why I chose to include a variety of shots where James was the main focus and that included multiple
close-ups. On the other hand, it can be argued both ways as to whether I was successful in this as the
participants who took part did comment on the colouration of the footage, which could lead me to
believe that the use of black and white overshadowed the presence of the performer in the music
video but they did also mention the clothing that James Conner wore and if they had been paying no
attention to the performer then they would not have noticed such facilities. Due to the fact that I
chose to film in black and white, it can be said that I have challenged the forms and conventions of
real media products.

8. A third way in which my music video
challenges the forms and conventions
of real media products can be seen
through the range of different locations
that I shot my footage at. Typically,
acoustic music videos tend to be filmed
in one location, normally a recording
studio. This stereotype is backed up by
both Asking Alexandria’s and Angels
Haze’s music videos as both are filmed
solely in a recording studio. Although I
did film and include some footage
based in a recording studio, the
majority of my music video took place
in a variety of different locations in the
city centre of Norwich. For example, a
couple of scenes are based in the
Royale Arcade and a few others are
based in Chapelfield Gardens. The
reason for why I chose to disregard this
convention was because I felt that in
order to capture and maintain my
audience’s attention I would need to
include a diverse range of different
locations, the fear being that if I didn’t
then I would run the risk of audience
members becoming bored of seeing
too similar footage throughout.

9. The relationship between the audio track (referring to its tempo) and the visuals has
been mentioned when I went through the ways in which my music video follows forms
and conventions but there are also aspects of the two that means that the combination
of the two also contradicts the forms and conventions of real media products. Acoustic
music videos tend to be slow moving and almost sombre. They tend to be a way for the
artist to show their own and the songs emotional side. With this comes a sense of
seriousness. Angel Haze’s music video is a perfect example of this. The lyrics of the song
are heartfelt and based on a serious subject that is why it can be said that Angel Haze’s
video is a good example, in terms of what the typical forms and conventions of a real
media product is. On the other hand, Asking Alexandria’s music video does contradict
this. Although, it is serious and sombre through the majority of it, the lead vocalist does
disrupt that tone towards the end of the music video. Some may critique him and the
band for that but I found that it added a personal element to the video. It made them
seem less like the famous heavy metal rock stars and more human, more reachable
from an audience’s perspective. That is why I chose to include a series of clips of James
pulling funny faces and laughing with someone off camera.
A final way in which my music video challenges forms and conventions of real
media products can be identified by tracing back to the opinions of another
theorist, Jon Gow. Gow stated that there are six central genres of music videos. I
found that when comparing my music to each genre that my video did not one
hundred percent fit into any of them. The only genre that my music video came
close to fitting into was “the enhanced performance – videos which blend
performance elements with other visual” as there was footage of James
performing his song on his guitar but he did not perform it live, nor to a crowd,
which is why I cannot say indefinitely that the video fits into that particular genre
either.

11. Another form that I developed upon was the inclusion of certain features that every digipak
tends to have. In order to be available for purchase, digipaks have to have certain factors such
as barcodes, copyright details and a serial number on them. These details tend to be on the
back of the digipak. I included both a barcode and copyright details on the middle-back panel
of the digipak and I put the serial number on the spine of the digipak. Additionally, I made sure
that the copy right details were in a smaller print as I found that that is how the details tend to
be presented on real media products. By following and using these typical forms it has made
my digipak look both more professional and realistic. This is because if I hadn’t included them
then the digipak would be unsellable, making it unrealistic as the point of digipaks are to be
sold to audience members. I also included the performer’s name and song title on the spine,
alongside the serial number as I felt that it would again make the digipak look more like a real
media product.
Through my analysis of two different digipaks I noticed that a particular convention that tended
to occur, especially when looking at the band Beartooth’s digipak was that there was an obvious
strain of continuity that connected the digipak and the music video related to the album. This
continuity took shape in the use of black and white colouration. By this it is meant that the music
video was shot entirely in black and white and so was the imagery on the digipak. I followed this
convention when planning and creating my digipak. I ensured that all of the images were shot in
black and white so that they matched the colouration of the music video. Furthermore, the music
video’s main focus was James Conner, which meant that in order to further the continuity
between the two media products I made sure that the images on the digipak were also focused
on James as every image had him as the central focus.

12. A third way in which I built upon forms and
conventions was through the physical structure of the
digipak. My digipak is made up of three inside and
back panels, which is the typical layout of a digipak.
Each panel is sized at one-hundred and forty
millimetres in width by one-hundred and twenty-six
millimetres in height. These are the standard
measurements of existing digipaks. This means that
my ancillary product is more like a real media product,
which was the main goal that I was trying to achieve
in order to succeed at creating a professional and
realistic media product that could be seen on the
shelves of a shop.
A final way in which I followed the stereotypical forms
and conventions of real media products was through
the layout of the front cover. During the analysis of
pre-existing digipaks I identified that the front cover
should showcase the band name and album title in a
clear and concise way. Furthermore, it has to be in a
way that is going to catch the attention of the
audience. Both Beartooth’s and Asking Alexandria’s
digipaks showcased their band name and album title
in a bold and obvious way. They either did this
through contrasting the colouration of the text or
using a bold font. I chose to incorporate both of these
attributes and did so by using black font on a light
grey and white background. I also made sure that the
text was big, easily readable, close to the centre of the
cover and was not covered by any imagery.

13. One way in which my digipak challenges the forms and conventions of real
media products is by having no record label logo. Most bands and artists
that release digipaks and albums belong to a
record label so tend to feature their record label’s logo on their digipak.
My artist is an independent performer and is not signed to a record label,
which is why my digipak does not contain a logo.
Overall, my digipak, music video and magazine advert follow the same
house style and this was purposely done. Following a house style is a way
in which I followed forms and convention but there is one way in which I
chose to contradict both the house style and forms and conventions with
my digipak. In the music video there are a lot of scenes where James is
playing the guitar but on my digipak there are not the same ratio of images
where James is playing the guitar in consideration of the other images,
which are just of him.
Another way in which my digipak challenges forms and conventions is through
the inclusion of the large amount of text on the back, middle panel. The text
contains information revolving around the performer. It could be called a blurb
of James Conner. Normally such information would be in a booklet that comes
with some digipaks. These booklets tend to also contain lyrics and other
information but my digipak contains no said booklet so I placed the
information on the middle, back panel. I could have used the space in order to
place more images of James, which would have better suited the house style I
was aiming to achieve but I felt it more necessary to include the information,
especially due to the fact that in this case the performer is an up and coming
artist and is not very well-known. As said before he is not signed to a record
label, which could be a disadvantage as he will not have a record label
spreading nor advertising the information for him and or about him.

14. This digipak contains a single song, most digipaks are created for albums. Furthermore, this means that somewhere on the digipak, normally on the back, middle
panel all of the songs will be listed that are on the CD. Because it is a single there are no other songs, which is why I included the information instead. This is
another way in which I have challenged the forms and conventions of real media products.
The release date on an album can also feature on a digipak. Although, I did not see one on the two digipaks that I analysed but according the internet it is a
possibility. I chose to not include one as I felt that although it was challenging a convention, I had the full intention on including a release date on the magazine
advert. I felt it would be more useful to do this as if the audience member is about to purchase the digipak and has it in their hands then they already know it has
been released. Whereas, if the audience member sees the magazine advert they may not know when the digipak is being released but will do once they see the
release date on it.

16. Another way in which I followed forms and conventions of pre-existing
media products can be seen just by looking at the text on the magazine
advert. I made sure that the artist’s name, song title and release date
are stated clearly in the middle of the advert. As well as this being a
way in which I have followed forms and conventions it was also a
necessity for this information to be stated as it is vital for audience
members who may be interested in buying the digipak to see it. This is
why I used a bold font and made the text large. Also through my
analysis of magazine adverts I noticed that the same principles were
installed. Bands such as Slipknot and Kings of Leon have had a lot of
success in terms of selling their digipaks, which means that audience
members must have seen adverts advertising the digipaks. If James’
digipak is to sell then it would make sense for me to apply similar
principles in order to achieve the same success.
As mentioned multiple times before I followed a particular house style in consideration of all of my media products, the magazine did not differ from this, it too
followed the same house style and by doing so it meant that I followed a convention of pre-existing real media products. I followed this said house style through
the use of black and white images on the advert. This was a necessity as the digipak also had black and white images on it and the music video was filmed in
black and white. I also went one step further to retain this house style. I used the exact same images from the digipak on the magazine advert and even used
some screenshots that were taken from the footage.
The images themselves were a mixture of different shots and camera angles. When I analysed the digipak belonging to Asking Alexandria I noticed that there was
also a range of different camera angles used on the different panels. This added texture and variety to the digipak and it can be assumed the audience members
would prefer this over purchasing a products that is filled with the same thing throughout. In order for my digipak to resemble real media products and be
desirable to audience members it has to stand out over others that are already on the shelves. This is why it is important that it is slightly different or at least
contains something that would attract audience members to purchase the product.

17. I also used different colours for the different sets of text. I presented most of it in white but presented the song title in red. It can be argued both ways as to
whether I have followed forms and conventions on this subject as some adverts have done the same, whereas other haven’t. They used different coloured
fonts in the Kings of Leon advert, the text was both white and green. This meant that the different information stood out to the audience. This is why I chose to
try and create the same effect with my magazine advert. Although, I chose to use the colour red instead of green as I felt that it would create a better effect.
Especially due to the fact that the song title is called “Killhouse”. The word “kill” has quite negative and dark connotations attached to it so by using the colour
red, which is also commonly linked with negative connotations too emphasised this.

18. One way in which I challenged the forms
and conventions is that I made it so that
the information was obvious but it was
not the central focus of the advert. This
was due to all the pictures that were
surrounding it. Although, in the Slipknot
advert the picture is the main focus. So it
could be argued both ways as to whether I
have challenged or built upon the forms
and conventions set out by past media
products.
Normally when an album is released a
tour follows. Bands and artist will tend to
release an album and then state that they
are going on tour where they will perform
the songs on the new album to their
audience. This means that tour dates tend
to feature on the magazine advert too. I
have not stated any tour dates as James is
not going on tour as this is just a single so
he would not have a range of songs to
perform to his audience. This a second
way in which I have challenged the forms
and conventions of typical real media
products.

19. A third way in which I have challenged
forms and conventions of real media
products is through the fact that I have
not included the price of the digipak that
I am advertising. I did this on purpose so
that my audience members would not be
put off buying the product. In order to
find out the price they would have to go
into the shop to get the product. They
would then be able to enquire about the
price but by then may feel it would be a
wasted journey not to buy the digipak.
Meaning that the audience will be more
likely to buy the digipak. It was a
purposely put in place selling strategy
that will hopefully increase the chance of
the product being sold.
The final way in which my ancillary
product disregarded forms and
conventions is again through the text on
my advert. Most real magazine adverts
tend to use different fonts for the
different information on the product but
I used the same font for all of the text. I
believed that the information would
stand out enough to audience members
due to its colouration and did not need
to be made up of different font too.