By Darhyl Matias

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

2. THE PURPOSE
• My advanced portfolio was to create music video from a genre of my
own choice. I decided to choose Neo-Soul. Doing this required me to
carry out very detailed analytic research into music videos that helped
expand my knowledge and understanding of how to create my own
music video.
• A music video is an visual presentation of the song, this is usually
accompanied by a narrative that the song portrays. The video could also
have dancing and a lyrics within it. The main purpose of the music video is
to entertain the audience in the way the artist would like to depending on
the target audience and the genre.
• With my in depth research and theory analysis, this helped me to move
onto the next stage of planning. I had to plan my music videos and the
ancillary products which consisted of creating a digipak and a music
advert.
• Research: allowed me to understand the differences between genres and
conventions. Identified what was conventional to include in a music video
and was specific to genres.
• Planning: I planned my use of micro-elements, narrative, storyboard and
representation.
Research Planning Production Evaluation

3. DOES MY PRODUCT DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS
AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
Developing and following conventions of real media products is sustained throughout my music video. This
has been demonstrated through various ways.
• Themes:
All music videos has their own specific themes that is usually depend on the genre. My music video consists
of the themes of having fun, friendship, loyalty and being free. We as a group has decided on these
themes because it was conventional to the genre Neo-Soul and this is also what the song consists of. These
themes was easy to portray because they are easily understood by the Neo-Soul audience.
• Character representation:
The representation of my character does not follow usual conventions of Neo-Soul, however it portrays the
themes in the song and the style of music. We picked this representation because he looks cool, urban
and someone that a young audience would admire as he carries a lot of ‘swag’.
• Artists Representation:
Similar to the character, the artist representation doesn’t massively follow Neo-Soul conventions, however
there are artists like Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown and Neo who portray this Jazz representation in their
music videos.
• Location:
The locations we have relate to the theme and the things we were showing within the music video. My
music video includes multiply locations due to shooting in lots of areas in central London. We also used a
music studio, a white background and a piano setting to show his love and art for music.
• Theory:
I have followed Goodwin and Dyer’s Theory’s of music video’s as I have followed each of their rules, for
example creating a stylish representation of our artist to turn him into a commodity. Our editing reflects
Goodwin’s theory of the idea of the pace matching the visuals, using close-ups of the star and some
intertextual reference at the start of the video. Furthermore there is a strong presence of star image
because of the lip syncing and shots of his face. We challenged Mulvey as there is no ‘Male Gaze’,
however we have tried to portray our male in a sexy way.
• Editing:
The Editing within the music video matches the pace of the song. And the editing highlights the rule from
Goodwin's theory.

4. ARTIST SIMILAR TO MY IDEA
I found that Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble are existing
artists that are similar to my artist due to their look and the themes they portray in their
videos. I analysed them closely in order to develop ideas on my character representation to
ensure I was using and developing conventions of existing media products.
Cinematography: In the music video there is a lot of close ups and medium shots to show the artist to show off
their costume and relaxed body language. Furthermore it is also used to enhance their star image which is
something I wanted to do.
From my deep analysis into these artists, I ensured I followed and used conventions of
artist representation by doing the following;
Costume: warning formal clothing that consist of black and white to create a classic
look
Facial expression: relaxed, cool and almost lazy. This is to create ‘Swag’ amongst my
artist
Body language: free moving, able to dance and be free like I have witness in music
videos
Performance: there is a lot of performance in the video as he performs the lyrics
Relationship with the audience: a good one which is almost cheeky which I found from
my research

5. CINEMATOGRAPHY IDENTIFYING CONVENTIONS
The relevance and the importance of cinematography is essential to the music video
due to it having a very big impact on the overall success of the finished music video.
Using different cinematography for each clip makes the video look professional as well
as more engaging. Using correct cinematography in the music video allows the
audience to engage into the video and be satisfied with what they see. I used
cinematography conventionally to show artist image, his relationship with his friends and
to create a ‘star persona’.
In relation to the theme of my music video, medium long shots are
used to show him performing at the microphone, close ups are used
when he is performing to the camera and medium shots illustrate the
relationship with his friend. The camera is also free-moving at times to
make the artist the center of focus. For these reasons, I believe my
product uses and develops conventions to media products.

6. IDENTIFYING ANGLES AND
POSITIONING
I have used angles to challenge the idea of the character being
vulnerable in my music video, instead it is used to show the artist
performing with confidence, I just wanted to show more variety in
cinematography.
I have always got my artist in the centre of the frame to ensure that he is
the focus of the audiences attention. This is something that I found in my
research, therefore again showing how I used and developed
conventions.
Centre of focus High Angle

7. THEORY ON ARTIST
REPRESENTATION
Goodwin suggests that the use of the close ups of the artist should be used showing
them lip syncing so the audience become familiar with the artist. I have used quite a lot
close ups to represent my artist and the happy emotions he is feeling.
Richard Dyer, theory is all about the ‘star image’, this is also outlined by the use of
cinematography. This is shown within my music video as my artist has his own star image
and doing this by the use of their costume and their performance which is clearly seen
through the use of medium shots and close ups. What this does is create a connection
with the artist and the target audience as it enhances the idea of the artist being the
audiences ‘idol’ and turning into a commodity.
Mulvey: as there are no females in this music video, we do not represent the ‘Male
Gaze’. However, I did challenge this idea because instead of trying to create sex
appeal with women, we tried to do that with our male star.
I have followed theories so that I would appeal to my audience. Also by doing this it
enhances the quality of the music video because the use of cinematography and the
techniques outlined by the theorist’s ensures a conventional product.

8. THEORY ON ARTIST
REPRESENTATION
These comparisons illustrate how I have used and developed
conventions of artist representation through my understanding of theory.

9. CAMERA MOVEMENTS:
CHALLENGING THE MALE GAZE
Mulvey suggests with her idea of the ‘male Gaze’ that camera work is like
looking through a males perspective and looks at the female as if they are
a sexual object especially, and this is specific to certain genres like RnB and
Hip-Hop.
Our product of the music video challenges The Male Gaze because it
shows the male in a way where we wanted to him as a ‘male object’ to the
female gaze. This is a critiscm of the theory itself, that it doesn’t consider
new representations of sexuality and this is something we wanted to do with
our male artist to enhance his star appeal.
The camera movement was used to show him running his hands down the
microphone, and this represents the female gaze and challenges the male
gaze because it looks quite phallic which is what we wanted to show. By
doing this I am doing it to relate to the young audience and the genre as
Neo-Soul and Jazz really show the artist as a male figure to idolize.
Using
the
micro-
phone is
a phallic
way

10. MISE EN SCENE
In Mise En Scene there is different aspects within it. With each of them they
all have the same importance. With this all the aspects would help
enhance the video’s impact due to the generic conventions which go with
the genre and themes and effect the audience. Demands of the song
depend on the artist and mise en scene use varies depending on the
genre the song is in and the style of the song. Furthermore the audience
would be expecting to see specific aspects of mise en scene used in a
conventional way, this is because mise en scene allows the video to be
conventional to the genre.
I believe I used and developed the use of Mise en scene in my music video
to represent the genre, theme of song and artist representation in a
conventional way.
Five of the most important aspects to consider when analyzing mise en scene
are:
- Lighting
- Setting
- Iconography
- Body Language and Facial Expressions
- Costume, Hair and Make Up

11. LIGHTING & COLOUR
With the use of lighting and colour within the video, it enables the audience to gain a
better understand of the themes in the video due to it adding to emotion that the
video and artist could be trying to portray.
I definitely feel like I used and developed conventions of lighting and colour as I used
a lot black and white colour in my music video, and kept to really soft lighting to
create a chilled atmosphere within my narrative. This is something I found
conventional form my genre.
Lighting: it was low-key at times, and also high-key when he is performing to highlight
his artist representation. I used this to develop the nature and feel of the song and
Jazz feel it portrays.
Colour: I used a lot of black and white, and soft, rich colours like brown and gold to
make the artist look ‘rich in life’ and having a good time which is something I also
found from my research.

12. COLOUR
• My research into lighting and colour was really helpful
to ensure that I was using and developing conventions
of the Neo-soul/Jazz genre.

13. SETTING
I have various different settings within my music video. I have done this
depending on the scene and where my artist is performing. Sometimes he is
alone, and sometimes he is with his friend to show his friendship with him.
The locations I used to develop conventions were;
-a casino type setting
-a microphone studio
-piano setting
-streets of London
Similar location shot
Similar location shot
Below you can see
how my research
helped me use the
conventions of setting.

14. ICONOGRAPHY: USING AND DEVELOPING
Iconography was used to specific detail in my music video to reflect a
particular type of lifestyle and artist image. This was used and
developed in a subtle manner to show iconography conventional to
the genre. Again, my research activity was very beneficial here. The
main iconography I used and developed were;
-cards (Westlife video where they are at the casino)
-piano (influenced by JustinTimberlake’s video)
-old school microphone (Sinatra video)
-cigar and whiskey (Timberlake and Sinatra’s video)

15. COSTUME, HAIR & MAKE UP
(REPRESENTATION: ARTIST)
I used extreme close-up, close-ups and medium close up on artist to enhance his star image.
Artist portrayed popular culture by engaging in activities such as drinking, smoking a cigar and
playing cards. He will also portray popular culture by dancing in the music video and being cheeky.
‘Star Theory’ Audience and Industry – I turned my artist into a commodity with his moreish personality
and one that the public can relate to him. He was portrayed in a handsome way in order to appeal
to a female audience.
For his costume, he wore a smart shirts and suits, which are all white which shows a pure side to our
artist. The black lose jacket/blazer adds an element of being rebellious which we also liked. Finally,
the hat to make our artist look more modern and hip.

16. Similar to our artist, we wanted our characters to hold the same type of
representation. We wanted again to show them all as cool, urban and carry
a lot of ‘Swag’. This is conventional to the genre as it shows he has a group
of friends who carry the same values and popular lifestyle as him.
Costume: They all wore smart clothing but work in a casual way.
Facial expressions: all laughing and having fun
Body language: relaxed and cool.
Hair: smart and slick.
Again, through our characters, we used and developed conventions in
regards to their representation.
COSTUME, HAIR & MAKE UP
(REPRESENTATION: CHARACTERS)

17. BODY LANGUAGE & FACIAL
EXPRESSION
- Characters:
The body language and facial expression of the characters shown within the music
video indicate that to the audience that they convey the themes within this music
video. The body language and facial expression is vital in showing what the
characters are feeling which is happiness when they are out with the artist and
having a good time. This is shown in their face being lit up and the body language.
- Artist:
The artist would show a firm form of body language in order to look serious about
his music, happy and enjoying himself with his friends. Also his facial expression
would look happy sending a message to the audience that he is feeling good and
enjoying his time. He is cheeky and flirty.

18. EDITING
Editing within the music video is essential, this is because it has a
contribution to the pace of the music video. Typically Neo-Soul/Jazz
music videos use editing that reflects the pace of the song.
According to Goodwin, the editing of the music video should reflect the
pace of the song which I believe our music video does as the pace of the
video editing matches with the sound. It is quite a slow song with not too
many beats, so we portrayed this with our editing.
I have developed and used conventions here as I used slow paced
editing to highlight when the song slowed down and it goes faster as the
song sped up.
We used some filters and effects when editing to enhance the artists
representation too.

19. SOUND
I have created a video for “Follow By Tom Misch”. The song has a
cheeky, fun, honest and youthful feel to it through its lyrics. I have
created a narrative to match the sounds by challenging the idea of it
being concept, instead I used and developed the idea of a
performance based music video in which the story (narrative) is created
for the audience. Goodwin’s theory suggests that conventional music
videos should have the following which I followed;
- Lyrics should match the visuals’
- Editing should match the sound’
I have followed this theory and all of the stated above feature within my
music video. This has helped make my product a video and that uses
and develops conventions of real media products.

20. IN CONCLUSION…
I have used and developed Neo-Soul/Jazz genre conventions by using
the research and planning to help create the music video. With this I have
also planned out my conventional use of Mise En Scene carefully to show
the different aspects correctly. All of the elements of Mise En Scene is
shown within the music video due to me being able to use or develop the
ideas and conventions found from my research and by listening to the
song closely. This will appeal to my audience, their social lifestyle and they
will have satisfaction of the overall music video’s success.
Overall, I am very satisfied with how I represented my use of conventions
and strongly believe that I used and developed ideas from existing media
products well.