The document provides an evaluation of the ways in which the student's music video product uses, develops, or challenges conventions of real music videos. It summarizes numerous influences and references for the video's concept, style, shots, and editing from other music videos and media products. Key influences included the music videos for "Time to Dance" by Jake Gyllenhaal, "The Hunter" by Slaves, "Control" by Chase and Status, and elements from films like American Psycho. The design of the accompanying digipak and magazine ad were also influenced by album artwork, using themes of mazes and a color scheme inspired by films like American Psycho and Se7en.

1. Max Sunnar | DRAFT
A2 MEDIA COURSEWORK EVALUATION QUESTION 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
MUSIC VIDEO
The Music Videofor Time to Dance by The Shoes playedan extremelyvital partin the idea and style
we develop into our music video. Firstly, the whole premise of having a serial killer as the main
character evolved from Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in this video. We liked the aggressive and
monotone attitude that his character had and felt that this could be used in an effective way, while
also having another side of him that explains his reasoning for killing which in Time to Dance was
displayedbyshowinghisconstantguilt. Inaddition,thisvideoalsoprovidedinspirationonthe editing
front, especially the rapid cuts and flashes between shots to tempt and foreshadow. This feature
allowed us to tell our narrative half in a more teasing way which will keep the view engaged, while
supporting the rapid pace and aggression which came with our song choice.
The idea for our killer to wear a mask also sparked from the Time to Dance music video, where
Gyllenhaal’scharacteriswearingthe fencinguniform.We thoughthatthiswasaninterestingideaand
beganto researchkillerswillmasksfurtherfindingseveral differentideas(The Killerfromvideogame
Until Dawn, Ghost face fromScream, Masks from The Purge). The reasonwe useda maskwas down
to our group wanting the identity of the hunter to be the mystery throughout the video, while we
teased the lead singer (Jay) to be the killer as well as teasing his motive – which is a typical story of
vengeance.
The final killing scene was thought of by a scene from Time to dance where the murderer kills his
victim in the woods with the hatchet. The shot shows the killer only, suggesting to the view that his
actionsare too gruesome tobe showonscreen.We likedthe ideaof thisandbeganlookingatfurther
mediaproductsthat adopteda similarapproach.I thoughtof the movie AmericanPsycho,andmore
specifically the Axe murder which helped use to think about how to hold,swingand frame our shot
with a larger axe. Additionally, the decision to use an axe, of all weapons, was to ensure we could
capture the brutality we wanted in the video. Unlike using just, a knife or a gun prop, an axe looks
more powerful and this is shown from the media products that we looked at.
When picking the song (The Hunter by Slaves) we immediately turned to the original video for
inspiration.However,we didn’tlikethe original toomuch. However, we didtake afew hintsonways
to edit and shots to use. Firstly, eight seconds into the original video, three guitar strums are
complemented with three cuts to match. We took this idea as on board and used it throughout our
video, cuttingonguitarstrumsanddrumhitsforfastpacedediting. Additionally,the videousesheavy
hitson the drumto showband memberssmashingbottlesandotheritem.We tookdirectinspiration
fromthisand presenteditwhenthe killerhitshisvictim atthe endof the song.These featuresare all
used in our music video as inspirationin order to represent the aggressive and violent theme of our
musicvideo.Thefeature clearlyconformstothe song’sgenre conventionsasthese ideascome directly
from the original videoandhave simplybeenenhanced. Anothershotthat we foundappealingwas
the shot of the band member smiling on the line ‘Keep smiling through your teeth’. The shot was a
great piece of imagerywhichrepresentedthe lyrics.We developed thisideafurtherandhadthe lead
singer (Jay) in our video smile with a close up shot, rather than the extreme close-up used in the
original video. This shot applied Andrew Goodwin’s theory of having lyrics be illustrated through
visuals.
The ideaof usingPOV shotsof the hunter Span froma videogame that I playedlastyear calledUntil
Dawn.There isa killerinvolvedinthisgame andasyou are exploringthe worldthe game cutstoPOV

2. Max Sunnar | DRAFT
shotsof the killerstalkingyouravatarfrom behind.Thisinspiredustoinclude asimilarfeature inour
musicvideo.We feltthatthe inclusionof POV shotswouldintensifythe feel of the videofurther. One
of our group members then founda YouTube videoonline calledKiller Clown Vs Parkour. The video
inspired us to have POV shot that had The Hunter chase down his victim. This had a more powerful
and intense feel to it which would impact the view in a fearful way.
OurmusicvideoalsotookinspirationfromtheChaseandStatusmusicvideoforthesong‘EndCredits’.
One thingthatwe wantedtoincludeinourmusicvideowasatwistwhichwouldkeepviewersengages
and shocked.EndCreditsclonesthe singertotalkto hispast self.The ideaof havingtwoof the same
person was interesting and we decided to adapt this idea by having The Hunter be revealed as the
leadsinger,whohasbeensingingabouthimself the entire time. Additionally,atthe endof the video
we decidedto creditthe record label forthe song at the end,similarlytothe end of End Creditsand
several various music videos that also included this feature at the end of their videos.
The musicvideoforControl by Chase and Statuswas the largestinfluence onthe performance shots
of our music video. The videoinspiredus on how fast paced editing should he used as well as how
the band performed. We also incorporated the use of Greyscale and having shots focused on the
drummerandtrackingthe singer’smovementsfromthisvideo.Again,we wantedtoconformtogenre
conventions and that meant having the video look and feel aggressive. This involved the use of fast
pacededitingandcameramovementsbeinginvolvedforourvideotobe consistentlydevelopingand
moving. Additionally, the greyscale used was a stylistic decisionmade by our group. Although the
initial ideatouse greyscale wasfromthe Control video,we have seenseveral videosfromall typesof
music genres that also use greyscale. The use of greyscale was a decision which we believed could
benefitvisuallytomake ourlightingstandoutandlookpowerful.Greyscale alsosuitsthe darknature
of the and it’s narrative.
DIGIPAK AND MAGAZINE ADVERT
Before creating my digipak, I knew that I wanted to make something simplistic and monotone while
being powerful and eerie, to represent the band. This style was influenced by many various album
coversfromvariousgenresthatIknewof beforeandafterconductionresearch.Theseincludeartwork
like: Untitled Unmastered by Kendrick Lamar, Exology Chapter 1: The Lost Planet by EXO, The Magic
Place by Julianna Barwick, EVOL by Future and many more. My albumcover also limitsthe presence
of textthatisusedto carry more emphasisonthe design.Thesesimplisticstylechoiceswereamatter
of preference of whatI feel makesa more affective andpowerful coveras well asbeingthe modern
style that is now used.
When lookingat punkalbums,one thing was made very clear to me and that was that theywere all
for the most part, creepy. For example,albumslike Nimrod by Green Day,Hear Nothing See Nothing
Say Nothing by Discharge, Unforgiveable by Weekend Nachos and Los Angeles by X were all found
duringmyresearchandhad a formof influence onmyfinal design. Thisisone of the goalsIaimedfor
when designing my digipak to conform with the genre conventions of a punk digipak. I did this in a
fewways.Firstly,the tookandusedanimage of anoldstone buildingonmydigipak’sbackpanel.This
image was taken after inspiration from horror films that involved old building that are isolated and
abandoned. The image givesmore contexton the Hunter.The buildingrepresentswhere the hunter
is livingandhowhe has triedto keephimself awayfromthe worldafterthe murderof hisbrotherin
the musicvideohaschangedhim. AnotherthingthatIdidtocreate a creepyatmosphere wasinclude
noise andscratchesonthe designtogive amore tatteredandoldeffect.Again,thisideaisinspiredby
horror movies’ use of old settings and props, however I was also inspired by other pieces of album
artwork, such as: To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, Blank Face LP by Schoolboy Q and punk

3. Max Sunnar | DRAFT
albumsmentioned earlier(Nimrod by Green Day,HearNothing SeeNothingSay Nothing by Discharge,
Unforgiveable by Weekend Nachos and Los Angeles by X).
When designing the back panel, I wanted to take a similar approach to the front cover and have a
minimal look that minimized the attention of text. I wanted to include a track list that looked
organised, professional and centred but also didn’t take away from the photography used. I took
inspirationdirectlyfromthedigipakof J.Cole’sBornSinneralbum. The barcode,legalinformation
and record labels are put at the bottom of the page (similarly to most digipaks that include is
information), while the track list is in the middle, separated into two columns, numbered in roman
numerals (XII), with a thin line separating the two columns.
The use of a parental advisorystickerisalsousedon the frontpanel of my digipak. However,Ididn’t
like howthe standardblackandwhitelogostoodoutonthe panel.Instead,Iwantedthe logotoblend
in withthe rest and therefore decidedtorecolourthe logoto suit the digipak’scolourscheme.After
researchinghowthe logohadbeenusedonotheralbumscreativelyIalsodecidedtopositionthelogo
onthe bottomcentre portionof the panel.Theseideaswereinspiredfromcoverslike EVOLby Future,
Dark Sky Paradise by Big Sean, Watching Movies with The Sound Off by Mac Miller, Views by Drake
and Blond by Frank Ocean.
A large theme thatsurroundsbothmydigipakandmagazinepostersisthe use of mazes.Thisideawas
inspired by a number of things which was discussedon my Digipak Creative Journey. After deciding
that I wanted something menacing to represent the band and the song/album name I looked at
various video games and movies for help until I remembered the movie Prisoners which included a
theme of mazes in both the movie and its marketing. Along with other movies like Inception I then
came across the Greek Mythological Story called the Labyrinth. The story of The Labyrinth,
an elaborate structure designedandbuiltby legendaryartificerDaedalusforKingMinos Its function
wasto holdthe Minotaur(Image 14) eventuallyhunteddowninthe maze bythe hero,Theseus. Ifelt
this was a good use of symbolism to compare the characters in the mythological tale and the album
and suitedthe storyof our musicvideoinwhere the hunterisgoingtofindthe man that he seesas a
monster.
Another similar aspect that the digipak and the magazine posters have is their colour
scheme. However,the colourschemeof image 1wasextremelyappealingtome andIfeltthatIcould
use it effectively. I continued to think of things that has a similar colour scheme which I could gain
ideas from. The first thing that I thought of was the American Psycho cover (image 2), which
incorporated a white, black and red colour scheme. I liked the fact this cover image used a limited
amountof red,butit waseffective.The redrepresenteddanger,violenceandaggressionwhichsuited
myvisionwell.Icontinuedtolookatothermoviesthatadoptedasimilarcolourscheme,inwhichcase
I found the cover for the movie Seven.