This document discusses how the media product conforms to and challenges conventions of the indie singer-songwriter genre. It summarizes how the music video utilizes conventions such as a focus on the live performance, naturalistic camerawork and locations, as well as the artist's simplistic style. It also discusses how the video challenges conventions through the use of artificial red lighting to convey emotion and represent the style of music and lyrics. Overall, the document examines how the media product both adheres to and transforms familiar conventions of the genre to engage the target audience.

1. Question 1 / In what way dose your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of a real media text.
A convention is an arrangement codes and traditional rules which dictate the
way that something is usually done. These norms are often widely acknowledged
within regular culture, and help audiences instantly recognize the genre of
certain products. All forms of media conform to conventions when creating
products in order to comply with what an audience expects to see. In relation to
music videos, conventions are often based around elements such as
Cinematography, Editing, and Mies en scene. The advanced brief was to
effectively create a music video, and in order for me to have a successful media
products Iv undertaken in research of particular codes and conventions used
within existing media texts of the indie singer songwriter genre. It
was necessary for me to conduct research to understand what is associated with
the genres and bracket of the music industry to ensure my music video attracted
the target audience.
My Advance production music video is a predominantly performance driven
video with slight elements of narrative of ‘laying a toxic relationship to rest’ and
‘letting go’. I arrive at the decision to have a predominate performance based
video to comply with the existing codes and conventions of the indie singer
songwriter genre by highly focuses on the performance suggesting the greater
importance of the music. In addition the narrative of my music video fits the
bounds of the genre and general expectations of the audience of recurring
themes of loss of love and break ups. My music video also conforms to the
conventions of the indie singer songwriter genre by conveying a more realistic
approach of everyday situations that tend to relate to the lyrics or the life of the
artist.
My music video utilizes forms and convention of a real media text through
adhering to element of Andrew Goodwin's theory of features of music videos.
Particular ways in which I have conformed to Goodwin’s theory was through
demonstrating a direct correlation between the lyrics and the visuals through
parts of my music video. A clear example of where I have demonstrated a direct
correlation between the lyrics and visual representation depicted on screen is as
the line is sung, “I used to recognize myself It's funny how reflections change”
accompanied by a over the shoulder shot of my artist gazing into a mirror with
his face being consumed my smoke. The visuals used within my media product
exemplify the lyrics, therefore strengthening the meaning of the lyrical allowing
the audience to gain a better understanding of the song and the message it
conveys. Additional way I have utilized and conformed to Goodwin’s theory
within my media product is reflected in editing of my music videos. The pace of
the edit is reflected by the fluctuation of the tempo of the music and with the
shots briefly transitioning into one another as the tempo builds up and shot
being rapidly reduced in speed when the tempo of the music decrease
conforming to Goodwin’s theory highlighting the relationship between the music
and visuals.

2. In terms of cinematography throughout my advance portfolio music video I have
fit to existing conventions of indie singer songwriter music videos through
exhibits dynamic shots and angles such as mid shots and close ups of the artist
throughout the duration of my video as Singer-songwriter music videos are
conventionally composed of a variety of camera shots and angle. Within my indie
singer songwriter music video Close-ups are frequently used as a means of
drawing the audience’s attention to the emotions displayed on the
artist/performers face whilst Extreme shots are also used to showcase the artist
surroundings or the location. Moreover my media production demonstrations
conformations to the convention of the indie singer songwriter genre through
the use of naturalistic camerawork such as Hand-Held Camera work. I have
constructed the cinematography within my music video to reflect the nature of
the indie singer songwriter genre to reinforce the idea of the everyday and that
these events within the music video are everyday happenings and in no way are
composed at all rather than obviously stylized shots which are predominantly
associated with mainstream culture.
The locations, which I have applied to my music video, are variation of effective
location, which also conform to the codes, and conventions of the indie singer
songwriter genre to strengthen my music video in terms of its visual appeal for
the audience. I filmed my main stage performance in an underground low-lit
indie bar. I have chosen this specific location due to its alternative nature and
that it also conforms to the codes and conventions of the indie singer songwriter
genre, by showcasing a live performance at an indie bar within my music videos
this suggest the greater importance of the music over anything else to the
audience, which is very common within indie singer songwriter genre as the
main focus is on the performance and the showcasing of talent by the artist. I
have also chose this location of an indie bar as it reflects the typical ideology’s of
the indie singer songwriter genre itself, which believes music is not music, isn’t
essentially about the limelight, fame and success, but in fact about the music and
the artist holds performing.
The additional locations within my music videos comply to the conventions of
the indie singer songwriter genre, which consist of a quite low budget, featuring
simplistic, viable and realist location reflecting the notion of independent upheld
by the genre. Locations within this genre have been constructed to reinforce the
idea of the ‘everyday’ and that these events within the music video are everyday
happenings and in no way are composed at all. For this reason I have filmed in
locations to convey the notion of ‘everyday’ and to strengthen my visual link with
my existing narrative of breaking free from a toxic relationship and letting go.
Therefore some of the locations that I have utilized consist of bedroom, urban
city parks as they serve as a natural mise en scene, which reflects the nature of
the indie singer songwriter genre.

3. Indie singer-songwriters the sartorial codes often promote these bohemia indie
values throughout and are represented as normal people, renounce mainstream
trends. By having an authentic original image, which isn't a product of
industry marketing, whereas the image an indie singer-songwriter reflects is
more natural simplistic style. My artist sartorial within my music video conform
to the conventions of the indie singer songwriter genre, I constructed my star
image to a degree to keep in bounds of the codes and conventions of the genres
therefore making him appear as a serious singer-songwriter who’s musical craft
means more than his aesthetic image and attire as this genre of music is less
focused on the aesthetic image of the artist but imposes more focused on the
importance of the music and 'down-to-earth' perception of the singers and
therefore a glamorous image wasn’t essential as the lyrics are of more important.
Within my media production props were vital factor to established genre
conventions to my audience within my music video, the guitar, case and
microphone fall into the general expectations of the viewer due to the indie
singer songwriter genre as the guitar is the stereotypical instrument played
by the songwriter over any other instruments so therefore the involvement of
these prop within my music video conforms to the viewers expectations of a
indie singer/songwriter, which conforms to Goodwin's theory that the genre has
it's own iconography
Within my media product I deliberately chose to both conform and subvert the
conventions of the indie singer songwriter genre in context to my mies en scene.
I have conformed to common codes and conventions of indie singer songwriter
genre in terms my mies en scene by shooting in natural lighting. I utilized natural
light throughout my music video to reflect the nature of the genre. On the other
hand lighting is a very important aspect for shaping meaning in media text. I
have researched and have incorporate artificial red neon hue lighting within my
music video and ancillary text to convey the my existing narrative and the
recurring theme within singer songwriter music videos and ancillary text which
is of Melancholy, loss of love and laying a toxic relationship to rest. Furthermore
I have chosen to use artificial red neon hue lighting accurately in terms of
representing the artist's style of music and lyrics in addition to adding to the
mood and atmosphere to convey emotion within my music video. Due to the
colour red-carrying connotations of love, lust hatred, passion and anger, which I
believe, it accurately represents the lyrics of ‘let it go’.
To conclude Rather than focusing solely on challenging the familiar conventions
of indie singer songwriter genre, I decided to utilize and explore the core
features of this particular genre to strengthen the relationship with my target
audience and to successfully execute my objective to create a indie singer
songwriter music videos.