The document summarizes how the media product challenges and develops conventions of real music videos. It discusses conventions related to lyrics establishing feeling, genre being reflected in visual elements, and camera work impacting meaning. While some conventions like close-ups were followed, others like objectifying female performers or using intertextuality were challenged as they are not common in folk music videos which served as inspiration. Analysis of other folk videos informed shot choices and editing style to conform to typical techniques in the genre.

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

2. Exploring conventions of music videos
General theory:
• The lyrics establish a general feeling.
• The genre might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene,
themes, performance, camera and editing styles.
• Camera work has a major impact on meaning; the
movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the
representation of the artist/band.
• Intertextuality – not all viewers will recognise a reference
which would not detract them from their pleasure in the
text itself, but if the viewer was to realise the reference it
should increase the audience’s engagement regarding the
product.

3. “The lyrics establish a general feeling”
I believe that the lyrics of the song we have chosen for our production
piece enable the audience to get a feel of what the piece is about. The
line ‘girl, I’m coming home to you’ highlights the general feeling of the
piece and the upbeat, romantic nature which is a convention of most
folk songs.
Researching other folk bands that have influenced Gentlemen of Few, I
found a recurring theme of love and happiness in the lyrics of their
songs which mirrored the desired atmosphere of the music videos.
“Oh well I look at you and say it's the happiest that I've ever been”
Noah and the Whale – 5 Years Time
“Longing for your side, lying bound to carry you far from here”
Cocos Lovers - Emily
These lyrics compliment the calm and happy visuals of the music
videos. Therefore, I conformed to this convention and took inspiration
from these bands.

4. “The genre might be reflected in types of
mise-en-scene, themes, performance,
camera and editing styles.”
My group followed this theory by conforming to the
genre of our piece. We specifically wanted to bring out
the folk genre through our use of Nordic/indie clothing,
natural lighting, outdoor locations and instruments.
After researching the editing in Mumford and Sons’ and
Noah and the Whale’s music videos, we discovered
each music video had on average 150 different shots.
Therefore, we catered our video to around this number
to follow the steady pace of the folk genre.

5. When choosing costumes for our actors, we
took inspiration from folk bands such as Of
Monsters and Men and Noah and the Whale.
I like Of Monsters
and Men’s Nordic
style and the
printed knitwear
they dress
themselves in.
Therefore, I put my
actors in a similar
style rust jumper as
I felt this colour
would compliment
the other earthy
colours used in the
video.
I like Noah and the Whale’s clean-cut look with their
tailored suits and shirts. Therefore, I similarly dressed
my actor in a blazer with a shirt. However, I still
wanted to keep a casual look throughout the video
so I teamed the blazer with jeans.

6. We took inspiration from Noah and the Whale
‘5 Years Time’ by using a mixture of indoor and
outdoor locations, as well as artificial lighting
indoors and natural lighting outside.
Our mise en scene evokes feelings of a homely
atmosphere. For example we used wooden furniture
such as the chair and book case which relates to the
natural settings and earthy colours used in the folk
genre. We wanted to follow the typical codes and
conventions of the genre by using no new technology.
This creates a preferred reading to the audience as our
mise en scene hasn’t been touched by urbanisation or
modern technology; the video is set in the countryside.

7. We used dark earthy colours (browns) throughout the
video which are seen in ‘Hopeless Wanderer’ and
Whisky Folk Ramblers ‘Gambling preacher and his
daughter’, as these colours are a common convention of
the folk genre.

8. We incorporated a piano into our music video as it
follows the conventions of folk videos where
instruments are played. Close up shots of instruments
are also found in Mumford and Sons ‘Hopeless
Wanderer’ music video, as well as ‘Gambling
Preacher…’.

9. We included an introduction to our
music video using the codes and
conventions of folk genre videos such as
‘Gambling Preacher…’ and Coco and the
Butterfields’ ‘Warriors’. It also introduces
the band/artist and the song.
Rather than using a bold striking font, usually
associated with more hard-core rock music genres,
we used a sophisticated and neat font as our song is
more mellow and folk. The white and black colours
of the text show up against the backdrop and gently
compliments the earthy colours used in the
landscape, normally associated with the folk genre.

10. “Camera work has a major impact on meaning;
the movement, angle and shot distance all play a
part in the representation of the artist/band.”
We used a low angle shot on
the main actor to show he was
in a position of authority. We
also included many long shots,
positioning the actor in the
centre of the frame to ensure
the focus was on him and his
story, following the conventions
used in ‘Gambling Preacher…’
We began the video with an
establishing shot of a natural
landscape in a rural
countryside. This showed
where the video was based
and was a clear reference to
the folk genre, as seen in
Noah and the Whale’s
‘Winter Winds’.

11. “Intertextuality – not all viewers will recognise a
reference which would not detract them from their
pleasure in the text itself, but if the viewer was to
realise the reference it should increase the
audience’s engagement regarding the product.”
We deviated from using intertextuality in our music
video as it is not a common convention of the folk
genre. Other bands and artists that have influenced
Gentlemen of Few, such as Noah and the Whale and
Mumford and Sons, tend not to include references to
other media texts in their videos, therefore we also
wanted to follow this convention.

12. Exploring conventions of music videos
Goodwin’s Theory:
• Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict
the lyrics and music.
• Close-ups should always be included.
• The female performer is frequently objectified
principally for display purposes.

13. “Visuals either illustrate, amplify or
contradict the lyrics and music.”
I feel we followed this convention in our music video as
our visuals do compliment and illustrate the upbeat,
romantic lyrics of the song perfectly. For instance, on the
line “So I pack my bags and head down south”, our footage
displayed our main actor walking down a long path as if he
was on a journey. Also, on the line “girl, I’m coming home
to you” we used a shot of the main actor’s feet walking as
if he was coming home to his partner.

14. “Close-ups should always be included.”
The majority of our music video contained mid shots,
however we did frequently use close-ups of our main
actor, as well as the instruments that were being
played. Using close-ups of the main actor heightened
the emotional connection between the performer and
the audience, addressing the uses and gratifications
theory. Close-ups of instruments is a typical
convention of the folk genre, seen in Mumford and
Sons’ videos which we took inspiration from for our
own music video.

15. We analysed two folk music videos and counted up all of the
different shots they include:
Coco and the Butterfields – Warriors
Camera Angles
Long shot – 10
Mid shot – 12
Close up – 25
Extreme close up - 5
Low angle – 11
High angle – 5
Editing Techniques
Pan – 2
Cuts – 189
Tilt – 5
Zoom in – 3
Zoom out – 2
Jump cut - 3
Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time
Camera Angles
Long shot – 12
Mid shot – 19
Close up – 20
Extreme close up - 3
Low angle – 5
High angle – 3
Editing Techniques
Pan – 3
Cuts – 182
Tilt – 2
Zoom in – 4
Zoom out – 3
Jump cut - 6
From our analysis, we found that mid shots were the most commonly used shot, along
with close-ups second. We conformed to this in our video, as the most common shots
were mid shots and close ups.

16. “The female performer is frequently
objectified principally for display purposes.”
We completely challenged this convention in our
music video. Since the band is made up of males,
we wanted our main male actor to be the focus
of the video, which was shown by our use of low
angle shots which gave the actor a position of
authority. The female performer in our music
video is just subsidiary to the main actor,
therefore we felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to
objectify her, as she is not the focus of the video.
Also, folk music videos are often dominated my
male bands and artists and therefore women
don’t tend to be objectified for display purposes.