The document summarizes how the media product used, developed, and challenged conventions of real rock music videos. It used conventions like depicting bullying and isolation through locations and characters. It developed conventions through unique lighting, transitions between shots, and the use of suicide in the ending. It challenged conventions by not showing a band performance and using non-traditional camera shots and character portrayals. The document also discusses how the album cover used, developed, and challenged conventions of real album covers.

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

2. My media product used and developed
the conventions of our genre, which is
alternative rock. When creating my
product I had the choice to either use
or challenge codes and conventions.

3. Researching Theorists
 The key theorists we found for music videos were Andrew Goodwin
and Laura Mulvey but since Laura Mulvey’s theory did not apply to
my group’s theme we then used Tzetan Todorov’s equilibrium theory.
Todorov’s views were that everything had a beginning, a twist in the
middle and then a alternative end. Goodwin claims that music
videos exhibits genre characteristics and that there should be a
relationship between lyrics and visuals with a frequent notion of
looking.
 Whilst researching we found generic codes and conventions across a
wide range of genre including different camera shots, props and
editing matching the speed of the music.

4. Media theorist: Todorov
Todorov had the theory of equilibrium which consist of:
 The fictional environment begins with a state of equilibrium (everything
as it should be)
 Some disruption occurs
 New equilibrium is produced at the end of the narrative.
This is shown within my video as :
Equilibrium – the main character being bullied
Disequilibrium – the character fights back against the bullies
New equilibrium – his suicide was him finding new mean/release.

5. USE
 For the music video we used used several specific conventions from the
rock genre, for instance a common theme is the location being
warehouse, deserted buildings and tunnels. We pin pointed these
features and corporate it into our video. By using an alleyway we were
able to highlight his isolation and a sense of being trapped. This was
taken from Linkin Park One Step Closer video. In the video the band is
performing in a dark tunnel and also at the beginning of the video we
see people in a dark alleyway pointing and laughing.
This is a picture from Linkin Park’s
video we see people pointing and
laughing in dark alleyway
This is the alleyway scene
of Emmanuel walking

6. USE
 By using a narrative related to being a victim of bullying or being isolated,
we showed codes and conventions of the rock genre. My narrative included
Emmanuel being bullied by his peers and breaking the norm by acting out
against their taunting and then committing suicide. We portrayed him as a
outcast of society which is also the same narrative seen in Linkin Park’s
Numb video. This can be seen in other genres such as Hip hop , Pop and R
‘n’ B.
M
These music videos
show narratives
leading to suicide

7. USE
 Extras/ other characters in the music video were show to be much different as it makes a
distinction between the two. This was done to make the audience understand that the
extras/other characters are normal whilst he is an outcast. This separation can also be
seen in other rock videos. The paper bag idea came from this music video ‘Somewhere I
belong’ by Linkin Park’ (below picture on the left) , I saw this whilst researching them &
thought we could incorporate into our video. It made a clear distinction between Mike and
the other people as he did not fit in, I thought this would be a good thing to add in.
All 3 videos mis-en-
scene is similar as they
are all masked/cover
the same way.

8. USE
 We used the idea of suicide into our video to show that bullying has serious
after effect on people’s lives. We looked at this video below and came up
with using suicide in our closing scene. In the Ed Sheeran video they use a
bird’s eye view allowing a clear view of her body whilst we have a black
silhouette in a mid shot.
Emmanuel committing suicide Ed Sheeran give me love
suicide scene

9. Lip Syncing
 A convention that’s widely used in music videos is lip syncing. It’s a
good element to add to a video as it helps to emerge the song with
the narrative, only if don’t correctly otherwise a video may not work
so well. My music video had lip syncing as we thought it was a key
element that we needed to bring everything together. As we
reviewed our previous video without the lip syncing which did not
come out so well, I’m glad we decided to add this method. It’s very
effective in carrying the emotions of the lyrics into the song.

10. DEVELOPED
 To develop our music video we used the conventions of unique
lighting and effects, dark rooms and flashbacks which are usually
seen in the rock genre. We enhanced this by developing the
transition more between shots, as we didn’t use the traditional pan
shot but fading images and white screens.

11. CHALLENGE
 Our group also challenged the codes and
convents of real media products as well
as using them. A often used code and
convention used in rock music videos are
the band with their instruments.
 We did this by not using any sort of
performance and audience i. e fans
which was done in Linkin Park’s ‘Faint’
video

12. CHALLENGE – Mis en scene
 We avoided using the traditional Mis en scene of a rock video such as :
• Black clothing
• Heavy make up
• Piercings
• Tattoos
• Smoking
• Leather jackets
• Sunglasses

13. CAMERA SHOTS AND ANGLES
We used the effect of zooming in to
show what was on the paper. Whilst
they used a cut in shot so in by doing
this we developed their convention.
We used wide shots
within these edits to
show intertextuality of
our school and also what
the protagonist was
running away from.
Low angle shot
from backwards
used by Linkin Park,
we challenged this
by not using this
shot within our
video. The shot we
used is over the
shoulder from
further back.

14. These two examples from
our video uses long shots
similar to the one step
closer music video
We used a tilt shot and angled the camera upwards as
Emmanuel was standing on a hill. By zooming in we were
able to capture him in this position which is a key
scene/shot within the video. We developed this as the band
uses a low angle shot
His reflection on
his life is at this
moment. The
withered branches
and grey cloudy sky
help to portray
this. For us this was
an excellent shot.
Here we uses a high
angle/point of view shot as
its meant to show Emmanuel
looking over the balcony
after his burst out through
the corridor.

15. Here was see the
band using a low
angle shot
They use a rotating
shot here which we
challenged by not
using it. We did see
the need as it would of
looked out of place.
We used a mid shot to
capture the bullying
of Emmanuel within
the class rooms. It
allowed us to get a
view of everyone and
the surroundings
showing its a class
room. And again with
the suicide scene of
Emmanuel running
towards the hill.
They uses a high mid shot
which we didn't use but
challenged by using a high
angle shot and titling it
downwards.

16. How did we use, develop and
challenge the codes and conventions
with our album cover?

17. Codes and conventions of an album
cover
• Artist name
• Album title
• Main image
• Age restrictions
• Barcode
• Colour scheme
• Logo
• Track list
• Recording information

18. Compared minutes to midnight with
our from cover
Our album cover
The cover of both album covers consist of the bands name being in the same bold font and is placed central of
the page, ours is dead set in the middle whilst there’s is top centred. The album title is in grey above the band
name whilst ours is below the band name in black.
Linkin Park’s front cover uses an illusion effect of darkness when you can see clear light. This is due to the grey
water at the bottom of the cover that goes off into a foggy type mist. The 6 silhouette’s add to give the album a
sense of edgy darkness even though the majority of the album is white. This therefore makes a contrast between
the two and allows the audience to be curious and look more into getting the album.
Our album cover developed more by using the idea of a crumpled paper bag head and merging it into our album
cover
background this gives it a different dimension whilst adding continuity throughout our digipak. We also used still
shots from our music video and faded it white gave it a grey/white background. We also placed the parental
advisory logo in the bottom right corner of the cover whilst none sis shown on the other album.
The Linkin Park album
cover

19. 
Both back covers have the track list centred but again like the band name
ours is set in the meddle whilst Linkin parks is above centred in the sky
between clouds. This both also use the Warner Brothers logo on the back
covers, representing the music company they are signed to.
Linkin Park’s back cover shows a image which is similar to their front by
having 6 silhouettes but all you see is there backs whilst they face the water
ahead of them. There bar code is place at the bottom left side of the cover
with the recording all the main codes and conventions including the
important information, special features and thanks are all small printed on
the back at the bottom also.
We challenged this by not including these small prints but just by adding the
Warner bros logo, barcode, track list and band name on the back.

20. Artist name
 Artist name - tends to always be on the from cover, essential to creating an
image for the star and allows the target audience to see the artist product
easily.
 We use the artist name on our front cover and also the font used in our album
cover is consistent with the bands as they used it within three of their albums
- minutes to midnight, road to revolution, songs from underground.
All 3 album covers consist of the same font which
we have also used on our cover
We challenge the background of the cover
however by using multiple still shots from
our music video, then faded the images
and added the crumpled effect of the
paper bag to give it consistency but also a
new feel to a Linkin Park inspired cover.

21. Album title
 Album title - having a title for an album cover allows the audience to get an idea of what the
artist was thinking whilst creating the album and gives it a feel for what direction (new or
old) they have decision to take with music. Our album title is underneath the band name in
the same font style. We used hybrid theory as our album name but only focus on the and
name as we wanted it people to be able to recognise it.
Jlove which is meant for two
words combined as one. Jlo- is
her nickname often used instead
of her full name and love? Is the
album title. This was cleverly
done as its asking is love still in
the cards for JLo?
The abbey road titled album
is a very famous album
know across the world for
this icon image and street.
The Beatles used the title
due to the street the
members of the band are
walking across.
Abbey road is where
the Beatles recorded
their last album. So
using the title as
Abbey Road has great
significance.

22. Age restriction
 Age restriction - this will appear at times as parental advisory telling you
that there will be offensive or inappropriate language within the album. As
music nowadays is more expressive with language and sexualisation a
restriction is put in place so that it would offend anyone without them
knowing. Having this label usually depends on the genre of music and artist.
 Challenge- link park’s album because we put it on our own album cover and
used the code and conventions of the music genre by adding the parental
advisory.


All albums carry the
logo

23. Main image
 Main image – a main image is consistent on covers sometimes even the back
cover. There’s usually connotation of a significant message about the artist
interest/feelings/experiences at that time in their life. Different genres
normally have different images e.g. Pop artist have pictures of themselves-
The Saturdays and rock genre would have a logo or image putting across a
message
 We this developed by using pictures of scenes from our music video
The album has
come to be
regarded as
U2's first
overtly
political
album,
This album
shows 5 girls
having fun
with the radio
i.e. music

24. Colour scheme
 Challenge the colour scheme of all album covers. As we didn't have one but
we did use a consistent theme of imagery e.g. Kanye tear bear albums.
Which we did by having still shot pictures from different scene of the
music video.
Late
registration
Graduation
College
dropout

25. Codes and conventions of the back
cover
We placed the
track list
central as we
wanted it to
be the most
important
thing people
saw. This is a
code and
convention we
used (track
list).
Band name is
also centred
but at the top.
Barcode and
music company
logo are
another code
and conventions
of album covers
that we used
We challenged it by not using the small print
information or website address you would
usually get on an back cover
We developed it by
again using the
crumpled effect and
still shots from scenes
within our video

26. logo
 Bands usually have an iconic logo that is constant throughout their careers,
this logo will mostly be seen on their album covers. It can also be seen in
music videos, posters, adverts and concerts.
 Challenge this because we didn't use the band logo on our album.
Link Park’s logo

27. barcode
 Barcode - is an optical machine-readable representation of data relating to
the object to which it is attached. All products consist of a barcode including
a music album. This helps track items and also reduces instances of
shoplifting involving price tag swapping. Music labels use this to keep a track
of all the records sold and where they are sold. This is a convention we used
as it is an important thing to have on a CD back cover.
Barcode on the
bottom right side
of the album
barcode

28. Track list
 The track listing is place centred on the page in the middle, on the back
cover. The font is black simple and clear. We didn't use the same font as the
band name because it would have not looked appropriate and may have been
hard to read. We used four songs from The Hybrid theory album – One step
closer, In the end, Paper cut and Crawling which all contributed to putting
Linkin Park on the map, making them a well known mainstream Rock band.
The bands
track list
Our track
list

29. Record information
 Linkin Parks is signed to the record label Warner bros. They released
their breakthrough album ‘Hybrid Theory’ the year after signing to
the label. The label also distributes the bands music as well as
producing it. Machines shop recordings is also a recorded label used
by the band. It was founded by Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson. It was
originally known as ‘The Mike Shinoda Imprint’ but was renamed in
2002 when more members of the band started to get involve. Mike
and Brad run the band as producer and A&R respectively. The label is
currently on hiatus. Due to disagreement with the label and parent
company Warner Bros. Both labels logos are always featured on the
bands albums.

30. Digipak Advert
A picture of the album
is used also to show
what it looks like to
the audience ,
making recognisable
The band name
with the same
theme font as the
album cover.
Beneath it is the
album title
The background
is also the same
imagery we used
for the album
cover, which are
still shots from
scenes within
our music video
The black rectangular box
across the middle/bottom
of the advert is used to
make the information
within it that's written in
white stand out more.
We also placed the track
listing underneath the
black box which is
written in black font.
This gives the audience
more visual on what will
be within the album and
what kinds of issues the
band have written
about.
The band’s official website,
music record label Warner Bros.
And Machine are also places at
the bottom of the digipak
advert.

31. Visual image
 Consistent theme has been used throughout our digipak with both the album
and advert looking similar as you can see below. The faded still shots from the
scenes within the video has been used for the background, along with the
album title and band name being used.

32. Date of release
We used the codes and
conventions of a digipak
advert as the release date is
usually shown along with the
artist name/ album title. For
our release date we used ‘
Out Now’ instead of a set
date. We felt it was better to
do this as we could add the
website and more
advertisement by quotes that
are promoting songs from the
album that are circulating the
music industry at the
moment. E.g. includes the
number 1 single ‘On Step
Closer’. We also added the
track list at the bottom of the
advert to show what other
songs were listed on the
album.

33. Review of album advert
 Magazine adverts are usually the front covers of the digipak in a poster form
with messages underneath giving information on the release dates, ratings
from reviews of the album by the artist and sometimes track list from the
album it self. These are codes and conventions of a digipak magazine advert
you’ll see.
Here we see there
magazine advert i.e.
poster which looks
similar to ours with the
use of black and white
colour scheme. At the
bottom they have also
add a picture of the
album and message
that says ‘available
now’ instead of a stead
date. Something we
have also on with our
poster.
This poster resembles our
idea as it’s a larger
example of the album
imagery with a few
changes. Its colour
scheme has gone from
white to red, the band
name is now merged
behind the 6 silhouette
figures of the band
members and the
information is all bellow
the silhouettes. In the
bottom right corner there
is also a picture of the
album further promoting
the audience to purchase
it.