This is a presentation on the first out of four evaluation questions for my media studies A2 coursework. the question is "In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?".

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

2. Genre
Genre is defined as “types” or “formats and formulas”
(Williams 2003). When creating a text media producers use
genre to ensure the product sells so that the industry can earn
a profit. This is likely to happen when using a genre because
it means the audience can recognise what type of product it
is, fitting it into a certain category. This genre structure
enables media producers to understand what is popular and
so have a target market, meaning they can identify a specific
group of people who will like their product and go and see it.
This therefore reduces the possibility of risks within
production and shows genre to be beneficial. However, media
producers can feel restricted when relying on a genre as
sticking to certain categories can suppress creativity. A
“format and formula” can determine a secure audience as the
product meets their expectations for a particular genre but by

3. My Products
My main product is a music video for the song “Enough” by
the American Indie band “Dinner and a Suit”.
The second product I produced is a Digipak displaying the
different aspects of the physical album in which the song is
on.
The final product is a magazine advert which promotes the
album.
All of these products have the same theme connecting them

4. General Music Video
ConventionsIn terms of cinematography music videos include many long shots, close-
ups and medium shots. This is to create emphasis on the artist, location
and emotions. The movement of the camera is used to follow and trace the
artist or the narrative of the music video. Camera movements include tilts,
pans, tracking and crane shots. These movements add variety keeping the
audience enticed but also help create atmosphere for example, gloomy or
upbeat.
The mise-en-scene refers to the arrangement of performers and props in
the scene/frame for the production of a music video. An example is “You
Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift; the mise-en-scene involves her dancing
around her teenage bedroom energetically in different costumes.
Within the topic of editing jump cuts are usually the predominant editing
technique used in music videos because it allows sudden changes from
scene to scene and within the narration. This type of editing is used heavily
in the Taylor Swift video because the changing of costumes is synchronised
to the beat of the music. Transitions such as fade and dissolve are also
commonly used in general music videos.
Music videos usually have the soundtrack running throughout the
production and vocals are prominent. Sound is of course vital in any

5. Conventions of the Indie
Genre
Setting
Mise-en-scene
Editing
Sound
Performance
Narrative
Cinematography
Existing
examples/Re
al media
texts.
Relate to my
own media
products.

6. Setting
Setting: indie music videos are known to be quite low budget.
This is appropriate for us because we don’t have access to
high quality equipment. The settings of an indie music video
are commonly studios, cities and parks.

7. Setting: Existing Examples
Ellie Goulding – Your Song
Ellie Goulding - Your Song Music Video
I have compared my group’s music video with
that of Ellie Goulding’s “Your Song” music
video. The images on the left are shots from
the exiting product’s video and those on the
left are from our original music video. I have
identified shots in both of them that are very
similar in terms of setting and framing set-up.
The top left and right images both include a
medium shot of the artist walking towards the
camera. The female is located in a field and
the male, walking down a road. Even though
the location differs it is clear to see that they
are both outside. Seeing as the indie genre
tends to be low budget this setting is
obviously very convenient for a music video.
Ellie Goulding has a high status in the music
industry now yet we still see the simple
aspects to the setting in her music video. My
group chose to use this form rather than
challenge it because if its ease and obvious
success.
The next set of images show both artists
singing into a microphone which suggests
they are performing in a studio. The likeness
of the framing is also matched because both
artists are facing left in a close-up shot. This
setting lets the audience know that the artist
in the video is professional and the close-up
shots ensure that the audience knows who
the star is. Finally, the setting of the final two
images is again clearly connected to nature.
Both artists have their backs to the camera
and seem to be observing the view. I think

8. Mise-en-scene
As well as general music video conventions mise-en-scene is
also a very important factor in the indie genre. It helps portray
the narrative so that the audience can understand what is
going on. Indie artists often have a retro look which can be
created through their costume and make-up. There could be
additional actors in the video who ae the main characters in
the narrative but aren’t connected to the band or artist off set.
Props are also a key element to ensue a music video looks
realistic. For an indie band the key props would include
instruments (e.g. drum kit, guitar etc.) which shows that the
artist is actually the one with the musical ability and not it’s not
just an actor standing in pace, this is an impressive element.

9. Mise-en-scene: Existing
Examples
The Lumineers – Ho HeyThe Lumineers - Ho Hey Music Video
For the Mise-end-scene I have made
comparisons with the Lumineers’ Ho
Hey music video. This band is also of
the indie genre but are not as high
profile of Ellie Goulding. As mentioned
previously props such a photographs
and instruments are frequently seen
within this genre as it helps create a
sense of realism. The photograph
present in the image on the left is
framed and of the actual artist yet the
photo present on the right is part of the
narrative. This is therefore a
convention we have again developed.
Instead of promoting the artist with the
use of a prop we have promoted the
storyline and so the emotiveness of
the music video. The way it has been
present also differs, as the left picture
is in a frame, hung up on a wall yet the
right picture is a just printed and was
initially folded up. This perhaps
emphasises that the mise-en-scene of
a music video can be high quality or
low quality but still have the intended
effect. The bottom two images are of
the live bands. The instruments are
present in both shots however they
vary. The Lumineers have a guitar, a
tambourine and a ukulele yet our band
have also a key board and the drums.
Another difference is that the main
artist isn’t playing an instrument in our

10. Editing
Editing is what makes the music video complete. So much
can be done in editing that the whole image of a media text
can be changed entirely and this is why is it useful when
trying to aim for a particular genre such as indie. Within this
genre a common feature in editing is effects being inserted
over the top of footage to create an old and worn out
atmosphere, for example, if a flash back was taking place,
this would help identify it for the audience ensuring the
narrative runs smoothly. A black and white effect is
collective for many music videos as it can create
atmosphere easily, showing something to be old or sad.
Fast and slow cuts reflect the pace of the song and can
either make something upbeat or gentile. The indie genre
often uses slow cuts and many transitions between shots
meaning the audience are less likely to be disorientated.
(however… jump cuts in augment – subvert).

11. Editing: Existing Examples
The Kooks - Naive
The Kooks - Naive Music Video
Editing techniques are used in post-production to
enhance the atmosphere of the entire music
video. It can do this through cuts or through visual
effects. The tops images are both scenes that
have a visual effect. The one of the left is from the
Kooks’ music video and a filter of red colour has
been placed over the top of the original scene.
The setting of this particular video is in a night
club and therefore this addition of colour lets the
audience believe this is real. It also adds a bit of
variety to make the video interesting and
mysterious. My group used a visual effect but not
for the majority of the music video, only for one
scene. This is a convention we developed. Indie
genres often have narrative and our music video
had a narrative that involved flashbacks
intertwined with the present, we used the “dessert
gale” effect not only to create a tense atmosphere
but to also signify when a flashback was occurring
in order to make this clear for the audience to
follow. The bottom two images are examples of
different types of editing in terms of speed. The
Kooks made the beginning of their music video
slow motion to elongate the emotion, My group did
something different. We added jump cuts to our
scene in order to speed the narrative up and
create a hectic atmosphere. The techniques used
here were the opposite of each other meaning this

12. Performance
It is very common for the indie genre to include a live
performance in a music video as it is a way to focus on the
main artist, showing the audience that they are doing what
they really enjoy. It is very typical of the indie genre to focus on
the actual talents of the artist and the different types of shots
used would help promote the star and provide a status.
However in recent years it has been a really popular technique
to include a main narrative in-between the performance to help
creating meaning to the lyrics of the song. It means the
audience can relate to the lyrics and become engaged in the
story-line. The narrative can also help create repeatability as
an audience may want to re-watch what happens if it is
emotional and enticing.
We followed the conventions
of including a live performance
and a narrative because every
single example we have
looked at so far in this
presentation has a included
these elements. We decided
not to challenge these aspects
as we know it is what makes
the indie genre noticeable and
therefor successful.

13. Cinematography
The most typical camera shots used in the indie genre for a
music video would be close-up shots and medium shots. The
different techniques used in cinematography, for example,
movement, angles and shots, helps to introduce and promote
the star. Close-up shots highlight the artist’s talents when they
are singing and it also shows passion and emotion. Even
though the indie genre means keeping to certain conventions it
doesn’t mean that creativity suffers. It is through the different
techniques that creativity flourishes as it adds diversity and
exclusivity.

14. Cinematography: Existing
Examples
Kodaline - PerfectWorldKodaline - Perfect World Music Video
In terms of cinematography I could
have chosen many example to
compare our music video to but I
chose Kodaline because the
movements of the camera featured
in ours a lot.
The first two top images of that
stars in both music videos. They
are both being filmed using a
tracking shot, circling around the
artists’ head in a medium-close-up.
When shooting this scene it was
not planned for our music video
and was very spontaneous but that
fact that the Indie band Kodaline
has used the exact same shot
interested me. It shows that
actually within our genre many of
the cinematography decisions are
generic andare used often. I
thought this shot did add variety
though and broke up the ordinary
long cuts. Another similarity was
the panning shot used to show
more of the narrative. I don’t think
we pushed boundaries here in

15. The Digipak
I have matched our digipack/album cover to one of The Cure’s album covers. The Cure is an Indie band as well as Dinner and a
Suit and so comparisons can be made between them:
• The first similarity is the effect of the image on the front cover of the album. Both are predominantly black and white but The
Cure have a pop of blue for the title. I think they choice of colour scheme helps enhance the overall atmosphere because both
images portray mysteriousness and a seriousness.
• Rather than block black and white colour like the cure have done , we developed this and decided to have a snow effect over
the image. This was so that the audience felt slightly disorientated and were therefore attracted to the product because it
intrigues them.
• A difference between the two digipak covers is the framing of the artist. The artist on the right is in a medium-close up shot
revealing his expression clearly whilst the artist on the right is in a medium shot which may be perceived as less intimate by the
audience. I don’t think this is a bad aspect however because it means that there is breathing space, as more of the
surroundings are showing.

16. The Magazine Advert
Coldplay’s magazine advert has the album cover for their new CD right in the middle of the page which is the
same as ours yet ours is positioned to the right. This design has challenged the convention of the image being
right in the centre of because we have added a shadow effect. This shadow effect gives the Album presence,
it is as if it has authority and power where the sun is shining in front of it therefore standing out. An aspect
which is the same though is the large, bold title at the top of the adverts. They cannot be missed and are
clearly presented. Finally these magazine adverts are promoting different messages, Coldplay are promoting
their new tour and Dinner and a Suit are promoting their new album. From the research I have done
previously in this blog I found that the majority of magazine adverts promoted one of the two and that it was
fairly even. The fact that we had designed a digipak meant that it made sense to go with the form of promoting
the release of the album rather than the band’s fake tour.