The document discusses conventions used in media products, including technical, symbolic, and structural conventions. It provides examples of how camera angles, editing, lighting, costumes, and layout were used in line with conventions of genres like R&B and house music. Close-ups, synchronized cuts, fluorescent lighting, urban clothing, and central artist positioning were some techniques discussed. The goal was to represent the artists and genre tropes while also adding some unique and challenging elements.

1. How do your products use or
challenge conventions and how
do they represent social groups
or issues?
Tia Balinska Media Studies

2. Conventions
 Conventions can be symbolic or technical.
 Technical conventions include camera and editing. Camera is the angles and movement of the shots and
editing is the order of shots, shot duration and special effects on a program called Adobe Premiere Pro
CC. This is how equipment is used to show meaning in the text.
 Symbolic Conventions include mise-en-scene which is what is in the shot behind the camera, for
example, the lighting and costume in the picture.
 The genre of our music video is a mixture of R&B and House as it is a remix.
 Similar artists to our singer are Rihanna and Teyana Taylor and a similar artist to the rapper is
Skepta due to the star image they have in common to the artists in our music video.

3. Technical Conventions (Camera) VIDEO
 Typical conventions of a R&B music video include a close up of the artist that is being promoted. We used a large number of close ups of the
rapper and singer to help present a star image for them in comparison to the dancers where they shots are mainly wide shots and mid shots. In the
edit we have close ups on certain words from the lyrics to emphasise the link with the music and the singer’s face.
 Generally in R&B songs with rap, the rappers are positioned in the frame where there is very little headspace with a low angle to make the artist
appear dominating and powerful. We used a low angle in the rapping section of the music video with a mixture of close ups of the rappers hands,
face and mid and wide shots. All of our shots were either on a track or on a tripod so when we wanted to create a hand held looking shot we used
the tripod to follow the movement of the artists without looking too shaky.
 We wanted there to be a reveal of the rapper so we used a tracking shot moving away from the singer. This emphasized their relationship being
close as it is not disjointed from a simple straight cut.
 The character positioning in our music video is similar to Rihanna’s song “Work” as it contains a scene where the rapper is sat down on the sofa
while the singer sings. This is like the set where our rapper raps in the foreground while the singer is in the background and is dancing to the music.
In both videos, the artists come together and interact with one another as the song progresses.

4. Technical Conventions (Editing) VIDEO
 Technical conventions of editing a music include synchronized cuts which match the rhythm of the song to show a sense of movement. In our music
video, most of our shots match the beat of the song which creates a powerful and clean cut music video.
 For example, this is especially effective during the last section of our music video as there is a build up in which the cuts become faster and the shot
duration becomes shorter with the kick drum in “Kryptonite” to create a build up to the climax where a new scene/set is introduced to keep
engagement and variety for the audience. This adheres to a house track which is the genre of the song. I edited the music video in this way as I
wanted to create an impact on the audience through a peak in the editing. To create this effect further I cut between two different shots and
intercutting between them, shortening the time between them to make it flow as well as look disjointed before the slow shot durations of the new
set introduced after the climax.
 Jax Jones’ music video shows this in “House Work” where each simple straight cut is on the beat. There is a clear presentation of quicker cuts as the
song progresses and build up. The pace increases to emphasise the speed of the house tempo of around 128bpm. Jax Jones also uses the
intercutting technique to emphasise the lead singer similar to our music video.
It is clear that in both shots the
lead singer is placed in the
center of the shot and the edit
cuts away to another shot
happening at the same time to
create an escalation. This
connotes to a house genre as
well as creating a successful
strobe effect build up with a long
shot duration after to create the
peak.

5. Symbolic Conventions (Lighting) VIDEO
 We used lighting to present the colours for our music video as the sets were very dark and moody. Colours are important in a music video as it
represents the mood of the artist as the dark tones connote to the RnB side of our song with contrasting colours of red and blue which adheres to
a house genre. The neon colours relate to artificial environments, such as, in our music video it gives the effect of being in a motel in a city bringing
an urban feel to it.
 We chose the colours red and blue as they work well together and when mixed they give a purple colour, which was used predominantly in the
female lead singer’s scenes. In the rapper’s scene the colours are mainly different shades of blue and in the female’s scene they are mainly red and
blue or just red to show a difference between the two artists.
 The lighting we used was created from fluorescent lights (flouries) which where placed on the left and right of the artist to highlight the side profile
of the artist. This is similar to the lighting in Teyana Taylor’s music video “Love Her”.
We chose this
lighting as it makes
the artist look very
feminine and also
powerful with bold
colours. It also
highlights the face
well to make them
appear good
looking for the
music video.

6. Symbolic Conventions (Styling) VIDEO
 Costume, hair and make up helps to create a star image for the artist/s
in the music video. For example, if the artist was wearing baby pink it
connotes to innocence and youth which would adhere to a pop genre.
For our music video, we went for an urban setting which we reflected
through wearing trendy, modern clothing to present this, as well as
using jewellery. To have a clear theme throughout our music video, we
kept the artists with the same hair and make up with changes to the
costume. The makeup for the lead singer and dancers were gold which
reflects a modern piece and keeps their look more powerful and bold
rather than natural and soft.
 The dancers wore matching outfits as we thought it we keep
regularity and would create a clear distinction between the lead
singer and the dancers. We also made them have their hair
down as it creates a stronger impact on the audience when the
shot is in slow motion.
 An artist that has a similar look to Kimani, is Rihanna who is an
R&B artist who has an urban look.
 The rapper wore a tracksuit which connotes to the R&B side of
the song. Wearing all black also helped fit the music video’s
colour scheme; a moody atmosphere in a motel.

7. Structural Conventions (Layout) DIGIPAK
 In a digipak, the layout is essential when creating a campaign for an artist as it
creates an image for them. For example, if the artist name was small on the album
cover, the artist will appear more humble connoting to a genre of indie or alternative
rather than pop or hip hop. Our genre is a mix between House and R&B so we could
be flexible in the way we approached the digipak. Overall, we decided to have a
close up shot of the artist in the center of the cover with a name in a sans serif bold
font to create an urban look to it.
 Both digipaks have the name of the album at the bottom in the same font as the
artist name, but is smaller to help the audience to look at the name first and
remember it better than the album name as the record label wants the album to
promote the artist rather than the album. This is a typical convention of a R&B album
as they typically want all focus to be on the artist.
 Both of the albums have a list of the songs that are in
the album at the back as well as having a barcode so
that it can be bought in stores. The lists are in
chronological order to make it easier for the audience
to find the song in the album.
 At the bottom of the back, there are company rights in
tiny writing which is readable but would not stand out to
someone when looking from a distance.
 These are all conventions of a House/R&B track.

8. Stylistic Conventions (Imagery) DIGIPAK
 Typical conventions in a R&B album include having a close or mid shot of the artist. Our artist is R&B artist therefore, we decided to use her
face on the front cover to help sell the star image. The colours we used are very similar to the ones in our music video, however, we decided
to go for pink and blue instead of red and blue to show a constant theme throughout the campaign without looking like a ‘single’ release.
 Having the artist in the center of the album front panel and back panel allows the audience to look at her face before the writing to draw
attention to her. We used an overlay effect to create an effect where you see Kimani from different angles looking left and right. This gives a
side profile view of her face and at the back panel, we see a headshot of her from a high angle shot to create an image of innocence and
purity from the angle. We didn’t take shots of her from the shoot day as we are promoting an album.
 An album cover which is similar is ‘How Deep is Your Love’ by Stixy D. They have used the same colours with Gigi Hadid presented in different
angles with an overlay. They both present ideas of a modern song as the effects are futuristic and urban with a high quality picture.

9. Stylistic Conventions (Imagery) WEBSITE
 The website is very similar to the digipak in the way that it contains colours
that are similar to the video but arent exactly the same. The website is very
pink and feminine which connotes to R&B for our lead singer. As the page
progresses it changes from pink to blue which is artistic. We did this to
create an image for Kimani that looks more unusual to slightly subvert an
R&B artist however, making it clear who she is.
 In most of the shots, her character positioning is mainly in the center which
shows a sense of a star image as all attention is dragged into the center as
soon as we enter the website. On the last page she is placed on the right of
the screen which adds variation to the website.

10. Stylistic Conventions (Imagery) WEBSITE
 The home page is the page we see first when entering the website, it contains the album
artwork of the digipak which compliments the colours in the website. It is also similar to
the colours in the music video so it presents a campaign.