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

2. Throughout my music video I have tried to portray the generic
conventions of a rock/pop genre. The way that I did this was through the
editing, narrative and mise en scene. In this PowerPoint I will therefore be
exploring certain aspects of my music video and evaluating how and if
they represent my chosen genre well. For example, I will be looking at:
1. Representation of the artist
2. Setting/location
3. Costumes and props
4. Camerawork and editing
5. Performance
6. Narrative
7. Genre and how the music video suggests it
8. How characters are introduced
9. Special effects

3. Representation and introduction of
the artist
•
•
In my music video I have made the main character/artist very vulnerable
and weak, to not only go with the lyrics of the song but also to fit in with
the pop/rock genre. It is a generic convention to include someone
inferior in a pop/rock genre and this is usually featured in the main artist.
However, there is also a character that features as the ‘stronger one,’ and
in my music video I have made this my second artist.
It is also natural for there to be an outburst in the music video during a
long instrumental, whether this be part of a band playing their
instruments, or part of a storyline. I decided for my artist to have a rage
in her house during the instrumental which again, not only fit in with the
genre of pop/rock, expressing emotions such as frustration and opening
up to the audience, but it also went well with the storyline that I chose
for my song and represents her vulnerability.
I think that these features definitely show the representation of
characters, especially through the narrative as the audience can get a
more accurate idea of what they are feeling and what is going on in their
lives. In fact, one aspect of the narrative that expresses the
representation of the artist well is the recurring theme of exclusion and
love. This informs the audience that they are typical
teenagers, experiencing typical teenage problems, and so the audience
can relate, as well as be well informed about who they are.
The artists were both introduced at the beginning of the music video and
so were the first thing that the audience saw. This was done because I
wanted to add emphasis onto the fact that they were the most
important aspect of the music video and it also makes them more
memorable to the audience. This links in with stereotypical pop/rock
music videos because the representation of characters is key and it is
important to ensure that they are the most important aspect of the
video.

4. Setting/location
Generic pop/rock music videos include locations that
are fairly simplistic and everyday and go with the
target audience. Take Pink- So What for
example, she uses locations such as roads, front
gardens, bars, etc.. Each of these locations are
simple and relatable to her target audiene of
young adults. For this reason it was important to
keep the locations in my own music video
straightforward and everyday/easily accessible to
my target audience. It would be completely
unconventional to use locations such as
restaurants, airports, hotels, and other locations
of this sort because they are not easily accessible
to my target audience of teenagers and are not
simple. On the contrary I have included
fields, kitchens, bathrooms, pathways and
bedrooms, all of which are relatable to both my
audience and the genre. The fact that the
locations were simple goes well with the rock part
of the genre, but the fact that there was a variety
of simple locations suits the pop genre as it shows
diversity and makes the music video stand out as
it is interesting and more engaging to watch.

5. Costumes and props
I had to do a lot of thinking in relation to the
costumes because the pop and rock
genres are quite opposite in this respect.
For example in generic rock music videos
the costumes are simple and casual, and
the characters wear clothes such as jeans
or leggings. On the other hand pop
costumes are more glamorous, girly and
stylish, including things such as dresses
and short skirts. In the end, the way that I
decided upon my costumes was to have
them simple and everyday, but also they
were trendy and modern. For example the
main dress that one of the artists wear is
fairly simple and is a day dress, however, it
is also quite stylish, modern and has a girly
flower pattern, going well with the types
of clothing that teenage girls wear
everyday.
Props in generic pop/rock music videos are usually
dependent on the storyline and so vary accordingly,
however they are also relatable to the target audience and
would be relatable to them. The main prop in my music
video are drugs. Drugs have a huge impact and influence
on most teenagers and so including them in my music
video would not come as a shock to them. In fact a lot of
teenagers experiment with some drugs and my music
video can relate to the incidents that could be an outcome
if you are not careful and sensible. The same sort of
message appears in other pop/rock genres. Sometimes
alcohol can appear and though it may seem like the music
video is advertising alcohol, they usually either promote it
in a good way, by being sensible and showing that it can be
used as a method of having fun as long as you are careful
and understand your limits, or in a negative way whereby
someone gets hurt or misjudges their limits. Another prop
that is used frequently is a mobile phone. This is a
stereotypical prop used by all teenagers, making the music
video relatable to the audience and emphasises the fact
that pop/rock music videos entail props that are relatable
to the specific audiences.

6. Camerawork and editing
The main focus during my camerawork was to express the facial
expressions of each character and to show the audience
exactly what was going on and the important features of
the video. The reason for this is because most pop/rock
genres show the artists to the audience to promote them
and allow the audience to gain a personal relationship
with the emotions being portrayed through the
camerawork. The way that I did this was by having a
variety of shots to show both facial expressions and
posture, these included close-ups and long shots, which
allowed the audience to get a better feel of the types of
emotions coming through the song.
The editing was also done in relation to the genre.
Pp/rock music videos are usually simple and show more
emphasis on the artist and storyline and so keep the
editing to a minimum. I tried to live up to this by only
including editing in certain scenes that would be effective.
For example I made the colour of my music video black
and white which went with the mood and links in with
other pop/rock music videos that are also quite sad and
emotional. Slow motion was a good editing technique to
use because it went with the tempo of the song and is
used in many pop/rock music videos. Another edit was
the mirroring and adding layers of the same scene
together, dividing the screen into parts/sections. This
suited the pop/rock genre because they usually include
modern edits that go with the advance in technology.

7. Performance
Most rock/pop genres include a performance in
the music video, which is generally just a band
performing or e solo artist in one or two
locations. I decided to link my narrative and
performance together which is why my
performance appears in more than one
location. For example the bathroom scene is
part of the performance as the artist is singing
but also features as the narrative because it
goes with the storyline. In this respect I have
challenged the pop/rock genre but do not
believe that it does not represent the genre
because it went well with the song, as well as
the genre, I just mingled them together to add
effect and make it more individual.
However, there are certain locations that have
no link to the narrative, but still link to the
lyrics. For example the field is used for the
performance but fits in with the song as it is a
large and empty field, representing the artists
segregation towards society. This suited the
performance aspect of pop/rock genre
because it is what generally occurs in them.

8. Narrative
•
Most pop/rock music videos include a narrative that goes well with the lyrics of
the song. They are usually straightforward and easy to understand and the artist
usually takes part in this narrative. For this reason I tried to present this as best as I
could; my artists featured in my music video and were the main characters, which
showed the audience that the message they were portraying was personal to them
and that they wanted the audience to feel included. The audience was made
aware of their lives and could relate to their problems through their own lives and
develop idols from them. The narrative was well linked to the song lyrics and this
was good as it was a stereotype of pop/rock genres.

9. Genre and how the music video
suggests it
•
I think that my music video is well suited to
a pop/rock music video in many ways. The
main reason would probably be the
simplicity of it. I wanted my main focus to
be on the artists and the message that they
were portraying to the audience through
the narrative. It is typical for a pop/rock
music video to focus on the narrative and
characters/ artists in order to promote them
and allow the audience to relate to them
and so I feel like I did a good job with this.
The black and white editing technique suits
the stereotypes of the genre as they
represent the darkness of rock but the style
of the pop. So I think it is fair to say that
from the camerawork to the
performance, my music video fits with the
conventions of a pop/rock music video.
Because of how closely I tried to link
everything in with it.

10. Special effects
• One of the most evident uses of
special effects was probably the
strobe lights that we included to
go with the beat of certain parts of
the song at the beginning. This
was effective and I got my
inspiration from a pop/rock music
video called Diane Young by
Vampire Weekend as they used it
too. This shows how I used
influences from other rock/pop
videos to help me decide on what
special effects would be well
suited t my own music video. I also
included mirroring as an effect so
that the video was more engaging
and went well with the modern
aspects of a pop/rock genre.