The document provides an evaluation of a music video production that was created to conform to some conventions of music videos while challenging others. It utilized several theories about relationships between visuals and lyrics. The production employed narrative elements and techniques to position the audience and portray gender ideologically. It aimed to rebrand the artist by using an unconventional purely narrative format and cinematic techniques to contribute to their star image.

1. EVALUATION
QUESTION 1

2. BRIEF
• The production of our campaign attempted to
conform to conventions of music videos, by using
theories, such as Barthes’ binary oppositions and
Goodwin’s arguments concerning the relationship
between visuals and lyrics. while challenging other
music videos conventions, like the use of lip syncing to
create intimacy between artist and audience through
meat shots, such as the introduction of characters in
Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’. This was achieved by the
creation of a purely narrative based music video
creating clear artistic continuity with magazine
advertisement and Digi Pack.

3. GOODWIN’S CRITICAL FRAMEWORK
• Goodwin’s critical framework can be clearly
applied to our music video and is evident as
we have executed our video to utilise his
theory. We produced an amplifying
relationship between lyrics and visuals, while
at points the visuals were directly relatable to
the lyrics. An example of such an event is
during the first scene where the protagonist
can be seen to take a pill, directly referencing
the line, ‘Take an Adderall to take the edge of
the crazy’ this line becomes increasingly
important as the video becomes a display of
events of the apparent effects of drug taking.

4. • The use of colour grading strengthens the relationship
between lyrics and visuals. However, our video largely
consists of amplifying relationships, as evidenced
through the use of camera work such as to reflect the
lyrics, an example of this is the use of a pan up until the
camera reaches our protagonists face to create an
audience affiliation with the character through the
desire to be positioned with her, before a cut to the
shot of the fire to reinforce the lyrics ‘don’t look back,
in case of fire’. This is a lyric we have utilised
throughout the music video as well as using clips of the
protagonist running away.

5. • Goodwin's reference to voyeuristic
media texts link into our attempt to
portray gender in a way which
causes ideological discourse. I
believe the use of POV shots was
particularly voyeuristic as it directly
positions the audience with the
character. Thus creating a binary
opposition with the fetishistic shots
we could’ve used.

6. • Looking into the form of our music
video the structure of a purely narrative
video is unconventional as the vast
majority of videos have an element of
performance, to give the opportunity
for the director to add meat shots to
create intimacy between characters and
audience, thus adding to the artists star
image, such as the shots in Sharron
Jones’ ‘I learnt the hard way’

7. • Our Use of text illustrates the
narrative nature of our video,
drawing parallels with Kendrick
Lamar’s ‘These Walls’, another
narrative based video, it adds to
the narrative video, to create the
effect of a small film, as music
videos tend not to have titles, or
credits.

8. • Our promotional campaign as a
whole largely conforms to the
conventions of the genre, through
the use of visual motifs and
iconography
• Intertextual references were made
within the video, to the funk genre,
such as the ‘UP12 FNK’ (uptown
funk) number-plate, this helped
create cohesiveness through our
products with the original album.

9. • We also challenged the conventions
of the genre, as the video we
produced was purely narrative, this
is something the artist, Mark
Ronson has never done before, thus
adding to the initial aim of
rebranding, as this new video
format adds to his meta-narrative.
• The integrated title on the digipack
is also unconventional, as usually a
stand alone title is created
alongside the image.

10. • Our Texts are polysemic. Thus
allowing us to tap into Barthes
death of the artist book, which
states that the auther or director of
the video is no longer solely
responsible with making the video,
but the audience is. Introducing the
concept of an open media text.
• Our Text is open because there are
varying connotations which can be
drawn from the girl and her actions.

11. • Despite our text being open, our video
does have some form of narrative closure,
Utilising Pam Cook’s theory, the Enigmatic
Ark, as the text is resolved with the
intercutting of the fire during the final
sequence, highlighting the isolation of the
character, and referencing the events in the
rest of the video, suggesting there is a
consequence to the protagonist’s actions.
• The pills also link the first and last scenes,
linking cause and effect.

12. • We wanted to introduce
narrative fuzz to increase the
repeatability of the video,
intimacy between audience and
character is created through the
characters frequent looking
through the camera lens. The
final scene does offer some
closure, however we do not
know the cause of the house
fire.

13. • To contribute to Dyer’s star
image theory we drew
inspiration from the
cinematic techniques
pioneered by historical
directors, thus adding to
Mark Ronson’s meta
narrative, making him look
like a music video pioneer,
an example of this is the
use of jump cuts.

14. • Semiotics can be used to
deconstruct text. Our use of
semiotics predominant purpose
was to fulfil Dyer’s star qualities.
• An example of this is the fire,
being an iconic sign of anger and
rebellion. This metaphor continues
throughout the video, and the
whole campaign, supposedly
showing the volatile nature of the
girl, and simultaneously showing
the volatile nature of youth.

15. • We wanted to create ideological
discourse in our campaign. Our
products challenge the dominant
ideology towards gender in music
videos.
• This was achieved by challenging the
ideology of women in music videos
simply being half of a relationship, as
seen in Sharron Jones’ ‘I learnt the
hard way’ whereas in our video the
girl is a standalone protagonist.

16. • This Ideological
discourse is displayed
throughout the
campaign, with the fire
on the digipack relating
to the damage a girl
can do through the
metaphors of rebellion
and youth.