Ben Trangmar http://bentrangmar.wix.com/a2mediastudies

1. HOW HAVE YOU
USED/DEVELOPED/CHALLENGED
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
TEXTS?

2. MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS
EDITING IN PACE WITH THE SONG
PERFORMANCE
NO (or little) DIEGETIC AUDIO
SIMPLE NARRATIVES
POSITIVE REPRESENTATION OF PERFORMER(S)
PERFORMER(S) DOMINATE SCREENTIME
(for punk rock music) USUALLY VERY CONVENTIONAL

3. DO WE FOLLOW MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS?
 Yes and no! WE INCLUDE:
PERFORMANCE PACED EDITING REALISTIC BUT
COMEDIC STYLE
POSITIVE REPRESENTATIONS CHARACTERS SIMILAR
TO TARGET AUDIENCE

4. HOW DON’T WE FOLLOW CONVENTIONS?
 Not entirely simple:
The ‘rewind’ effect we use at the ending was confusing to some audience
members. We believe the metaphorical value of the effect may be too
obscure, and it opposes the otherwise simple narrative.
 Representations are at points anti-stereotypical:
Discussed later.
 The transitions between performance and narrative locations
are unusual:
A lot of music videos blend the narrative and performance locations into one.
Having them almost completely mutually exclusive, except for some whip-pan
effects linking them, is quite uncommon but allows the audience to distinguish
different parts of the song from each other.
Overall, our music video is both conventional and not – a perfect fit for a pop-
rock band whose fans are likely to reject more alternative styles. Adding only a
few unique elements broadens audience appeal while retaining its original
intended fans.

5. STEREOTYPES
MEN
- Independent, strong
- Emotionally weak, violent and
irrational
- Drinkers
- Large or stocky physical build
WOMEN
- More emotional
- Compassionate
- Usually ‘damsel in distress’
- Wears makeup and clothes to
attract sexual attention
YOUNG MEN
- Cocky
- Jokers
- Usually makes moves on
women (instead of other way
around)
YOUNG WOMEN
- Gossipy
- Attached to mobile phones
- Slightly vain
- Ditzy
- Over-reacting

6. DO WE CONFORM TO STEREOTYPES?
 Again, yes and no.
MALES: FEMALES:
Joker Over-reacting
Make-upPoint of identification
Attached to mobilesDrinking

7. NON-CONFORMING STEREOTYPES
So our project does, I believe, conform to and challenge stereotypes.
The effect these negative representations for the women in the video
has is to boost the sympathy the audience holds for the male (but not
entirely masculine) protagonist, making him more like a universally
likable ‘everyman’ despite his faults – a way in which a band’s lead
singer would probably want to be represented, while also adding to
the nature of the comedy by inverting typical ideas of masculinity and
femininity.
MALES: FEMALES:
Makes a move on the man
Irrational and violent
Emotional
Rationalises and is
compassionate

8. ANCILLARIES
 The digipak design for the album is
both conforming and non-conforming
to themes of real products.
 The cover is relatively unique for
pop-punk albums and even All Time
Low records, with the band name
smaller than usual and no band
members present.
 The back cover, meanwhile, is very
conventional, with a simple songlist
and record label along with a simple
picture.
The digipak’s mix of conventional and non-conventional styles
fits with the mostly conventional music video, while its design
reflects the hidden meaning we found in the song – that ‘Stella’
may just be a drink. We enhanced this idea using the bottom left
panel, which is under the CD, to look like you ‘open’ the bottle by
removing the CD.

9. ANCILLARIES
 The poster is
deliberately
quite
unconventional,
designed to look
more like an
alcohol advert
than an album.
 The reviews play
on the ‘alcohol
advert’ joke to
make people
laugh while still
informing them
of the positive
critical
response.
 To keep the
advert
recognizable,
though, we
included a large
band logo at the
top and a
release date and
record label at
the bottom, like
most posters
would.
 The finer details
on the bottle
also reflect the
band’s American
origins and their
formation in
Baltimore in
2003.

10. CONCLUSION
I believe our music video is successful in a few ways that
work with generic conventions of other media. We were
successful in:
 Creating a likable ‘everyman’ protagonist
 Conveying the narrative and comedy through inverted
representations and stereotypes
 Utilising conventions to create audience appeal
…Although we do agree that certain aspects are less
successful than we intended:
 The representations of women could be decoded as misogynist
 There is not as much development in conventions as there could be
But our goal was reached and we were able to create a
product that will successfully promote the song with a
wide audience appeal.

11. CONCLUSION
The ancillary products are less conventional than the
music video, which is successful in a few ways:
 The beer bottle is a design which may attract older audiences’
attentions.
 Reflecting the song’s hidden meaning through the design, although
in a less serious manner in which it could be interpreted to keep the
overall tone consistent.
…But there are weaknesses which might have been
helped if we used more conventional design choices:
 The ancillaries are perhaps less recognizable as All Time Low’s
work, especially the digipak, and could have benefitted from a
picture of the band.
 The lack of social media links or explicit reference to places where
the album is being sold means it could be hard to find.
Yet overall I believe we have made two appropriately eye-
catching companions to the music video.

12. THE END
By Ben Trangmar