Within the document, the author discusses how their media product develops rather than challenges conventions of the alternative rock music video genre. Some conventions they developed include using natural outdoor settings, guitars, quiffs, skinny jeans, and a classic car to represent older rock styles. They also incorporated stereotypical boy band images but in a messy, less polished way. Effects like slow motion were used instead of more common glitchy effects. Overall, the author aimed to blend older and modern styles to appeal to wider audiences while still signifying the alternative rock genre.

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

3. Whilst conducting my research I discovered many codes and conventions that were
associated with the genre alternative rock, a few of them are:
That the video’s usually last about 3 minutes in length.
It usually consists of a boy band with one lead singer.
They are more of a performance genre than a narrative
The video’s include very typical boy stereotypes, e.g. guitars and cars.
More neutral colours rather than bright scene.
Many close up shots of the main singer.
An outside feature.
A catchy rhythm or strong beat.
The focus remaining mostly on just one band member.

4. Goodwins theory:
Whilst using or developing codes and conventions for my genre I always wanted to make sure
that I kept Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos in my mind as his points were justifiable for
many audiences. The main five things that audiences look for in a music video are:
Beat of the sound
The narrative, performance or concept used
The star image
Relations of visual to song
The technical aspects
One of the biggest ways I have challenged conventions is by not having a distinctive narrative
within the video, but instead having the boy band messing around and playing separate to the
performance. Having the two stories run parallel against each other make audiences more
interested as they want to know how the video plays out. Instead of using the stereotypical boy
meets girl narrative used most frequently in pop videos I used a less anticipated relationship of a
guy and his best friends. This may not be what audiences expect to see intriguing them more and
so therefore I have challenged conventions. I know that audiences will like it because alternative
rock is all about bands and their unity and so this story is fits into that motif perfectly.

5. Within my project I have tried to develop the codes and conventions of my genre rather than
challenge them. I have done this in many ways whilst still achieving what people would expect to
see from an alternative rock genre. I have used a large range of ideologies within my music video
that conform with the typical boy band image such as the quiffs and the guitars. This is why I have
chosen to use the image of the band so often because within that one shot everything
stereotypical boyband feature is present from the cars to the guitars. These are all very atypical
things for boys to be interested which is yet again targeting a different niche market. Here in this
shot you can see all of the mise-en-scene which reflects my genre perfectly…
The natural theme and
being outside is very typical
of boys more than girls and
so this is where I decided to
shoot most of my footage
and where I have used
conventions. This relates
back to Goodwins theory of
key aspects within a music
video.
The guitars are
convention I used
because no boyband
is complete without
these instruments.
This was also the
most stereotyped
request from my
survey results.
Whilst quiffs are a lot
more old school than
modern, it is still a
convention that I wanted
to develop. By making
their hair messy instead
shows how this genre is
trying to promote less
about image and more
about the music. It also
shows how I am also
turning old conventions
into new modern day
trends so that audiences
can relate.
Having skinny jeans and checkered shirts are also something that you would see a typical boyband wearing,
whilst all these things are very stereotypical I knew that it was a convention I had to use because this is how
boys are dressing themselves now and so they could connect with the video easier and understand what I
was trying to create with this image.

6. For the opening of my video I wrote the name of the boyband and the name
of the song in the bottom of the screen like professional music videos do. It
took me a while to choose the exact font I wanted however I came to the
conclusion that whilst I still wanted it to represent my bands consistent
theme of simplicity and so it was not something that should draw attention
away from the narrative which is playing in the background. For this reason I
went with a similar font which is on my website so there I still have that motif
carrying over to different platforms. I think the font is clear to read and shows
the more rustic old school style that you would see on old signs which just
shows that the one font can have so many different hidden connotations.

7. Another theme that I used throughout my project was references to
other sub cultures. I wanted to include not just any codes and
conventions but also ones that have developed over decades. This
does not only show how I have developed old motifs to blend in with
modern ones it also shows how I have challenged a modern video to
become more diverse. I to have a motif of traditional rock and I think I
displayed this perfectly with the use of the classic car and not showing
many modern props. I think the triumph stag gives the video a very
1950’s Buddy Holly feel to the video and so audiences might find this
more interesting. It could also mean that older generations can relate
to more things from the video instead of the band just appealing to a
teenage audience. This is another way I have challenged the normal
codes and conventions.

8. While my video focuses on just one genre the lines between sub cultures can be very
blurred and so realistically I have created a video which is a hybrid of two genres;
alternative rock and the pop culture which is shown through the boyband.
I wanted to create something that still had old values but was relatable for people in this
generation. Not only does this mean that I can relate to a larger target audience it also
makes the video more exciting as I have a bigger range of styles to work with. My video is
basically a bricolage of styles which in itself is very post modern as the world of media is
becoming more and more diverse. This can be seen in this shot where I have the old car as
the focus, but in the background I have the contrast of the new modern cars. Having these
in the background just shows how boring it would be if I had used one of these instead.

9. Another code and convention I developed was the use of effects within a video. When talking to
my focus group I discovered that many people expected to see a few shots that had been
manipulated with some type of effect, like mirrored images for example. Instead of doing
something like this I decided that whilst editing, I would use a slow motion effect to give the
video a more boy band and alternative look. I did this because it was less stereotyped and
therefore, represented my rock genre a lot more than having scattered images of a head all over
the screen. The picture below is one of the shots that i incorporated the slow motion effect into,
this meant that I had the actor spinning around where it looked like he was appreciating the
world. Not only did this fit in with the lyrics but slowing down the man with the sun beaming
through trees in the background made the shot look very beautiful and definitely very creative.

10. I took most of my inspiration for my own band from the professional artists of today; imagine dragons. As they
are a striving alternative rock band in the present day I decided that they must be ticking all of the fans boxes,
meaning my band will then too be suitable for the rock genre label. Also basing my band on an already
successful band could mean that audiences find Boytown more relatable and familiar than if I went in my own
individual direction. All the camera shots I included within my video were all conventions that are typically
associated with the genre alternative rock. Having close ups does not only mean I am following the correct
iconographies but also that I am following Goodwins theory by selling the star image of the band.

11. For my digipak, I decided that I wanted to challenge more of the alternative rock stereotypes and
so I produced an album with more colour and features, rather than something subtle and
simplistic. I still included the natural elements that are always linked with this band so that
audiences could still easily identify the genre and understand what my music video represents. I
think that it is important to try and create new paths when it comes to music as the world of
media is continuing to develop everyday. Here you can see I tried to include brighter shots into
my digipak so that all of my ancillary products did not look too dull and disinteresting.
With my magazine advert I go against all conventions again as I produced something that had
bright colours to cause attraction. I did this because I did not want to post the band on the front
of another text otherwise all of my production pieces would appear too consistent and boring. By
keeping my advert simplistic it matched the same theme as the alternative rock genre.