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

QUESTION 1:

Coco and the Butterfield’s genre of music is defined as “fip fok” – a combination of folk and hip hop. As Gunther Kress stated, genre is “a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of a frequently repeated social occasion, with its characteristic participants and their purposes’ and therefore we used conventions in our music video by appealing to a collective identity with the themes of escape in order to create a sense of belonging for our audience. Kress’ suggestion that genre is a subject in which audiences come together meant our music video had to follow this convention to create an “occasion” for our audience that they are use to seeing with the band usually. Therefore, the explicit themes of fairy tales through mise en scene of props and costume allowed our video to create meaning for our audience to have a sense of belonging through the form of escape.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS:

In my music video, I used the conventions of the genre of music through the use of many outdoor locations that can be seen in videos of bands with a similar genre. For example, folk band Mumford & Sons in their song “The Cave” feature many outdoor locations to reflect the upbeat, folksy tune of their song. Nicholas Abercrombie said “genre permits the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which become used to seeing programmes within a genre” and therefore the frequent use of outdoor locations and themes of nature become an association thus using a convention. For example, in our music video we used the location of the UEA Lake and forest for the Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel scenes, and the Norwich Plantation Gardens for the Alice in Wonderland scenes to present the need to escape from the realities of home. By using the convention of the genre, as Nicholas Abercrombie stated, I was able to maintain a loyal audience similar to that of folk band ‘Mumford & Sons’ by appealing to a younger audience (17-25 years old) through the need to escape and be adventurous.

Our music video for “Warriors” by Coco and the Butterfields.

“The Cave” By Mumford & Sons.

CONTINUED:

Furthermore, our music video conforms to themes of magic realism conventions in real media products such as “Big Fish” by presenting surreal situations that differ from reality. The modern definition of magic realism was created by famed Magic Realism writer, Alejo Carpentier in the mid-twentieth century. He describes that Magic Realism “brings an element of the unexpected to the reader in that the ‘richness’ of the real world is somewhat disrupted by the fantastical.” Through the outdoor locations in our production (such as the UEA and the Norwich Plantation Gardens), I used the conventions of magic realism by manipulating the situations so that an opposition was created from being home, and being outdoors. As Katie Wales stated, “genre is an intertextual concept” and therefore I took inspiration from the magic realist film “Big Fish” which demonstrates a series of fairy tale vignettes thus evoking the tone of adventure and storytelling. The film follows the protagonist Edward as he travels through a series of events that are unordinary and prodigious thus creating the sense of a strange adventure. Additionally, Matthew Stoecher said that magic realism is “when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe.” I used this convention by beginning the music video with a seemingly normal setting of a back garden with mundane, conventional items such as a shed, table and chairs etc. This allowed me to then create a direct contrast for the next scene at the plantation gardens and the Alice in Wonderland scenes which “invades” the normal, everyday situation thus using the conventions of magic realism in real media products.

“Big Fish”

Another convention used in the music video was the mise en scene of costume, further supporting Katie Wales’ theory that “genre is an intertextual concept.” Our production is greatly inspired by fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks. However, my group and I then developed this by adding a contemporary twist with clothing from popular high street brands such as Topshop and H&M which strongly appeals to our predominant audience of 17-25 year olds. This developed convention can be seen in real media products such as AlunaGeorge and their track “Attracting Flies”. Their contemporary twist on classic fairy tales directly targets youths by using relatable situations, whilst using the connotations of fairy tales and the need to escape from reality. This is evident within our own production through construction of our costumes with the use of recognisable high street brands, thus developing the conventions of traditional fairy tales.

“Attracting Flies” by AlunaGeorge

Costume in our own production

Along with the conventions of real products as a whole, I used conventions of Coco and the Butterfields’ other music videos to further support Nicholas Abercrombie’s genre theory where the genre maintains an audience through the products in which they become used to seeing. The band’s other videos such as “Alone”, “Astronaut” and their own video for our chosen song, “Warriors”, presents themes of adventure and fantasy. We continued with this in order to effectively promote the band and their song so that it would appeal to their pre-existing audience, but also new audiences who then begin to understand the genre of the band. Therefore we used the conventions of Coco and the Butterfields’ videos, conforming to Goodwin’s statement “music videos generate genre characteristics”, in order to appeal to our target audience through the conventions of other media products. For example, the sense of adventure in the band’s other videos is demonstrated through outdoor locations linking to themes of escape from reality and the idea of fantasy. Therefore in my own production, I included several locations to suggest a progression in order to clearly present an adventure.

“Alone”

“Warriors”

“Astronaut”

NARRATIVE:

The narrative structure of my product strongly uses conventions of Goodwin’s narrative theory of match-on-action by featuring several angles and shots to create a fluent and coherent music video. For example, in the Alice in Wonderland scenes, our main protagonist is skipping along the bridge at the Norwich Plantation Gardens and I used a low angle, a long shot and a medium shot where “Alice” is traveling towards the camera. This allowed the editing to be fast-paced and more exciting as oppose to one singular shot in which my audience would find dull and boring – thus conforming to Goodwin’s conventions.

Furthermore, my music video shows implicit references to drugs, using the conventions of Barthes’ open & closed texts where it is ambiguous as to whether or not the fairy tales are triggered by drugs. For example, in the first scene of the production, our protagonist drinks from a cup (an intertextual reference to Alice in Wonderland) and then she is transported to another location in another costume highlighting the beginning of an adventure. Therefore it can be interpreted that the mysterious liquid in the cup contained some form of drugs, however this is left down to the audience, conforming to Barthes’ open texts.

NARRATIVE CONTINUED:

I also used the convention of Strauss’ narrative theory – “constant creation of conflict/opposition drives narrative”. In the beginning and end scenes, our protagonist is at home in her back garden, presenting reality. In between however, she is transported through different fairy tale scenarios, demonstrated through constant change of costume and location thus creating a binary opposition between illusion and reality.

Furthermore, I included reverse editing at the end of my music video to present our protagonist’s dreams unravelling to bring her back to reality. This heightens the opposition between illusion and reality to strongly conform to Strauss’ narrative theory.

The use of Strauss’ theory is also used in other real media products, as well as our own production, to demonstrate binary opposition between reality and illusion. For example, in Nick Cave and the Bad Seed’s duet with Kylie Minogue – “Where the Wild Roses Grow”- the video presents a contrast heaven and reality. The beginning scenes present the female character in an isolated area with surreal lighting that appears heavenly. It than transgresses into a sepia tone in which presents her murder. The audience connects this event to the first scene to suggest that she is now in heaven. This can be likened to our music video where the audience relate back to the first scene with the drinking of the cup to highlight what is reality and what is not. The audience will then infer that the cup triggers the illusion, like the woman in “Where the Wild Roses Grow” being in heaven triggers her memory of her murder.

RECURRING MOTIFS:

Additionally, in the Nick Cave video, there is a recurring motif of flowers in the video. Similarly, my group and I used this convention of recurring motifs in our own production to heighten the distinction between illusion and reality. For example, in the Alice in Wonderland scenes, there are red and yellow flowers scattered on the stairs. In the Hansel & Gretel scenes they are scattered on the ground and in the trees; in the Little Red Riding Hood scenes they are too scattered on the ground and placed in the basket. Lastly, in the Goldilocks scenes, the flowers are positioned in the bushes outside the house. The flowers demonstrate a progression throughout the protagonists adventure; thus using a convention of recurring motifs.

REPRESENTATION:

Whilst the costume used in our production can arguably be appealing to a male audience with the use of low angles and voyeuristic shots conforming to an aspect of Goodwin’s theory where the record label “demand close ups of the artist”. Whereas AlunaGeorge’s music video – “Attracting Flies” - conforms to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory with the contemporary, voyeuristic twist on fairy tales, my group and I chose not to objectify the female protagonist in our music video.

Laura Mulvey suggested that the male gaze denies women of human identity, relegating them to a state of physical objects. The female half of AlunaGeorge is dressed voyeuristically through her lack of clothing - through the theme of fairy tales – thus objectifying her. Unlike this, my group and I chose to focus on the aspect of escapism so that the audience can relate to the female protagonist given that the song is called “Warriors” – conforming to another aspect of Goodwin’s theory where “music and lyrics link to visuals”. Therefore we chose to not use the convention of the male gaze theory by not presenting the female protagonist as insignificant and merely an object for our male audience to look at.

REPRESENTATION CONTINUED:

The uses and gratification theory suggests that some media products allow the audience to “escape” from reality. In my production, I used this convention through the connotations of fairy tales which create a sense of fantasy and illusion – contrasting reality. Furthermore, the uses and gratification theory suggests that an audience “identify” and relate to texts where they can identify with the representations of aspects of themselves in lyrics and music etc. Therefore by representing a young female escaping the norms of society and dreaming, it targets other youths of a similar age who feel the need to escape the pressures of society. For example, in Plan B’s music video “Ill Manors”, he conforms to this theory by presenting youths’ pressure given by society. They feel suffocated by their stereotypes and therefore need to escape, much like our female protagonist. Therefore, by using this convention, I was able to use the female character and her transition to each fairy tale as a representative for our predominant audience and their need to escape reality.

“Ill Manors” by Plan B

PRINT PRODUCTIONS:

To follow conventions of a 4 Panel CD case, I placed the band name on the front panel, a disc tray on the third panel, and track listing on the fourth panel.

Panel 1:I used the conventions of Coco and the Butterfield’s EP’s in order to promote the band and the song effectively thus engaging the audience. Therefore I used this logo so that our targeted audience will associate it with the band by creating and establishing a recognisable brand. It also adds to the theme of magic realism to successfully promote the music video, a requirement for a promotional CD.

Panel 2:In order to create a coherent CD so as to target my audience, I chose an effective image that compliments the third panel. It also contrasts the first and fourth panel to reflect the music video which displays strong themes of binary opposition. Therefore I am using a convention of a successful CD by creating a fluent design that effectively promotes the music video/song/band.

PRINT PRODUCTIONS CONTINUED:

Panel 3:To use the conventions of a standard 4-panel CD, I included a disc tray on the third panel to create an authentic prototype. Furthermore, I complimented it with the second panel to create a coherent and fluent digipak. It also links to the recurring motif in the music video, another convention, to establish a clear link that effectively promotes the music video.

Panel 4:I used the conventions of a CD through the use of track listing. The font also reflects the fairy tale theme that is evident in both the music video and the digipak. I also aligned it with the image to create a neat and concise digipak that doesn’t distract from the image itself. Additionally, I used a barcode to add to the authenticity thus using a convention and positioned it in the bottom-left corner so that this too doesn’t distract from the image and the track listing.

MAGAZINE ADVERT:

In order to use a convention of a magazine advert, I made the band name and song name the most predominant aspect of the poster to effectively and successfully promote the band and the song. I then included information consecutively to keep it concise so as to avoid confusion. For example, Oasis’ promotion of their single “ D’You Know What I Mean?” clearly states the band, using a recognisable logo, the song name and its release date. Therefore, I used the conventions of this format to highlight the band and their logo which becomes established through promotional adverts and CDs. I then included a rating from NME magazine and reference to social networking sites which allows me to target and reach out to my young audience in which predominantly use these sites.