In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions or real media products?

Media Forms

A media form is the over all shape and body of a media product such as a website, digipak or music video.

Generally, a media form will determine the method used to create the product, the content that is contained and the length of the product. For example a music video would contain a performance, narrative, lip-sync, stylistic elements of even a combination of the above.

WHAT ARE MEDIA FORMS?

Media Conventions

Media conventions are technical or materialistic aspects that are recognisable within a particular genre. Conventions allow the audience to immediately recognise the genre of the media text and they establish features and styles of a media form. For example, the typical conventions of a thriller would be isolated spaces, dim lighting and weapons and the typical conventions of a music video might be bright colours, direct address and close up’s of the artist.

Conventions are used in:- Sets/locations - Casting- Sound - Camera work- Costume - Lighting- Editing - Casting

WHAT ARE MEDIA CONVENTIONS?

We used a mid shot for the section of direct address so that the artists star image could be shown to the audience. The direct address also aimed to make the audience feel closer to the artist.We wanted to focus the audience’s attention on the artists looks and we wanted to give them the feeling that they are forming a relationship with the artist so that they buy the music.

MUSIC VIDEO - CAMERA

Similarly to Kodaline, we desaturated our footage working with Dyer Star’s theory that a star should be obtainable. By denaturing our footage we made our video seem more down to earth, grounded and realistic as a result of using naturalistic lighting and colours it present our music video as an ordinary people. Just like Kodaline, we want our lead singer to be someone to aspire to be like.

MUSIC VIDEO - EDITING

We used natural lighting in our music video with the help of a light reflector to enhance the light. In the opening shot, the sun is positioned behind him. We liked how this cast a shadow and made him look like a silhouette because it’s connotations withheld a metaphor that he was an artist that hadn’t yet emerged into being big star - he is still in the shadows. Kodaline also used this effect to cast shadows and create a silhouette because it made the narrative more ambiguous.

MUSIC VIDEO - LIGHTING

We dressed our performer in casual, day to day clothes so that we could present him as a busker. The costume helped to support the narrative because as he becomes a more successful musician throughout the video, his costumes adapt and present him as looking more professional.

This convention helps the audience to realise that the busker is growing as an artist therefore the convention of costume was vital for the development of the narrative. We were inspired by artists such as Ed Sheeran as his style is contemporary but low key and this connotes the artists raw andrelaxed image.

MUSIC VIDEO - COSTUME

Convention of props played a big role throughout the music video, particularly in the pub scene. The artist had a guitar throughout the entire video even when he is playing in the band to show that although he is becoming more successful as an artist, the guitar is a symbol of his journey. The fact that he has the same guitar at the beginning and end of the music video makes the prop sentimental and for the audience, we subconsciously make links between the guitar and his success. Similarly, for several years Ed Sheeran used the same guitar and there is proof of him playing the same guitar in an arena concert and in a minor concert before he became famousThis makes the artist look very down to earth and grounded.

MUSIC VIDEO - PROPS

We used very specific conventions to represent summer and christmas:Summer: Flowers, white wine, beerWinter: Christmas hats, christmas decorations, red wineThese conventions allowed the audience to immediately recognise what time of year it was and as a music video is only around 3 minutes long, having these easily recognisable conventions at hand was hugely beneficial for us because it made the narrative more obvious.

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Music Video - Props

We chose to set our music video in the streets of Guildford and also in a pub. We chose these locations because everybody has been in one therefore the location is very relatable to the target audience. The location represents the artist as a new artist because he is playing a small gig in front of a small crowd and the fact that he is busking on the streets makes him look like he is determined and willing to work hard to reach his dream. Similarly, ‘Riders Connect’ also use footage of themselves busking in their music video ‘Busker’ to show that they are also a raw and organic group who want their audience to see how hard they have worked to be successful.

MUSIC VIDEO – SET AND LOCATION

With regards to our digipak we used photoshop to blur the background and we added depth of field so that the image of the artist stood out against the background. We did this so that, similarly, to Jake Bugg’s digipak, the artist stands out and becomes the focus of the image. This allows the audience to immediately recognise his style which indicated the genre of music. By denaturing the photo, we were able to make his appearance more appealing for the target audience. By looking at the effect of desaturating the image on Jake Bugg’s digipak, this appears to help sell the product because it catches the eyes of the audience.

DIGIPAK - CAMERA/EDITING

By using natural lighting during the photoshoot for our digipak, we were able to make the artist look more authentic and we were able to portray the ‘organic’ nature of the music. Having the photoshoot in the street supported the urban vibe of the music video and we chose to set the photoshoot in the street to portray that he is staying close to his roots where the origins of his music ability were first expressed as seen in the music video. Jake Bugg’s digipak image is also shot in the street to achieve very similar results. He want’s his audience to recognise where he comes from and this makes the audience feel more connected to him because they can relate.

DIGIPAK - LIGHTING/LOCATION

We chose to style our busker in casual clothes for the photoshoot for the digipak because we wanted to represent him as an up and coming artist rather than an already established one. We wanted his clothing to support the organic and natural vibe of his music, therefore, similarly to ‘The Script’ we dressed Alec in modern yet relaxed clothes to show that he is current, however, he is also very relaxed and still establishing himself.

DIGIPAK – COSTUME/STYLE

For our website, we chose a template that was very current and traditional yet not hugely stylised to show that he is current yet not very established. Similarly to ‘The Script’, we chose to include an informal biography/blog to represent his youthfulness and also to present his personality to the audience. We chose to include amateur, holiday photos to show that he is organic and very relatable and also to create a closeness between himself and the audience. We also chose to include social media links on the website so that the audience could hear directly from him.

WEBSITE - EDITING

We chose to stay with the natural theme of the music video by making the colour scheme of the website very low key and discrete as oppose to bold. We wanted to choose this mellow colour scheme to represent the authenticity of his music and also the down to earth aspect of his personality. Here, like Shawn Mendez we have worked with the convention of organic artists by using neutral colours throughout our webiste. We wanted the colours to be easy on the eye so that the audience could appreciate the information on the website as the artist is trying to establish himself, rather than be distracted or overwhelmed by the colour

WEBSITE – COLOUR SCHEME

We wanted our product to be visually aesthetic and represent the indie-pop genre. Much like Shawn Mendes the style of the website was very simplistic and mainstream because this convention supports the genre of music that we have chosen. We did not intend to confuse our audience so by subverting to the stereotypes of indie-pop we have chosen a basic template and style. This is similar to Shawn Mendes who is also supporting his indie-pop style of music by the creation of his highly simplistic and easygoing website that is easy to navigate around.

WEBSITE - STYLE