EVALUATION TASK 1IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

Jonty Harrison

FORMS & CONVENTIONS• The expected style, structure and elements typically included within

products of a certain genre.

• An established way of doing something.

• There are two types:

• Technical (typically filmed, lit and edited) and

• Symbolic (typical sets, costume, lighting, camera-work, plot and editing included in deep house videos.

• We incorporate conventions to satisfy audiences’ expectations and because producers are aware of the higher chance of success if they do.

• I’m going to discuss the conventions of real Pop House media products and how we used/challenged them in our own media products.

DIRECT ADDRESS / CLOSE UP

• Artists are often shot in close up while performing a direct address (at the camera) of their lip-sync. This:

• breaks the 4th wall

• emphasises the vocal talent

• gets audience’s attention via the connection

• adds feeling of intimacy with artist

• emphasises the lyrics being sung (key line of song)

• builds recognition of star image of artist

• These results cause the viewer to remember the key line of the song, and the beauty and the vocal talent of the artist.

• A direct address places the lead singer in front of all other aspects of the shot (backdrop/lighting/etc) in order to present them as the most important.

We have also used this technique in our video to create the same effect of flattering the artist and and emphasising the key line “I hear the night call!” This technique can also be used to sexualise the artist and lure female (or male) viewers as they fantasise about being up close and personal with the artist. His looks are a part of his image and the camera is showcasing that.

TRACKING SHOTS

• A dolly or a steady-cam has been used to shoot while tracking around the subject to:

• add depth (3rd dimension)

• add movement (visually stimulating & presents artist as energetic)

• present group of people as a unit/crew

We featured this circular tracking shot in our video to have the same effect. It was most effective at presenting the group of performers as a crew and giving depth to the otherwise shallow subject.

RHYTHMIC EDITING

• The cutting of a music video is often synced to the beat of the music in order to emphasise the feel of the beat.

• The audience naturally enjoys these cuts and moves with them, while they are also incentivised to tune into the different layers of the music allowing them to enjoy a different sonic perspective.

• Editors of real media forms also match the video with the pace and therefore emotion of the music.

• This technique creates a more cohesive final product - it is a convention of all music videos, not just ones of our genre.

We used this technique throughout our media product to have the same effect.

DISCONTINUITY EDITING [GRAPHIC MATCHING]

• In real media products like the above, discontinuity editing often features in order to add variety and interest.

• This can be in the form of jump cuts, slow motion, overlaid shots, and frames within frames.

• In essence, these are all cuts that the audience notice, and are used to express meaning.

In our media product, we used the technique called “graphic matching”. This is a visually

stimulating technique that we used to present the artist as energetic and the dancers as a

unit or a crew as it emphasises the synchronicity of the two dancers.

MODERN COSTUME

• The types of costume included in real media products are often colourful, modern and elaborate to present the artists as extra-ordinary and of a fantasy-like world.

• They are also very sexualised to lure viewers further.

• If there are groups involved in the videos, they often wear a uniform or similarly styled clothing.

• Their style indicates their membership to a group of people - whether it be a dance crew or a larger culture.

In our video, everyone wore a pair of dungarees to symbolise their membership of a modern crew. The performers wore

white, including the lead singer (artist). This presents our artist as an equal to his band members to show that he has more

passion towards his music than his star image. The dancers all wore red or blue to symbolise their membership of a colourful dance crew. Dungarees are a simple and old piece of clothing

related to labour, but we wanted to set a trend by wearing these in a modern and fashionable context.

NEON / COLOURED LIGHTING

• This type of colourful lighting is used to flatter the subject (artist) in a night time setting.

• It evokes ideas of partying, clubbing, night time, having fun, and being sexually active.

• It creates a special atmosphere to the video.

We use this lighting in our video to create the same effect. It adds a

soft and flattering look to our artists face.

ARTIST STILLS / LAYOUT- WEBSITE

• Conventions of a pop house website include stills of the artist, often performing live or in the studio.

• As well as this, there is a title (name) and a menu (for navigation of site) at the top of the website pages.

• The stills can present the artist as fun and energetic live or hard working on his music.

We featured shots of our artist performing live and on set of our music video shoot to

showcase him behind the scenes and the amount of production work that goes into his content. We also inserted a large banner-like

name at the top of our page along with a clear website menu on every page.

COLOURFUL GRAPHICS - DIGIPAK

• A convention of EDM digipaks is colourful graphic designs.

• These include artistic computer generated designs in shapes which convey ideas about electronic music.

• They often present the artist as colourful modern and fun.

We used the idea of using red, blue and white ink drops that created a

vibrant and arty design, cut in a square onto a plain white

background to have the same effect as above.