Question 1

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

• Section 1: Utilising generic conventions in the music video

• Section 2: developing and/or challenging the conventional layout of the digipak and magazine

Conventions of the medium• The name of the track I have used is ‘An Acquired Taste’, by the indie/pop band Kings & Crows formed in

England.• All music videos contain elements of the following (Goodwin): genre characteristics, relationship between

lyrics and visuals, relationship between music and visuals, close up shots of the artist and reference to the notion of looking. When shooting the video, I conformed to all of these elements in order to present a strong and conventional music video which could represent and market the music produced by Kings & Crows. The video also represents British ideals, such as reference to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the tea party scene. This suggests that the video not only markets the artists music, but also celebrates aspects of British popular culture.

• A further music video convention used was the knowledge that the footage lasts as long as the track, however I cut around 30 seconds of instrumental in order for the track to fit the visuals. The track is 2 Minutes 40 seconds long, which is conventional because it Ensures that the audience do not lose interest.

• Intertextuality is a convention of music videos (Goodwin). I Have used this convention to achieve my desired outcome, such as the costume design from ‘Pans Labyrinth’ and the coming of age theme/props from Alice in Wonderland.

Conventions of feature films/TV dramas

• The use of titles are a convention of films and TV dramas, however I initially decided to use them at the start of my music video to introduce the band and their song title. This is another way of promoting the band and their music, and ensures that the audience will be able to find them via social media websites easily and efficiently. After further feedback, I decided to remove the titles in order to give focus on the opening scene which presents a definition of ‘An Acquired Taste’, the title of the track.

• The use of effects in post production is also a convention of films and TV dramas, however I used a lumia brightening effect to enhance the pop genre and to emphasise the dream-like quality of the music video.

• I also used the convention (Goodwin) of the relationship between music and visuals and increased the speed of the video by x3. This was in order

to fit the tempo of the music and to match the fast paced cuts of the visuals.

Genre• The video conforms to pop music conventions such as an overall upbeat tone. This is

supported by fast pace cuts on the beat and frequent close ups of the artist/character (Goodwin). This can be seen in the video at 1:22.

• Pop genre themes tend to appeal to a predominantly younger audience because the music is mainstream and aimed at young people. For example, the pop band One Direction with their music aimed at a young female audience. ‘An Acquired Taste’ conforms to this convention because it explores escapism from reality and a journey through coming of age.

• A further convention of pop music is a bright and colourful setting. I have developed this convention by adding colour enhancing effects to my video in order to emphasise its pop genre. Example

• Denis Mcquall argues that genre may be considered a practical device for helping any mass medium, in particular music videos, to produce work consistently and efficiently to the expectation of their customers. This suggests that genre is a tool used to market specific audiences, and to gain maximum income from their customers. Genre gives artists a way of creating a loyal audience who recognise the alternative world represented in the music video.

Inter-textuality • I used and developed ideas found in the fictional novel ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to create my

fantasy dream-like style. Firstly, I used the ‘this way’ ‘that way’ signs to pose a question – youths can relate to this because they experience many different life options when coming of age. The signs represent the many different paths they may chose to go down.

• I also referenced ‘through the looking glass’, the sequel to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the infamous Mad Hatter’s tea party scene. This Has British connotations with the popular ‘Great British Bake Off’ and canBe seen as a British signifier.

Representation • Firstly, the music video does conform to certain traditional

female signifiers in order to appeal to a female audience. This is developed in the use of props, such as the tea party scene, the ribbon hair tie and the pinafore. However,These props are inter-textual references from ‘Alice inWonderland’, written in 1865 and notably the representationOf female characters has changed. My music video conformsTo a more traditional representation of a young female.

• However, to a certain extent, the female protagonist in my music video does challenge gender stereotypes as she is inquisitive and independent, not passive. This is shown through her adventurous nature and her lack of a male who would define her. Like Alice the girl has an adventure on her own thus I have used the concept of woman defining their own fates. For example, this can be seen in Florence and the Machine’s music video ‘Rabbit Heart’.

• Furthermore, the female protagonist challenges the hyper sexualised visuals of a female artist in the contemporary music industry today.

Narrative Structure• The narrative structure in my music video is chronological,

we follow the protagonist on her journey collecting the numbered pack of cards as she goes. The video ends as the sun is setting, suggesting that we follow the protagonist for a day and the journey ends when night falls.

• I have conformed to the convention of moving imageStorytelling by using continuity editing in the editing and creation of the protagonist’sJourney. There is continuity throughout most of the Shots, which is emphasised by the collection of the cards.Within the tea party scene, the focus becomes Slightly blurred and the images develop more into a montage of dream-like quirky props. The use of montage here is to enhance the dream-like fantasy quality that the protagonist is feeling, after having eaten the chocolate labelled ‘eat me’. It sends her into a spiral of fantasy thinking, which is why I chose to edit this particular scene in that way.

Reoccurring Motifs• The playing cards often occur in the video because they add interest and purpose to the

narrative, plotline, and are used as an intertextual reference prop from ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Furthermore, the cards symbolise the coming of age journey that all young people experience, for example in films such as … As the protagonist collects the cards, she is taken on a wild journey which takes her in different directions. At a point in the journey she stops collecting them, suggesting a symbol of freedom and a disengagement from the societal expectations of her. Her future is ambiguous, yet the ending sees the young protagonist walk into the sunset. This can be interpreted differently depending on the audience and their

personal Beliefs/experiences. The ending can be interpreted as the end of her Journey, and the protagonist will go back to reality after having Experienced her fantasy world. Alternatively, The ending can be interpreted as a symbol of freedom and the protagonist will go off to live many more journeys andAdventures. This means that the music video is injected withAn optimistic message.

Section 2 – Print Productions Panel 1

• I have conformed to the traditional 4 panel digipak to market my bands music.• For panel 1 I focused on the image, including only necessary

Text such as the band name and the album title. The band’s Name text is slightly larger than the album name to emphasiseTheir importance. This further promotes the band and theirMusic.

• Conventionally, panel 1 has a close up image of the artist inOrder to emphasise their Importance and to make the Album recognisable. Furthermore, I used three overlappingImages of the protagonist to create A dream-like fantasy image which Hints to the themes in the music Video.

Print Productions – Panel 2• The second panel is taken from a scene in the

Music video. The bunting is a classic British Signifier, usually associated with celebrations or British church fetes.. I edited the image so that the bunting Appears almost translucent, which enhances the Fantasy/illusion style apparent throughout the Video.

• This panel links thematically with the first Panel through the use of nature, and is Chronological in terms of narrative structure in the digipak and music video.

Print Productions – Panel 3• The third panel, which holds the cradle, contains a close up image of the

female protagonist. I chose a central image because this is where the CD will be placed. The use of placing the Protagonist in the third panel aims to gain the attention of the Audience/consumer and attract them into listening to the Product. This panel again links thematically with the others Through nature, and a loyal audience may recognise this Reference.

Print Productions – Panel 4• The back panel conforms to the conventions of a digipak with

institutionalised information such as track listing, bar code and a Facebook logo.

• The track listing is positioned along the bottom in order for the image to be the main focus.

• The image links with the narrative structure of the digipak, because it is also the final scene of the music video. This gives the audience a reference to the video.

Print Productions – Magazine Advert

• My magazine advert conforms to the conventions of the medium in regards to displaying the band name, title of album and a review from a popular music magazine.

• The aim is to advertise my artist, and I think the large titlesAnd review help this as they are important aspects ofMarketing a product.

• The partially translucent image of the female protagonistSits over an image of the river, which enhances the fantasyStyle and uses a scene from the music video.

• The ‘this way’ ‘that way’ signs allow space for an ‘Alice inWonderland’ inter-textual reference which gives the Audience an idea of the music video and genre of the band.