Evaluation Question 1In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

Illustrating a unique and innovative idea is often difficult with an unremarkable, overplayed song. Therefore, to appeal to the niche market of the trendy, lo-fi loving youth of today, we chose to create a music video for the song ‘Billie Holiday’ by the harmonious art-rock group, Warpaint.

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

The inventive, melodic track by the all-girl band is popular within our group, as is the lo-fi,

dream-pop genre. We chose to develop the video as a means of promoting our tastes and encouraging interest in the band. 

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

When beginning to develop our video, we took the philosophies - those concerning music videos - of many theorists into account, most notably those of Andrew Goodwin. His theory applies the idea that there are five basic properties which a music video should have in order to focus an audience; narrative and performance, thought beats, star image, the relation of the song to the visuals and, of course, the technical aspects of a music video. 

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

Although we agree that narrative and performance are key features that aid the production and reception of a video, we also challenged this theory by adding a stimulatingly ambiguous storyline, which actively inclines the audience to interpret the themes and ideas personally. 

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

The song, and therefore the lyrics of ‘Billie Holiday’ exemplify themes of love, lust and heartbreak. We have used these ideas to develop our video, with the narrative implying that the couple have a turbulent relationship. We have not included both of the characters in the same shot, but used graphic matches to represent how they have similar feelings even though they are not together. We have not only challenged Goodwin’s theory, but we have also developed it for, in our opinion, a more effective and thought-provoking music video, rather than a tedious, trite one. 

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

The basis of the video is to show that the female character has been unfaithful to the male character. At the end of the video he, in anger, tears off his neck-tie and throws it into the lapping waves. This also shows irony as the lyrics breakdown of the song shows “nothing you can do can make me untrue to my guy.” This satirical view is also used in real media products, such as the music videos for ‘Dirty Cash’ by Dizzee Rascal and ‘Learn to Fly’ by Foo Fighters.

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

We also included a series of lip-syncs to emphasize the facial expressions of the characters, which in turn reflect the mood and themes within the video. We have edited cuts to the beat of the video, such as the turning off of a light on the beat when the mood of the song changes, and a perpetual slow pace when the mood and beat is constant. This technique is similar to those used in real media products of the same genre and supports Goodwin’s theory of thought beats enhancing a music video. 

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

However, we have also challenged this by adding cuts when the beat does not change. The song, by its very nature is slow and séance-like with a soft, unchanging tone. We therefore added cuts when the beat does not change, but when the end of a line of lyrics finishes. 

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

However, as the song comes to a climax, there is a sudden fast pace within the song; we intercut shots of the characters at fast speed, with exaggerated facial expressions to emphasize the dramatic ending of the relationship. This technique is also used in the videos for ‘Stars’ by Warpaint and ‘Spitting Blood’ by WU LYF. 

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

We have tried to steer clear of illustrating a specific star image, and have used simple shots of a female singer dressed in vintage clothing and modest make-up, similar to the original music video, as well as many other music videos from artists of the same genre, such as Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls and Sleigh Bells. 

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

The male character wears a timeless outfit of a plain white shirt, black tie and trousers. This also nods to the French new-wave, as the outfit is similar to those worn by Jean-Paul Belmondo in ‘À bout de souffle’ and Sami Frey in ‘Bande à part’. 

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

We developed these costumes not only because they are uniquely fashionable, but also to show our influences throughout the video. This challenges and develops Goodwin’s theory of star image, and although our video does not focus on a particular ‘star’, it shows how the ambiguous narrative and innovative performance work in harmony to illustrate our ideas, without the need for meet shots of scantily-clad women or a tween boy-band to attract the audience. This develops Goodwin’s theory of star image, making the music video more ambiguous and haunting - the main themes within the song. This also relates the song and lyrics to the visuals. 

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

When filming the visuals for the song, we took Goodwin’s theory of relation into account. We adhered to the conventions and developed the ideas of amplification and illustration, but also challenged Goodwin’s theory by disregarding disjuncture. We thought that to disregard the song completely, such as in Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’, would be less effective than building narrative and visuals around the lyrics, tone and pace. 

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

We chose amplification as our main method of correlation, as well as some illustration. The video, in that sense, is similar to the music videos for Best Coast’s ‘When I’m With You (I Have Fun)’ and M83’s ‘We Own The Sky’. We used a simple narrative of love and heartbreak to develop themes within the video, as well as only a few characters to focus audience attention.

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

We also used illustration; for example, when the lyrics are ‘like birds of a feather, we stick together’ our video shows a flock of birds. Our media product both adheres to and challenges the conventions of real media products, as well as developing Goodwin’s theory of relation of visuals to lyrics and song.