Evaluation: Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my research and planning I looked at bands and artists in the 'rock' genre. From this research I found that many of the bands such as 'Foo Fighters', 'Oasis' and 'The Strokes' use very similar conventions that run throughout the genre. As Steve Neale's theory states genre is 'instances of repetition and difference'. In my research all the videos were highly performance based, usually featuring the band like they are performing in a live environment. I also found that the videos contain moments of pure chaos adding the feeling that it is rather rebellious.

I challenged myself greatly in the making of my music video. Because the performance element is so evident in 'rock' music videos, I was adamant that I wanted the actual band who created the song to feature in the video. This created challenges when finding the band and also working my schedule around their tour dates.


For my music video I have used very similar techniques to create the desired effect of the genre conventions. When filming the band I asked them to wear dark clothes as I wanted to give quite a dark and gloomy effect which was inspired by other music videos I researched in the 'rock' genre.

In the Foo Fighters video of 'All My Life' The director has placed lights in the frame, behind the singer. I really liked the effect this gave however I also felt like it could be developed to make the singer appear as more of a silhouette. I had practice shoots so I could get the desired image that I wanted to achieve. 

The main 'rock' video convention that was vital I used, was having the performers lip sync and playing instruments. This the part of the film I am most proud of. The lighting is very effective and looks highly  professional. Using the actual band in the video rather than just actors also helped to give the professional look as they knew exactly what they were doing, and it looked realistic, mainly because it was.


However, directly following the forms and conventions of 'rock' music videos can become predictable and even boring for the audience. Appealing to a wide audience is vital because the more people that view the video the more people that would get onto itunes to purchase the band's music. One way to interest the audience is to get them to relate to the video and the people appearing in it.

In my research into rock music, all the videos contained very little, if any narrative. I decided to challenge this convention by adding a larger narrative sequence interspersed with the performance of the band. Using two actors acting as a couple appeals to a large audience, showing their ups and downs, is something that can appeal to a wide audience. The lyrics state 'the grass is always greener on the other side', with the images of the couple arguing and then the contrasting images of the happy times, I aimed to add the element of doubt to the narrative. Encouraging the audience feel for the characters and relate to them in their situation, this is one way in which I have challenged the forms of real media products.

One element that runs throughout all genres of music is the feeling of a personal auteur style with cinematography and editing. I have created previous videos on YouTube for my own enjoyment and also even for some local artists. I used similar techniques in these videos like, jump cuts, superimposition and layering. These features contribute into making my own auteur style.




For my digipack and advert I did very similar research into the genre conventions. They all contain similar conventions to the genre of music.  The 'Foo Fighters' album cover seen on the left, uses highly abstract objects that wouldn't necessarily relate directly to the audience, it portrays more of an entropic feeling. Little anchorage is used to explain why these pictures were chosen which again adds to the entropic features. 





I also looked at the album cover for 'The Naked and Famous'. As you can see album covers vary greatly from band to band, but there are still similar conventions that run throughout. In the digipack seen on the right, the use of circles on the front really appealed to me also it contains bright colours with a kind of pop art feel to them.

In my digipack I wanted to use the abstract objects, but also wanted them to be slightly related. I used facial features (eye, mouth) but edited the photographs getting smaller going into the center, this also gave a pop art element without using the bright colours.

I also used the image of a circle for the inlay tray, as this would sit behind the CD Disk as exactly the same size as the CD.

I also slightly challenged the conventions I found by having the actual band featured on the digipack with the star image and persona being portrayed. This is something that I did not find in my research in to the 'rock' genre of album covers.

I decided to challenge this convention because the band (This Wicked Tongue) I am effectively advertising and need to portray their star image to the audience. Also because this band play live on a regular basis and the target audience are people who often attend gigs, it is vital to portray the rebelliousness and angry nature of a rock band. I did this by having the screaming face on the front of the digipack. I also made the images rather abstract, especially with the front and back cover, this makes the audience think further into the cover as to what the photo is actually of, ultimately making the audience more active.

When looking at the adverts, I also had researched in to the same artists to see how they linked the advert and the digipack together. I even looked at one of the band's old adverts to see how they want to be portrayed. Straight away, it clearly showed the star persona of the band, and each member showcasing they're individual instruments and styles in the four images across the top. The bands name 'This Wicked Tongue' was written in the same font that is used on their other adverts and media texts.

For my advert I also used the star persona with the image of the lead singer screaming, this again connotes the angry rebellious nature of a 'rock' band. I used the normal conventions of any advert with the album name, release date and contact information (facebook, twitter, website...).

I also researched in to an existing advert for the rock band 'Foo Fighters'. The advert was highly redundant, the only information seen on this advert is the band name, album name, release date and a couple of the most well known songs, although that isn't much it is all that is needed for a well know, popular band. 

For the bigger bands and artists it is about reaching out to their existing fans and less about advertising who the band are and where to find them. So I knew for my advert I had to show the star persona and advertise the band as a whole and less about the album. However the redundant feel is used throughout, no matter how big the band is, so that is something I also used throughout my print work.