A2 Evaluation Question1
- 1. QUESTION 1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
- 2. INTRODUCTION My music video comes under the genre of Pop, which has many generic conventions depending on the type of artist. Female pop singers usually have upbeat, feel good songs with music videos that portray those forms. Conventionally the video contains the artist herself performing, dancing and having a good time along with glamorous props, unique locations, costumes and makeup. Selena Gomez – Hands to Myself Louisa Johnson – So Good Katy Perry – Chained to the Rhythm
- 3. USE OF CONVENTIONS • Close up camera shots. In pop music videos, one major generic convention is close up camera shots of the artist. This firstly, shows the audience who the artist is because they’re essentially buying into their brand. Secondly, close up shots give the sense of intimacy and shows off the artist’s face, makeup, hair etc. The singer is selling their voice as a brand and therefore themselves along with it so they have to use themselves to promote their products. Female pop singers are usually very attractive and aesthetically pleasing which they use in order to attract audiences. I have used this convention of close up camera shots in my product in order to sell MØ as the artist. The audience have to know who she is and what she looks like in order to relate to her and actually like her. The convention also brings variety to the music video against the long shots where there is a lot going on in the background with locations and smoke grenades etc. This close up shows the artist with a cute little smile portraying the fun, youthful side of the artist. This close up shows the artist in the dark moody dance studio where the audience see a more edgy, mysterious side to the artist.
- 4. USE OF CONVENTIONS • Close up Camera Shots from Existing Pop Music Videos Dua Lipa – Hotter than Hell Rihanna – What’s My Name Meghan Trainer – Lips Are Movin Ariana Grande – Side to Side Selena Gomez – Same Old Love MØ - Drum Hailee Steinfeld, StarvingZara Larsson – Ain’t My Fault Anne-Marie – Caoi Adios
- 5. USE OF CONVENTIONS • Locations from Existing Pop Music Videos For music videos nowadays artists have to find new and unique locations in order to be different and stand out amongst other artists. However, a popular location choice is in a forest. This could potentially be a generic convention of pop music videos because the artist is the main focus as they stand out against the mysterious forest and it helps to enhance the narrative being told. Gnash – I hate u, I love u Dua Lipa, Last Dance Taylor Swift – Safe and Sound Katy Perry - Roar Paramore - Decode Beyonce – All Night
- 6. USE OF CONVENTIONS • Locations The forest location in my video conveys the mystical atmosphere and makes the narrative more believable that the artist appeared from a bright red rose… The location also gives the common convention of a unique setting for pop videos because it is a isolated and enchanting backdrop for the video. In my video, the characters feel free inside the forest, and the artist expresses herself as she dances amongst the trees.
- 7. USE OF CONVENTIONS • The Element of Dance A typical generic convention of all pop music videos is dancing, whether it be the artist themselves or the people around them. In my music video, dancing is a large part of the content because it portrays a feel good vibe which also makes the audience want to dance to the song being promoted. The artist dancing shows off her talent as well as portraying the genre of the song as pop songs are usually up beat songs that the audience can dance and sing-a-long to.
- 8. USE OF CONVENTIONS • The Element of Dance in Existing Pop Music Videos Selena Gomez – Come and Get It. Beyonce – Single Ladies Little Mix - Touch Zara Larsson – Lush Life Ariana Grande - Problem Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang
- 9. USE OF CONVENTIONS • The Digipak and Poster The Digipak and Poster for the track ‘Final Song’ follows the generic conventions of pop music through the imagery. The main focus is on the artist, which is conventional of female pop artists such as Dua Lip and Charli XCX. My poster uses this convention to show the audience who the artist is and so that she becomes a recognisable person and brand to her target audience. Her costume and makeup attract her audience through the glamorous, fairy-tale atmosphere that young girls will love and will be intrigued by her. The Digipak does the same thing also, MØ is the main attention along with her brand name and song title to clearly tell the audience what they are buying, therefore successful promotion.
- 10. DEVELOPING CONVENTIONS • Editing Effects Editing effects are a key aspect in pop music videos in order to have a creative music video. As a part of the current digital and social media trends it is trendy to have fresh, unique, edgy effects on photos, videos and especially music videos. It is taking advantage of the new technologies out there to sell your product and make it look the most up to date and fashionable. Pop artists that have used editing effects in their music videos include Beyonce, Zara Larsson, Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and many more. In my music video I used editing effects that changed the colours in the video, one of them I have called the ‘Prism effect’ and the other was a ‘4-point colour gradient’. I developed the generic convention of editing effects my using these effects to help me portray the mystical narrative along with the idea to create a fresh and unique video. 4-point colour gradient.Prism.
- 11. DEVELOPING CONVENTIONS • Editing Effects from Existing Pop Music Videos Zara Larsson - Lush Life Colour effect… Taylor Swift – Bad Blood Special FX editing effects... Dua Lipa – Last Dance Prism colour effect. This effect was used so effectively in this video and it encouraged me to try and incorporate this editing technique in my music video for Final Song.
- 12. DEVELOPING CONVENTIONS • The Smoke Grenades. The use of smoke grenades have become increasingly more popular within music videos and even adverts. For example the Sigala ‘Sweet Loving’ music video has girls with smoke grenades attached to their roller skates. For my music video I developed this convention by using the purple smoke grenade as a prop source to make the forest location mystical in order to enhance the narrative and also to create an enchanting atmosphere. I used the smoke in the music video as well as for the photography for the print products.
- 13. CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS • Involvement of other characters The only aspect of my music video that I would say challenges the generic conventions of Pop music videos is the involvement of the little girl and the teenage girl. They both have individual segments where they are on their own and the attention is on them rather than the artist herself. However majority of the music video is of MØ either lip singing or dancing but the fact that the girls have key roles in the narrative is different compared to most music videos. This brings a sense of originality to my product and it also makes it more relatable to teenagers and ultimately helps to target and attract the correct audience.