Cameron Walker

Evaluation Activity 1 a) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Question 1 Part 1 (analysis of own music video)

1. A shot which shows a link between lyrics and/or music and visuals This image shows a link between lyrics and/or music and visuals because in this shot we see our main character sprinting through an overgrown area in a panic while wearing a prisoners jumpsuit. This suggests to our audience that he has just broken out of prison supported by the large fence in the background. This shot therefore shows a link between lyrics and visuals as the lyrics say Time, time, time which can refer to doing time in prison. Henceforth the lyrics saying Time repeatedly referring to prison match the visuals of a prison escapee.

2. A shot which typifies the way a record company would want their artist to be represented This image typifies the way a record company would want their artist to be represented as it displays the artist singing passionately with emotion in his voice displayed by his facial expressions. His arms are kept close to him to show he is keeping himself tucked up due to his mix of emotions of sadness and anger. The dark tunnel under the bridge and the view of the outside suggests that the artist has maybe just used a train and this shows that our artist is outgoing and lives a normal life, not the life of a celebrity. His clothing is also something we would find on a person who has a normal job therefore from all the evidence in this shot we

Cameron Walker can conclude that the artist is represented as a normal person who is passionate about music not the money involved. 3. A shot which illustrates how your video uses music genre This shot illustrates how my video uses music genre as it displays our artist performing outside which is a convention of the folk genre. We tried to have a setting where there was both an urban and natural feel to the video so that the music video uses folk conventions but with a modern twist. The urban parts include the train bridges and fences and the natural parts include the growth surrounding the urban parts. This use of the outside not only establishes our music video as folk but also links it to the lyrics of the song that make multiple references to nature e.g. And the sky is a hazy shade of winter and But look around, leaves are brown. The clothing of our artist is also a clear representation of the genre as it is not too fashionable and colourful but uses darker and dull colours which are typical of the genre. 4. A shot that shows an intertextual reference This shot shows an intertextual reference as it displays our character stealing an Apple iPad Mini which will be known largely by our audience and our audience will most likely own an Apple product meaning that they can relate to this video and feel like they understand it. The audience will also feel like a part of the video and therefore take an interest in it.

5. A shot which demonstrates your use of camera This shot demonstrates our use of camera as it creates an atmosphere that relates to the title of the song. The camera is focussed on a frozen piece of wheat and with the high resolution and focus the audience can see the frost and ice clearly relating to the Winter part of the title A Hazy Shade of Winter. The shot also uses the rule of thirds to make it more aesthetically appealing and allows us to create a mise en scene that this music video will be cold and a troubling time for our main character who is blurred and out of focus in the background. This blur on the character represents how he has been seen as an outcast by society but the change in focus so that the character is in focus shows how he will be seen as a normal and loveable character by the audience at the end of the music video. 6. A shot which demonstrates your use of lighting This shot demonstrates our use of lighting in our video as we used lamps to light up our main character in the dark to make him the most prominent feature in the shot and have the audience focus their attention on his reaction but the lighting was also used as without it the shot would be pitch black. The lighting represents the goodness within our character and that his actions to get flowers and see his love interest come from the heart and are meaningful. 7. A shot which demonstrates your use of mise-en-scene This shot demonstrates our use of mise-en-scene as we have considered many variables in order to build a meaningful setting. The lighting in this shot is key to the narrative of our music video as it shows our main character sitting in a dark and dirty tunnel which displays his current situation of homelessness and being alone but it is also represents his emotions of sadness and being in a mentally dark place. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel which represents his love interest that he strives to get to in the music video.

Cameron Walker The location in this shot is also used later in the music video for the performance shots. The clothing of our character here is quite dark and dull to represent the characters current financial state and also his emotional state of being desperate and upset at his loneliness and being without his love interest. 8. A shot which you feel demonstrates something which shows you have watched other music videos I feel that this shot demonstrates something that shows I have watched other music videos as this shot has features that resemble parts of the music video for Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. The lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls is shown to be walking with pace and emotion through a tunnel while singing the song Iris; this is a concept we took and altered in our music video using a slightly smaller tunnel and having our lead singer walk through it with pace singing A Hazy Shade of Winter with emotion and passion. We decided to use this idea because it is a powerful shot in the whole music video and really makes the audience focus on the artist and what the song may mean. The lighting has also been taken from the Iris music video as it features a bright light at the end of the tunnel which is an element I thought would convey some meaning and depth in our music video and its narrative. 9. A shot which you feel demonstrates something which shows you have watched other music videos I believe that this shot also demonstrates something that shows i have watched other music videos because this shot has features that are similar to that of the music video for Fix You by Coldplay. The lead singer of Coldplay is seen walking down a street with some light pointed at him so that he is the main feature of the shot. The singer is also placed to the side of the screen using the rule of thirds in order to make the shot more aesthetically pleasing. I noticed these techniques and informed my group members and we decided as a group that this would be something we would like to incorporate into our music video.

Question 1 Part 2 (Analysis of other real music videos in comparison to our music video) This is a selection of key frames from other real music videos

Cameron Walker

1. A shot which shows a link between lyrics and/or music and visuals This shot is from the music video for Burning Desire by Lana Del Rey and it shows a link between lyrics and visuals because when the lyrics say I drive fast the visuals are a speedometer of a car increasing representing the car going fast. Therefore, the video is referencing the lyrics of the song.

2. A shot which typifies the way a record company would want their artist to be represented This is a shot from the music video for We Cant Stop by Miley Cyrus, this has been chosen because it typifies the way the record label want to portray the artist. This was Miley Cryus first music video that had her image altered completely and to make this clear they had Miley cut an ankle bracelet off and these are used to hold people in certain areas, this symbolises her breaking free and going against what is seen as normal. Therefore, the record label are presenting Miley as a rebel, a rule breaker and setting herself free of the restrictions of society. 3. A shot which illustrates how your video uses music genre This third shot is from the music video for Best Song Ever by One Direction and illustrates the typical pop genre for boy bands. They are presented all being good friends and being cheeky and playing around with this group picture. They are all smiling and seem to be enjoying themselves which is common in this genre and pleases the audience which is largely female. 4. A shot that shows an intertextual reference The fourth shot is from Feelin' Myself by will.i.am ft. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa. This shot shows will.i.am leaning on his custom built car which is an intertextual reference as the majority of the audience to this song will be male and the stereotypical male has an interest in cars, especially bespoke cars they wont have seen before and wont be able to afford. Therefore, this video makes a connection with the audience and makes it relevant to them as it applies to their interests. 5. A shot which demonstrates your use of camera This shot demonstrates use of camera as it is a GoPro camera attached to a pole that the singer Justin Bieber carries around with him making a selfie effect which has become an increasingly popular activity in modern culture. The use of camera is also effective as it places him in the centre of the shot and therefore makes it clear to the audience that he should be the main focus of the audiences attention and is the centre of the party that is evolving around him.

6. A shot which demonstrates your use of lighting This sixth shot from the music video for Fix You by Coldplay demonstrates the use of lighting as it shows him swinging a light attached to string/rope around his head. This creates an aesthetically appealing effect and also foreshadows the rest of the music video where he is performing on stage in front of a crowd swinging

Cameron Walker the light around. This light swinging effect makes the lead singer seem powerful in the sense that he can control this light and also presents him as a good person because he is never in the dark which often resembles sadness or anger. 7. A shot which demonstrates your use of mise-en-scene This shot taken from the music video for Someone Like You by Adele demonstrates use of mise-en-scene through the black and white effect to resemble the sadness and desperation in the lyrics of the song about her love interest that doesnt love her back. Adeles costume is also black and covers her whole body showing that she is cold in her surroundings but this also resembles her being self conscious and cold emotionally due to her loneliness. 8. A shot which you feel demonstrates something which shows you have watched other music videos This shot from Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls is what I took inspiration from when planning my own music video, as this shot appears in my 8th image in the shots taken from my own personal music video. This mid shot displays the artist clearly to the audience showing his clothing that is quite smart/casual but also dark which is typical of the folk genre. The singers long scruffy hair is a typical look for a folk singer and so I thought we could relate our music video to this one as it shares so many conventions with the folk genre which we are striving for. The lighting is also quite moody and dark which we find appears often in folk music videos creating an atmosphere that is dramatic, however in this dark lighting we usually find that the lead singer appears in the light so that he/she is the main focus of the audience. The simplicity of this shot is what caught my eye but it is also quite powerful and meaningful when it is analysed e.g. the bright light at the end of the tunnel. 9. A shot which you feel demonstrates something which shows you have watched other music videos This shot is from the music video for Fix You by Coldplay and is what I took inspiration from when planning my own music video and is the 9th image in the shots taken from my own music video. This mid shot shows the lead singer of the band walking down a street in the dark taking the convention of performing outside which we were interested in using and adding to this it was filmed at night when the colours are darker and duller, which is another convention we wanted to incorporate in our music video. Therefore, the reason I took inspiration from this music video is because it is relevant to what we wanted to achieve with our music video and was able to offer help when choosing shots, lighting, props, costume and the setting of the performance and narrative.

Cameron Walker Question 1 Part 3 (Evaluating our digipak and advert, and then comparing them with others) Evaluating the Digipak

The similarities of this digipak to my one are extremely clear. Both digipaks follow the folk convention of using artwork instead of photographs of the artists and then adding to this by making the artwork about nature which is another folk convention. I feel that both pictures convey a sense of calmness and nature which is something we feel relates well to the music and therefore the digipak does a good job at representing the music. Examples of this are the similar use of trees being the main feature of the album cover and the leaves growing to cover most of the front. Like Fauns album, we decided to use a font that was easy on the eyes but used old style effect. Our positioning of the text was slightly different and the colour of the font was also different but both fonts are curvy and old fashioned and have a dirty feel to them which is continual throughout all the artwork and panes on our digipak. From research into digipaks, I found that it is typical in digipaks for their to be continuity throughout. Therefore, we have used the same font and background in all the panes of our digipak and the theme of nature is continued as well addressing three of the four seasons. The folk digipaks mostly seem to have a dirty effect on them and we thought that this was something we could incorporate into ours to make it clear to the audience the genre of our music and maybe how the music may sound. This also creates a mise-en-scene linking closely to our music video; especially the scene showing he is homeless and this conveys desperation and loneliness. Fauns album cover seems to create this dirty effect quite nicely by darkening the edges of the picture and using dull and dusty colours.

Cameron Walker This album called The Lonesome Traveler by Jarrod Dickenson also has some key similarities to ours through the use of the tree representing nature which is so popular in the world of folk. The tree has been placed using the rule of thirds in order to make the image more aesthetically pleasing. Due to the fact there is only this tree and then the name of the album and artist, using the rule of thirds allows the tree to use the space wisely and not make the whole album cover feel empty. Instead, the album cover is quite powerful in presenting this tree which means when people see something similar they will automatically associate it with this artist. The colour scheme is also similar to ours using a dark brown throughout the whole front cover, similar to the colour of the font on our digipak and the tree trunks on all the trees.

This digipak from the folk artists Monsters of Folk shares some similarities with ours. The simplicity of the design on the back pane and on the CD is something we have also used throughout our digipak with the minimalist tree design and the good use of space we have created a simple looking design. However, even though these designs are both simple, they are quite powerful in displaying the artwork that is featured and making it clear who the artist is. Both digipaks also follow the folk convention of using dark and dull colours. The Monsters of Folk text is similar colour to ours and so shows how popular these dark colours are in the world of folk.

Cameron Walker There is a clear link between digipak and advert through using the same images, backgrounds fonts and colour schemes.

The following are the advert conventions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Promotion and reviews Colour theme - was kept the same as digipak Fonts/Title - was kept the same as digipak Artist name Image/background - was kept the same as digipak Album name - not included, ours was a self-titled album Relation to Album - linked well to digipak Costume we didnt have images of the artist so this was not necessary Setting location we didnt use one as there no photographs used, only illustrations Record label info