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

VIDEO Conventions which I have followed:

Having the singer lip syncing This is a typical convention and so therefore I decided I would use this in my video. The video mainly focuses on the artist in a small space and so her singing made the video look like it had a purpose and wasnt just an accident of lots of footage put together like some videos are. (See Florence- Cosmic love) Dancing (jigging/swaying) Because the song is quite upbeat, my star dances (ish) along to the music. The convention of dancing is relevant mainly in pop videos (such as Beyonce: Love on top). My video has a hint of pop within the genre and so not as much enthusiasm in the dancing, however I think this works and links in well with the sound of the song. Costume changes Again, this happens a lot in many videos of all genres and so by doing this, my video looks more authentic. This also means that it is more interesting for the audience to watch. Variety of shots (mid/close up/long shots) Changing from my first draft where not a lot of shots were used (mainly long shots), I wanted my video to look more interesting for the audience to watch. Therefore I have included long shots, mid shots, over the shoulder shots and close ups all edited at a fairly quick pace which makes it more interesting to watch. Variety of shot length Again, the shot length in my original first draft were all quite long, however in my final video I have made sure that the shot length changes in order to make the video more interesting for the audience to watch. (Jason Derulo) End fade This has made my video look as though it actually has an ending when it doesnt. After watching a variety of videos where the video just stops at the end (Ellie Goulding, 3OH!3) and I dont like how it looks. Therefore by adding an end fade (Shakira- beautiful liar) I think it makes the video seem like more of a full, finished product.

Challenged

Male gaze- my character in the video wasnt put in the video or dressed in order to be looked at by men, instead they were just there to fit in with a theme I had created. Also, the target audience for my video would be mainly women who wouldnt be looking at my artist in a provocative way.

Copied:

Mise en scene idea from Florence and The Machine I liked this idea because it makes the video shots interesting to look at which then made for an exciting visual for the audience. This idea of using lots of quirky props makes the Florence videos very unique which reflects her as an artist as she is very individual and quite unusual and I like how the videos represent this. I want my artist to have a quirky edge as it makes them more interesting which is why I have chosen this song and the

vintage theme. Therefore the idea of using lots of interesting props would reflect this about my artist and would create a relationship with the audience as they would feel as though they know her/about her. Vintage theme from Lana del Rey/Marina and The Diamonds This makes the video more unique and having a style made it easy for me to make all of the products link together to look as though they were part of the same brand identity. The videos which I have looked at from Lana del Rey look vintage due to the styling and home-made element which I copied. The styling was vintage and I wanted to ensure my artist had a vintage edge to her clothing which was achieved. Also, the marina and the diamonds video which I looked at showed a mixture of vintage outfits, props and effects used within the video. Although I havent added any effects to my video, the style is similar and so I believe I have achieved a vintage theme throughout all of my products. Home- made look from Lana del Rey/Ellie Goulding I like the home made style videos because they make the artist seem a lot more down to Earth and would therefore be appealing to the intended target audience. Also, I could play this to my advantage as I know the equipment isnt the highest quality (and my use of the equipment really isnt up to the highest standard) so therefore this look wouldnt be difficult to achieve

WHAT MAKES A STAR? Andrew Goodwins Theory o Having the star means that the audience have something to look at. Although the lyrics could be linked to the video to form a narrative, I have chosen not to do this and so rather than following a story, the audience would be following the artist. o I have constructed my artist to ensure she fits in to the music industry. This is by styling her and making her appealing to the intended target market as well as taking inspiration from real artists such as Florence Welch who have made it and are successful in the music industry. o I have also created a Twitter page for my artist so that a fan base can be created and they can follow her. This social media is a way fans can keep up to date with what she is doing. o I have made sure my artist is signed to a record label which is successful as this recognition would be important to some possible audience members. Parlephone is a label which has signed ver big artists such as The Beatles and Blur so therefore they will have experience which my artist would use to her advantage as well as being a recognised label to intended audience members. Richard Dyers Theory o I believe that I will have created an audience > star relationship where the audience would form and emotional affinity towards the star. This is because my artist is young and so would relate to the target audience (as her age and gender would suggest that she would fit into the age bracket) and so therefore the audience would like her and maybe want to be friends with her. o There could also be an element of self-identification as well as the video is a situation which could easily be recreated and is likely that the intended target audience have listened to a song in their bedroom and have mimed along to a song and pretended they are the star. There is also the idea that stars are ordinary as well as special. Taking this into account, I believe that my artist could be perceived as normal as she is young and (in the video) looks like she is having fun which is typical of young people, however the fact that she is having a career within the music business makes her very special. SVEN E CARLSON

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I have used a performance clip. Audio-visual communication: her moving her shoulders in time to the beat on never need to leave this house The environment has been made to reflect the feelings of the artist and the sound of the song- fun, upbeat, quirky through the use of mise en scene

POSTER Conventions: followed Golden spiral insert image This has been used in order to show the reader where their attention should start and where it should go to. The image is quite bright and that is the most prominent feature of the poster. Therefore this is where the eye is immediately drawn to. Following that, the artists name as it is in the top left corner and in the largest font and then the information descending vertically down the left side of the page. Magazines use this convention on their covers as a way of grabbing attention. Listing the information from what I consider to be most to least important again, this follows the golden spiral idea as it means that the onlooker of the poster will know which information is most important. Therefore they will see the artists name which could be useful if they want to look up the artist, followed by the album name (if they want to buy/download the album) and the date then lastly the twitter name. Many media products use this convention, especially magazines. Making the poster and digipack link together this is usual in products which are different yet promoting the same brand. For example, Nike use the tick/swoosh on their shoe boxes, clothing, adverts, etc as it is all part of the same product range. I have done the same for my artist by using the same background, font, images, etc. This is good as it gives recognition to the intended audience and would make them more aware if they saw the products. Reflects the genre: o Folk- includes a sketch with pale tones of natural images the idea of using a sketch was appealing as I had looked at some folk music album covers and they mainly used sketches. This is eye catching and looks more interesting than images as they look a bit different to generic covers. They also used images of nature (trees, animals, etc) so I decided that I would use a background image of flowers which also fit in with the idea of having a vintage theme. o Indie- includes a sketch and uses some brighter colours the bright colours used on the image stand out to the audience and stand out against the lower tones of the vintage style background. This therefore makes it (the poster) very eye catching and grabs the attention of the intended target audience. o Pop- font looks fun and interesting. Bright colours included. the fun swirly font is used a lot in pop branding, for example Katy Perry uses a swirly font which looks fun and would reflect the fun, upbeat sound of her album and the genre as a whole. I have done this as it reflects the upbeat sound of the song as well as my artist being fun and young. Challenge: I havent used a photograph of my artist; instead I have used a drawing. Although the usual way to advertise a singers album is to use a photograph of them on the posetr

so that the intended audience know who the star is, I have decided to go against convention and use a sketch. This is to make more of an impact on the audience as it looks a bit different and the uniqueness would make it stand out more against the other posters which are usually on show. DIGIPACK Conventions I have followed 6 panels including a cover, track listing and CD holder panel. This allows me to include all of the information and images needed to give to the user. The cover of the digipack linking in with the poster due to the same hand drawn style with a vintage twist. I have made sure that these products are seen as a brand for the artist and so they must look the same. The golden spiral concept has been used on the two panels which include a sketch of my artist. This is so the audiences attention is guided in the right way so that they know the most important information (such as the image, followed by the artists name then the album title). Reflects the genre: o Folk- includes a sketch with pale tones of natural images the idea of using a sketch was appealing as I had looked at some folk music album covers and they mainly used sketches. This is eye catching and looks more interesting than images as they look a bit different to generic covers. They also used images of nature (trees, animals, etc) so I decided that I would use a background image of flowers which also fit in with the idea of having a vintage theme. o Indie- includes a sketch and uses some brighter colours the bright colours used on the image stand out to the audience and stand out against the lower tones of the vintage style background. This therefore makes it (the poster) very eye catching and grabs the attention of the intended target audience. o Pop- font looks fun and interesting. Bright colours included. the fun swirly font is used a lot in pop branding, for example Katy Perry uses a swirly font which looks fun and would reflect the fun, upbeat sound of her album and the genre as a whole. I have done this as it reflects the upbeat sound of the song as well as my artist being fun and young.

Challenge: I havent used a photograph of my artist; instead I have used a drawing. Although the usual way to advertise a singers album is to use a photograph of them on the posetr so that the intended audience know who the star is, I have decided to go against convention and use a sketch. This is to make more of an impact on the audience as it looks a bit different and the uniqueness would make it stand out more against the other posters which are usually on show.