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

In my music video I have used parts/aspects of existing music videos that are currently either in the charts or ones that I came across when doing my research on video channels such as YouTube. My aim by doing this should help me understand the types of people that I will want as my target audience, Once I have done this the audience should be able to identify key aspects that relate to the videos that they watch and it should appeal to their demographics and psychographics, as long as I have analysed these stereotypical aspects and included them in my work, making my video identifiable, professional and relatable. To achieve this I had to do some research into the genre that The Royal Concept specialise in, which was alt- rock indie-pop hybrid genre. By looking at the conventions that were associated with this genre I was going to try and apply them to my video to keep up with the changing culture of indie pop alt rock. So I have attempted to develop these conventions and use them throughout my work including the development of my Digipak and Poster. I had plans to create a hybrid video that encompassed the typical conventions of both a narrative and performance video, which was stereotypically against what most indie alt rock bands would do as they would create a die-hard extreme performance video, with special effects and a sense of going OTT. I looked into too major contributors to that genre Bon jovi and Guns n Roses by looking at these two videos both released between 1986 and 1987 I could get a sense of what indie alt rock was like then and compare it to Green Day, Nirvana and The All American Rejects who are the equivalent now. By looking at The All American Rejects- Gives you Hell it gave me an insight into what indie alt rock pop narrative performance combos are available and what their conventions are like and how can they be enforced in my music video. Studying these bands and others like R.E.M I understood that to make a convincing and professional video that was of a high quality and of a high standard I would have to have a million pound budget but after reflection I realised that I can make a good video without having lots of money, but to make it convincing and interesting I would need a variety of shots and angles that would keep the audience intrigued and on the edge of their seats. I also think that the lighting plays an integral part in the mood and first impressions of the audience. The close-ups allow the audience to relate to the protagonist, and the movements attracts the audiences attention. Using the example of R.E.M Uberlin it uses a continuous tracking shot this captivates the audience and allures them into an alternate reality that means that they can escape into the music video. Most of the shots that I included were either short or tracking because long strained shots will lull the audience into a sleep not an alternate reality. My main character does challenge some conventions because I was told that because he is riding a unicycle he is challenging the stereotype of clowns only ride unicycles.

Andrew Goodwins theory dictates that there is a definitive link between the lyrics of a song and the visuals that represent that song. Most products will use his theories in their products as a way of promoting and advertising a product. Using Goodwins theory of contradiction I have used visuals that dont directly affiliate to the music video itself (concept) because the video talks of being on a journey but my visuals do convey this message. There isnt any intertextuality between my video and the original video likewise between the original and any other form of media. For example in Lady Gaga Telephone they use voyeuristic images of the female body as well as a sense of looking through the cameras. I have noticed that in videos like Foo Fighters- Pretender they use close-ups and minimal transitions so I incorporated this into my music video so by developing this convention I have kept to the culture that indie alt rock groups possess, although The Royal Concept dont use these conventions because they have used a variety of shots that break out of the normal compared to the Foo Fighters. The stereotypical conventions and lyrics in alt rock songs tend to contain topics of social concern like depression, drugs or environmentalism; but this isnt the case for The Royal Concept because the song On Our Way doesnt share these conventions, it challenges the perception of the alt rock culture. As well as this in alt rock videos there is usually a narrative within the video that tells a story or completely ignores them. The Royal Concept develops this convention by Having as narrative storyline that literally follows the song lyrics but I challenge this convention by changing it up and not having a narrative that follows the lyrics and instead goes with a performance and lip-synching and playing the instruments. More conventions if indie rock groups is that performance is a key element to their video and sometimes they combine this with a narrative part. I have challenged this by mainly using a performance part, for example in Foo Fighters- All my life is mainly a performance which defies the convention. Another common convention of Indie Rock music videos is to have a more deep and meaningful story line than that of a Pop music video. Historically, the style of alternative- rock bands has been to reject fashion; often dressing in a grunge style; seen on the likes of Nirvana. Today, bands like Kings of Leon embody this aesthetic. Rock bands are also renowned for looking moody and rarely smiling. One common convention that this music video follows is the editing techniques. This music video solely consists of straight cuts. This is a common convention of Indie Rock music as it goes with the fast tempo of the music as well as reflecting the fast paced lives of Indie Rock bands on the road. Indie Rock music videos are sometimes edited to black and white which mirrors the retro feel of their music. Studying the posters from The Beatles Sea of Science, Got save the Queen by the Sex Pistols and Pink Floyds Dark side of the moon I have noticed some similarities between them which includes two of them using a form of direct address. The Beatles poster uses this as a way of engaging with their audience, but the Sex Pistols had a different approach by covering up the eyes this was a way of rebellion against the norm. So by identifying these conventions of these two posters I have created an image that uses

them both, because my poster includes a computer generated image that uses direct address from one of the characters but not the next this is a way of both making the image look more realistic and engaging an audience into looking more deeply. I also noticed that all of the three posters used a key signifier which consisted of a main image that was central to the poster on the Beatles it was the different colours reflecting the different personalities. On the Sex Pistols it was the rebellious nature of the torn up words on the queens face and on Pink Floyds album it was the rainbow of light reflecting of the central prism. So I would say that my key signifier was the picture of the band at the bottom because apart from some text it is the only colour that the poster possess. The direct address and the key signifier are what I am using to draw the attention of someone, then when they examine the poster they will see the cross media convergence that I have used which includes a QR code that links to my Blog (although if it was a real poster it would link to the band website or ticketing site). I have also included the band website, ticketing information and the record label, these will enable the consumer to access all the relevant information that to go on the tour that the poster describes. I havent included social links on my poster because although they have a facebook page if they are planning to go to the tour then they have already heard about the band and have followed them on all forms of social media. Plus links to sites like Face book is too mainstream for an indie rock audience they would stereotypically use different sites like Soundcloud. The main block of my test is situated in the top third of the poster because if it was on a building then it would be in the eye line of the audience this is also a convention that many posters share. The inclusion of a record label connotes that the band has a sponsor and in turn means that the poster is legit and the tour is going to professional and if people have heard of other indie bands like Florence and the Machine then they will know of its reputation. When looking for inspiration for my Digipak I looked at albums by Nirvana Nevermind, Kings of Leon Only by the night and Tinie Tempah Discovery they all feature a main character on the front, either the artist themselves or someone else. They use the artist so that they can be recognised whilst on a shelf, this helps the audience to identify with them and if you like the artist then you should like the album. On Nirvana Nevermind they have used a baby instead, this could be to draw in a new audience. On Tinie Tempah Discovery it shows the conventions of most (not all) Digipak designs which includes the song titles on the back sleeve this is because it is the last place you will look and it helps when you come to choosing a song not to have to go through the whole Digipak to find them its just a way of making things simple. I have developed this convention by putting them on the back but I have changed the layout of the text to make it more interesting, I also have decided not to include the songs in any order which would make it hard to play the songs in any order but I think that I could change this to follow the conventions. I have also included the copyright information on the back and the record label these are also conventions of typical music albums and the indie genre. I have also made a thermal effect to go on the front this is something that hasnt been included on many album covers so this makes my indie and different.

In conclusion I have challenged a few and developed a few conventions when designing my media products this has been helpful and intriguing to me when I was working through the design stages.