Sony Music Entertainment

9 Derry Street
London
England
W8 5HY UK

Jason IIey
9 Derry Street
London
England
W8 5HY UK
15/12/2015
Dear Mr IIey,
RE: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
I am writing to you in response to your last letter, asking that I discuss the way in which I
challenge or develop forms and conventions of real media products, as I realise this is an
important question to a record company such as yourself, for us to display that we have
thought in terms of conventions and forms and it will make you more aware of whether
our music video and ancillary products will work as well as a professional ones do before
you take on Luna-May, the video we have created for her cover of Gabrielle Aplins
Please Dont Say You Love Me and my digipak and advert for her debut album Nostalgia.
Our music video has been very much inspired by the forms and conventions used in real
media products, for example one of our primary influences was that of the original music
video for Please Don't Say You Love Me. We used conventions used within this text such
as the sort of relationship based narrative, subsequently adhering to Andrew Goodwin's
theory of amplification as we have created a storyline with links to the lyrics of the song;
however we have not illustrated every part of it word for word, but rather have been
more creative with the presentation of it. We have used relatively similar conventions in a
few points of the plot to the original video. In the original text, the narrative follows the
structure of a couple that are happy in their relationship to begin with:
Original:

Ours:

towards the middle of the video the couple fall out due to the female:
Original:

Ours:

and at the end there is a sort of reunion and forgiveness of the female by the male.
Original:

Ours:

However, although the base of our story-line is relatively similar to the original, as it did
inspire us, the way in which we present this and explore this differs greatly.
By using a narrative somewhat inspired by the original video our text conforms to the
forms and conventions used by theorists, most evidently narrative theorists Roland
Barthes and Tzvetan Todorov, meaning that our video does use conventions used in
existing music videos with a narrative. Barthes believed that narratives work with five
codes that allow the audience to try and make sense of the narrative, three of these are
most prominently used in our text- 'action' (where resolution is produced through action),
'cultural' (an element of the narrative that can be seen as a representation of part of a
culture) and 'enigma' (a puzzle for the audience to solve that delays the narrative's
happy ending. The 'enigma' in our video is when the artist leaves the male character on
the bench, suggesting a fall out between the couple- and this consequently delays the

happy ending of the two being content together. The 'action' takes place towards the end
of the video when the artist joins the male character on the bench, inferring she is
endeavouring to resolve the situation- leading to a slight resolution in the narrative, with
the two exchanging smiles- illustrating that things are going to be okay between them. It
could be said that the cultural element of the video can be seen within the Western
styling of the couple and the England-looking based locations used.
Tzvetan Todorov believed that many narratives start in a state of equilibrium- things are
normal and the protagonist is happy. However, an outside force then disrupts this and
this force has to be fought against to return to a new state of equilibrium. This theory can
be seen within our video, as the narrative begins with the artist being happy in the
relationship, however, instead of an outside force disrupting this, you can infer that it is
the artist herself that does- for whatever reason she leaves the male character alone on
the bench- you could perhaps infer that she is scared of commitment. Her fears then
have to be fought in order for her to join the male character on the bench at the end of
the video, creating a new state of equilibrium.

The types of shots we have used within our text also makes it conform to the forms and
conventions of real music videos, such as mid-shots, two-shots, close-ups (once again
adhering to Andrew Goodwin's theories- he believes that you should use a lot of closeups of the artist in order for the audience to remember them and to help brand
development) and so on- all of which are common within real products in their narratives
and performance elements. We took inspiration from Aurora's Runaway music video in
terms of the shots we used for the performance side of our text. For example, within her
video the camera, for the majority of shots, pans slightly or just moves slightly, so there
is always a feeling of movement. We used this technique within a few of performance
shots to give our video the same sort of feeling, for example in this shot in particular:

Furthermore, we used Runaway's use of locations as inspiration for ours in the

performance shots, within Aurora's video there is a lot of layering within the background
of her shots in terms of the locations used, as can be seen in this example:

We felt that this creates a more interesting visual image for the audience, and
endeavoured to use layering in our video too- as can be seen here:

Also, as in many music videos we have used close-ups of the artist to emphasise a star
image (Andrew Goodwin's theory), a branding of the artist, as they are integral in the
selling of a single that a music video promotes. This can also be seen in the many closeups of Aurora used in Runaway, for example:

Furthermore, we have used the technique of the artist using direct address to the
audience, looking directly into the camera, to involve the audience- making them feel the
artist is addressing the song to them and engaging their attention:

We also took inspiration from the sophisticated, classy looking outfits Aurora wears in her
video. We decided we wanted to use this sort of style within the performance element of
our video so that we could contrast and differ between the more preppy, idealised style
used in the narrative, for both the artist and the male character (similar to the sort of
style used in the original Please Don't Say You Love Me video) to make the performance
more visually different and subsequently engaging for an audience. Aurora can be seen
in the image below wearing a sort of furry jumper, and we used a similar style in ours by
the artist wearing a fur coat in the majority of performance shots.

In regards to location used we decided to use outdoor locations to fit with the normal
conventions used within indie folk music videos- outdoor locations reflect the natural,
nature related sound of the indie folk genre. We subsequently took inspiration from
Mumford & Sons's (an indie folk, bluegrass band) Winter Winds music video, in which
they use outdoor locations such as these:

So we too decided to use nature-related locations, filming all of our video outside and the
majority of it in parks. We wanted to convey a natural feel, with a lot of nature in our
shots- this one for example:

We also took inspiration in regards to mise en scene from Mumford & Sons's Little Lion
Man music video, once again meaning we conform to the conventions used within real
media products. We used fairy-lights, similar to the small lights used in this video:
Little Lion Man:

Ours:

We did this to create a similar atmospheric ambiance in our video, and to create a nice,
interesting background to our shots with the fairy-lights.
We also decided to use an acoustic guitar in the fairy-light thread in our performance
shots, as Mumford & Sons, among a variety of other indie folk artists, use their
instruments within videos to create an authentic feel that will appeal to their target
audiences, many of whom enjoy artists playing their own instruments- creating their own
music. In this performance thread we decided that the artist's outfit has to be quite
natural looking and delicate (the sort of style typically associated with the indie folk
genre), to suit the soft appearance created by the fairy-lights and the acoustic guitar- a
style often used within indie folk videos, once more conforming to conventions.
Another aspect of our video that clearly conforms to the conventions of real music videos
is the text at the beginning, positioned in the centre of the frame reading 'Luna-May
Please Don't Say You Love Me'. Many videos include the name of the artist/band and the
title of the song in text at the start of the video, it informs the audience with the most
important knowledge they need to know when watching the video, and captures their
attention. The font chosen for this text often reflects the style of the genre of the song
the video is for, for example for an indie rock song the text is likely to be in quite a bold,
plain font in capital letters- this suits the style of the genre. Therefore, we have chosen
our text to have quite an italic, delicate look about it to suit the style of our genre.
We have further conformed to conventions by using Andrew Goodwin's theories within
our video, for example we have used illustration, illustrating a variety of the lyrics such
as 'please don't say you love me, 'cause I might not say it back' by the artist walking
away from the male character when they are on the bench. Also, another moment of
complete illustration is when the lyrics say 'when you look at me like that' and this shot
appears:

There are many moments such as these in the video, with happy moments between the
couple appearing throughout most of the video to illustrate the positive lyrics about a
relationship. Such as, 'with your presence and your grace everything falls into place'.
We also use amplification as the lyrics of the song could have been interpreted in a
variety of ways, yet we decided to choose the narrative that we have to illustrate the
lyrics.
Furthermore, another convention evident in a variety of music videos is an element of
anti-naturalism and we have used this with the bench sequence towards the end of the
video. We were inspired by another student video (Wasted Words) and also Justin
Bieber's movement music video for Love Yourself, which conveys the lyrics of the song
and the relationship between the characters in the text through movement:

This element of slight surrealism and anti-naturalism is eye-catching, different and

conveys the lyrics in an interesting way. This why we have incorporated the bench scene
in the slow chorus towards the end of the song- as this is a very different part of the
song, matching the different, slightly non-naturalistic (compared to the other naturalistic,
realistic thread of narrative used) bench sequence. We have, however, relatively
developed conventions here as it is unusual for a music video to contain both this quite
surreal narrative and the naturalistic narrative as well.
In terms of editing we use the normal convention seen in many music videos of using
cuts between shots in time with the rhythm of the song, making for a more interesting,
engaging experience for the audience. We further utilised Andrew Goodwin's theories
here, as he believes that one of the elements needed for a music video to be successful
is to be able to see the sound in the visuals.
In all, I would say that we have almost completely conformed to the conventions and
forms of real media products with our music video and this has enabled our video to look
quite authentic and relatively professional on a low budget.

Digipak:

My digipak clearly conforms to existing media forms and conventions. The vintage style I
have used is relatively common within existing digipaks, for example I took inspiration
from Scrub's album cover for 'Wake Up!' amongst various other covers of albums such as
Violent Femme's.
You can see in relation to my digipak that I have used childhood images similar to the
one used in the cover above to create a nostalgic, vintage style. I have also used one of
the artist pulling a funny face, similar to the one in this cover, further displaying that I am
utilising existing conventions.

Furthermore, another existing convention that I use is that of using the same font for
both my artist's name, album name and the tracklist- helping to create a sense of
continuity throughout. Many artists use this convention, for example it is used in Lana
Del Rey's digipak for 'American Queen'.
Also, in terms of text it is common within existing products that the text's colour
contrasts against the background so that it stands out and is clear for an audience to
read. Furthermore, digipaks often use a font for their text that suits their genre, for
example, Mumford & Sons, an indie folk band, use a delicate font in their digipak for 'Sigh
No More'. I feel that I do this within my product, as both of the fonts I use, Vijaya and
Times New Roman, are delicate and pretty- conforming to the appearance usually
associated with the indie folk genre.
Another convention of existing digipaks I have utilised are the rectangles around most of
the text, I was inspired by the cover of The 1975's album (The 1975) for this as they use
a box around the name of the band, which I felt gave it more of an edgy look that I
desired to have in my own digipak.
Furthermore, I use legal information on the CD tray and the back panel of my productthis adds to the authenticity of it as the majority of real digipaks include this information.
I also have added the Sony Music logo to the spine, back panel and CD tray to further
add to this authenticity- and this is once again something that is used within most
digipaks.
I have used complimentary colours throughout, however, I would say that I have
developed conventions in terms of colour schemes slightly as I have used two different
colour schemes within my digipak- with the inside left and right panel corresponding and

the front and back panel in a different, corresponding colour scheme. This is relatively
unusual, however I feel that it works as the colours still work well together and there is a
flowing theme in terms of the vintage look throughout to add to continuity.
Advert:

In regards to my advert I have further conformed to real media products as I have used
the convention of using the same image on my advert as I have for the cover of my
digipak. Many real products do this, for example Florence + the Machine uses the same
image as the cover for her album 'Lungs' as she does for the advert. I have also used the
same design of the album name and artist name with the rectangle around the text to
further create a brand and continuity (as does using the same image, and using a border
around the image to link in with the rectangles used in my digipak, and using the same
fonts- Vijaya and Times New Roman- for the text), a technique often used in real
products.
The positioning of the image at the top of page, centrally aligned adheres to real adverts
as this place is prominent on the poster and draws audience's attention. Furthermore, the
positioning of text aligned with the border of the image is a technique often used in real
products as it creates a more visually pleasing appearance.
The text I have used conforms to existing media products, for example the 'out now' text
is something you would regularly see in real adverts as it informs any audiences that the
album is out now, and therefore this possibly encourages them to purchase it.
Furthermore, the website address and Twitter name used at the bottom of the advert
conforms to conventions- it encourages any audiences to follow the artist and their news,
so that they are in the know and are more likely to purchase and be involved with any of
their future products/projects. These texts are also made smaller than the album name
and artist's name, and the 'out now' text to allow for audience's attention to be drawn
more to these more important pieces of information- this technique is regularly used in
existing adverts.

The use of the white text and the white border around the album name and artist name
and the image contrasts against the darker background, allowing for them to stand out
clearly to an audience and for their attention to be drawn towards the key parts of the
advert.
I have added a Sony Music logo to add continuity between my advert and digipak, and
also to add authenticity to it as this is also a convention used regularly in existing media
products.
On the whole, my ancillary products conform to real conventions as this allows for
relatively authentic and professional looking products.
I hope you can see that all of my products mainly utilise existing conventions of real
media products and develop conventions slightly at times, but they never stray away
from them. I therefore believe that my music video and ancillary products could be
successful if given the chance. We would exceedingly appreciate an opportunity from
you.
Thankyou for your time,
Yours faithfully,
Sophie Marlowe
(Manager of Luna-May)