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

By Layla May

Music video

Technical conventions
Tracking, pan and tilt shots are conventions of music videos because the camera movements are used to mirror/emphasise the pace of the track. However, we chose to break these conventions by using a fixed camera because we liked the idea of our audience gazing into an artificial-like world from a transfixed position. The fixed camera also emphasised the geometry of the video and therefore, it offered a different visual pleasure, emphasising the artificiality of it all.

Technical conventions
Our close-ups followed technical conventions as they helped to build the recognition of our artists image. Furthermore, the close-ups asserted her sexual charisma, by highlighting the erogenous zones of performers. They did this by dismembering the body, producing a sexual pleasure for our small male audience also.

Technical conventions
We used super-wide shots, which followed technical conventions by using a 18mm lens. By doing this, we could show our audience all three sets at once, which was visually pleasing. We also used a 25mm lens for the general long shots and a 50mm lens for the close-ups of the singer, which were very flattering. Consequently, our audience would be able to watch our video repeatedly without becoming bored, as there is a variety of shots and actions taking place throughout.

Symbolic conventions
We used a dressing room and a photo shoot set in particular, to relate to our target audiences love for fashion and beauty. They also could relate to the artist more as these locations established what the artist loves most. Props that were girly, such as flowers also emphasized this idea (as well as our use of the colour pink throughout the video). The colour pink also attracts our younger audience as if our female audience were older, we might have used red, because its less safe.

Technical conventions
To match the flow of the song, we have Emma constantly moving from set to set to match the journey of the song. Furthermore, as she moved from set to set we emphasised the structure of the song as we want our audience to be constantly thinking about, as its what we are selling.

Technical conventions
To help create a lively atmosphere and to portray our artist as innocent and pretty, we used artificial lighting. This gave our artist a glow of perfection and was a safe choice for our target audience. The 50mm lens we used also helped create this as it emphasized the clearness of our artists skin and exposed her flattering nature. We got this idea from adverts we had studied that had a similar feel to our music video. This would appeal to our target audience as it was very fashionable.

Symbolic conventions
The direct address we used in our artists performance was the most crucial convention we followed. As the performer is looking straight into the camera, it gives a sense that they are communicating directly with the audience. This, combined with slower paced editing and close-ups, gives a feeling of intimacy and closeness, like the song is particularly special for a singular person this was perfect for our young girl audience as they would aspire to be like our artist. This idea of intimacy we gave our audience also followed through to our other products, such as through social media sites, like Twitter.

Digipak

The purpose of the Digipak is that it adds something special and extra for our audience. Thus, it allows inclusion for more information about the artist. The front of our album follows conventions at it has the artists name in the foreground in large, clear font that is easy to read. This is crucial because it makes our artist easily recognizable on a shelf in a shop and the clear image of her also supports this.

On the back of the album is the track listing that is in the same font as the artist and album name on the front cover. We chose a font that was girly and quite personal (looks handwritten), which immediately suggests what our artist is like. Furthermore, we used bright colours, such as yellow to support our artists brand image that is fun and playful. The back of the Digipak also has the production information, which includes copyright details, the year of production, the record label logo, the web address and the distributor. The overall style of our digipak follows conventions as it uses no more than 2 different fonts, doesnt use too many colours and creates a visual link to our music video and website.

In a way, our digipak challenges conventions because it uses images from the beach photo shoot in our music video. However, this has also been done for other similar real products. This visual style established on the front of the digipak is continued on the inner panels. We have also included a list of acknowledgements for particular tracks on the album, which provides something more intimate for our audience. The four panels work together as a unit and therefore adds value to the digipak as it is turned into A piece of artwork that offers something different for our audience. Furthermore, this product adds another opportunity for money to be earned!