EVALUATION – QUESTION ONEBy Eleanor Waring

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PRODUCTS?The Music VideoFor our music video we tried to follow the conventions that usually feature within a alternative rock / pop music video as the song we had chosen was part of this genre. One main mise-en-scene convention we used in our music video was featuring a live performance, this is a common convention used in music videos from the alternative rock / pop genre. For example, The Script and similar bands such as Lawson, The Fray, Scouting For Girls, all have live performance scenes featured in their videos. In our research we discovered that live performances are used to make the audience become more connected and familiar with the band. Also it uses star appeal to attract more viewers and audiences as it features the band themselves performing. However we developed this convention because we featured live performances from each of the band members, however we didn’t feature the band members all on one shot together playing as a band. This was because of issues with the studio we were filming in, it wasn’t big enough to fit the drum kit, guitarist and singer all onto the shot. Therefore we worked with this issue and shot all the members playing individually, also featuring the singer individually allowed us to shoot him within a loose frame. This fit into the narrative because it suggests that the singer (which was also the main actor) is lonely and upset because he has lost his lover.

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This leads onto another common convention used in music videos from the alternative rock / pop music videos, this is to feature the band members as characters in the music video. We incorporated this into our video because it creates a sense of normality to the audiences as they see the band members as normal people in everyday life instead of someone who is famous. The main singer in our video plays the min character in the video, which is a man who is in love with his partner and has to deal with the loss of her. This will help the audience relate to the band, characters, music video and narrative because they will be able to connect the situation.

The band members in alternative rock / pop genres usually wear dark clothing, this is because the song lyrics and music video normally have a depressing, sad, upsetting, theme to them, so the dark clothes add to this theme and compliment the lyrics well. Therefore the band members in our music video wore dark clothing because it fit in with the theme of heartbreak and loss.

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The rest of the colours in the video are natural colours because of the natural setting, this conveys to the audience that the music video is set in everyday life. This slightly develops the convention of dark colours used in alternative rock / pop genres, for example in the music video ‘Secrets’ by One Republic the colours are all very dull and washed out and there is a dull filter throughout the whole of the video. However there are parts to our music video which still use this convention as part of it is set in night, so the dark night theme creates the sense of something depressing and conveys ideas of death. We also challenge this convention because on the live performance shots, there is green screen used which has a paint splatter background. The colours of the paint consist of red, orange and hot pink, all these colours relate to danger, lust and love and these all relate to the narrative of the video. Also another use of these colours is that it connects the video to the album, this is because the digipak features the same paint splatters. This may help the audience recognise the band’s album as it will feature the same paint splatter theme as in the video. Therefore this may help promote more sales of the album as it will make it more recognisable to the audience.The video is set in a busy city, this is because it links with the narrative and empathises the heartbreak and loss the main character has had to deal with because the loss of his partner has made him feel like his world has stopped but the world around him hasn’t and is moving on leaving him behind. City and busy locations are common conventions used within this genre. For example the original music video for ‘The Man Who Cant be Moved’ is also set in a busy city setting. The video is also set in the winter months, this is a convention used in music videos which have a theme that is similar to ours. The winter setting symbolises things dying and this could refer to a relationship breaking down or love dying.

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The music video we created also used many camera work techniques which are common conventions used when creating real media products. For example, the first shot of the video uses the master shot technique which is also used by existing media products. This is usually used at the beginning of a sequence to establish component elements and relationships which allow the audience to make sense of the action that is to follow. The master shot in our video is of flowers floating in the river, this might indicate to the audience that someone has died in the river and might make sense to the rest of the video as the main character is upset because his partner has died.

Another camera work convention which our video uses is the loose frame technique. This is used in existing products to emphasise the room around an object or person to show the audience that they are alone, isolated or unimportant. We used the loose frame in a lot of shots were the main male character was featured on his own, this was because we wanted to give off the message that the man was alone and felt isolated as he has suffered the loss of his partner and it seems like the rest of the world is moving on but himself. Establishing shots were also used in our media product, this is a convention used in real media products at the start of a new scene to establish a relationship between set, location and characters. We used an establishing shot when the shots were of the city streets with the time lapse of the traffic. This was because it was a new scene in the narrative and also it linked to how the main character felt because he felt as though the rest of world was moving on but he wasn’t.

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Editing techniques which are commonly used in existing media products were used in our music video. For example, loads of fades and dissolves were used in between shots, these are used to make the transition between shots not too sudden. We developed a shot by using a shot of the couple and zooming in on the male character and then using the fade technique leaving a white screen which transfers to the next shot which is of the male character in the same position, but on his own and not with his partner. This was to create the idea that time has passed since the first shot and the situation has changed. This also uses graphic match as it cuts to another shot that looks visibly the same. This is a jump too.

In the shots of the city traffic we used special effects to emphasise the passing of time and to convey the idea that the word carries on, even after a traumatic event in someone’s life. We used the time lapse tool on premier pro to speed up the scenes of the traffic. This develops forms and conventions of real media products because this time lapse tool isn’t commonly used in alternative rock / pop genre that we have researched into.

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Alternative rock / pop genres usually have a narrative to their music videos, therefore we incorporated this into our music video as we used this convention. The narrative to our music video challenges existing media products because it doesn’t completely follow in chronological order. For example the first shot of the video is of flowers floating in the river, which would be expected to come the end of the video as this is what has happened at the end of the narrative. However we chose to feature this shot at the start of the video because it makes the video more intriguing to its viewers because it will make them want to know what happens in the video which results with the flowers floating in the river. Therefore it persuades the audience to continue watching the music video. Also the flashbacks featured in the video will disorientate viewer as they are randomly placed throughout the video, moreover the flashbacks won’t confuse the audience too much that they don’t know what is happening because it is giving them insight into what happened before the disequilibrium. Therefore our music video challenges existing forms and conventions of alternative rock / pop music videos because our video doesn’t follow the chronological narrative that is usually used.

Despite this, our music video does include a narrative which is about heartbreak / love, this uses forms and conventions which are used in existing products because most music videos by The Script, Lawson, Scouting For Girls follow the narrative about heartbreak or some type of love.

Our music video does follow tzvetan todorov’s five stages of narrative

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REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?The Digipak and Advert

One of the main forms and conventions of alternative rock / pop media products is having a consistent colour scheme, design and layout. The colour schemes of digipaks and adverts in the genre we researched into tended to have consistent colours throughout both media products. We used this convention as we chose the colours red, orange, black and white. Using the same colours throughout the digipak and advert made it consistent and added a stylish and professional look.

When carrying out our research we discovered that alternative rock / pop bands use natural and unisex colours consistently throughout the digipak and adverts. We used this convention in our product because we chose orange as our main colour because it is isn’t associated with any type of gender, therefore the album doesn’t give off any gender bias or preference. We also chose to feature the colours black and white, this is because they are also unisex colours. Moreover they are simple colours which match well with the orange colour and give off a stylish and attractive appearance. The black was used as a background because it made everything stand out but black was also mainly used because we found from our research that existing products did tend to feature dark colours often on their digipaks and adverts. The black background makes the white and the orange stand out. The colours on the disks on the digipak were chosen to be red, orange, yellow and pink. These colours together are quite powerful and bright. This challenges the usual neutral and dark colours found on existing media products. We decided to challenge this because red is associated with the feelings of love and lust which is a commonly used emotion throughout the whole of the album. Therefore we decided to develop and challenge this because it represents the sort of songs our artists create and perform and also it indicates to new and existing audiences what sort of emotion is featured in the songs.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The theme of the album links in with the colours chosen to feature onto the digipak and the advert. This is because the main singer’s grandfather originated from Spain, therefore we chose the Spanish flag colours to feature on the colour scheme. Also the colours are all associated with hot weather and the sun which links to the country Spain as symbolises hot weather. Also the name ‘North Picaro’ means North Rogue in Spanish, which also adds into the multi-cultural theme. We created the theory that the name of the band would be called ‘North Picaro’ because this meant north rogue in Spanish and this is what the main singer’s grandfather was known as in his hometown in Spain. We created the story that the grandfather of the main singer had had huge influence on the band in their younger days and helped them achieve their dreams so therefore the grandfather became their inspiration / idol to the group. This is why we named the band ‘North Picaro.’ This theme challenges the forms and conventions of real media products. This is because bands from the genre we researched into don’t usually feature multi-cultural references within the digipak/advert as they are usually British or American bands and are usually based in them countries. However the band we created has Spanish references and very popular in diverse amount of countries. Moreover the Spanish theme of the digipak and advert doesn’t just promote multi-cultural audiences but conveys the idea that the band are known worldwide.

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There weren’t any images used on the digipak or the advert, this challenges forms and conventions of real media products. This is because usually there are images of the band featured somewhere in the digipak or the advert or both. However we chose not to feature any images of the band on either media products. This is because we wanted to give off the idea that the band weren’t obsessed with their image and were more importantly focused on their fans. This would be a good selling point as it would make the audience feel more connected to the band. Also it makes the band appear very popular because they don’t need to feature an image of themselves on the digipak or advert for their audience to recognise who they are. Therefore we chose to include a pages on the digipak to feature a bit of history about the band and a message to the audience. Also quotes about the band and ‘#paintyourtown’ campaigns are used to feature on the other page of the digipaks.

The layout and design of the digipak and advert is quite simplistic and consistent, this is used in many existing media products within the chosen genre. This is because the front cover of the digipak and the main advert features three paint stripes, these were chosen because it relates to the name of the album which is ‘Paint This Town’ and makes the album recognisable to its name. These three stripes are also featured on the back of the digipak and the pages which features text on it, this creates the idea of consistency and fits in well with the name of the album. The theme of paint continues onto the disks because the paint splatter tool was used to design the disks. This was chosen because it continued on the theme of paint but in a different style, which conveys creativity as it has an artistic feel to it and suggests there has been a lot of thought put into the design of the digipak. Moreover we decided to incorporate the simple and consistent design into our media product because it was a common convention used by the alternative rock / pop genre.

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The fonts used on the digipak and advert are quite bold and fit in with the theme of pint as it looks as though the text has been painted on. This is another clever way of linking the name of the album (which is also a track featured on the album) to the rest of the promotional package because it is consistently giving of the theme of paint. Also the font used is informal and this suits the audience as the audience for our band is of the younger generation. Therefore the informal / none serious theme will attract the right audience. Album’s we researched into usually used informal fonts too, therefore this is why we incorporated this into our product.

On the track lists of real media products, the most well known tracks would be places at the top of the list. This is because the audience will recognise these tracks the most as they are the most successful and popular hits and purposely placing these at the top of the list is a clever selling strategy as the it will be the first tracks that the audience reads. Therefore the audience will be more persuaded to buy the album. We used this convention of real media products and placed the most popular tracks at the top of the track list as the audience would recognise these songs the most.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The main advert for our band used the same design as the front cover of the digipak. We know this is commonly used by other artists from our chosen genre. This convention I used because it makes the advert recognisable to its audiences as they will recognise what band / album the advert is promoting, because it uses the same colour scheme, design, layout and fonts. For example:

The only thing different is that the album release date is featured on the advert and the social media promotion for the album. Many existing adverts for bands in the alternative rock / pop genre feature a release date for the album. The main reason for making the front cover of the digipak very similar to the advert cover is because the audience will instantly know what the advert is advertising and therefore will be drawn to look and see the date of when it is released. This is a good selling technique as producers know that using this iconic album look of the album cover on the advert will attract the audience’s attention and therefore promote sales.We challenged the forms and convention of real media products as we included the social media aspect to our advert. The advert offers a chance for the audience to get involved with the band as it persuades them to tweet their ‘hometown selfies’ for a chance to appear at the band’s UK arena tour. This will make the audience feel more connected with the artists as they have a chance to physically feature in the tour of the band. This benefits the band as well as the audience because it would gain awareness of the album as a lot of the audience would be persuaded to tweet their selfies under the hashtag ‘#paintyorutown’, which would ultimately widen the audience and make people more aware of the band’s new album. This could help promote more views, album sales and tour sales from the artists.