QUESTION 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

THE TITLE OF THE ARTIST AND SONG

The title of my artist, album and song are conventional to the indie genre as they were based upon other existing indie products. Most

indie artists have unusual and quirky names which they use to brand their music, often these names aren’t their real names. My artist is called Skyla, which originates from Dutch and means that you are

excited by change, adventure, and excitement which is perfect for my hypothetical artist. The song that I created a music video for is called

‘Youth’ but for my artist I renamed it ‘Lost’ and is all about finding ourselves. This meant that I needed an album name to support the vision of the artist, ‘Be Free’ seemed like a suitable option and from

my audience feedback there wasn’t a problem with the name.

SETTING/LOCATION

The locations used within my music video are also conventional to my genre as I used a lot of woodland locations, water and a studio-like set up. Not only were the locations used to film in

conventional to the genre, they also reflected the lyrics within the song so that the music video is more exciting to watch.

Another independent artist that uses water within their music video is Ben Howard and his ‘Old Pine’ music video (see photos below). I took inspiration from a lot of independent artists that I

looked at before creating my product to ensure that I would create something that my target audience would really like; one

of my main inspirations was Billie Marten and her music video for the song ‘Bird’ that uses a range of indoor and out door locations

to film in.

COSTUMES AND PROPS

My music video doesn’t contain props as such apart from a scene where my artist blows glitter into the camera to signify being

free which links to the album title. The costumes however play a huge part within my music video as my artist is intended to be seen as a trendy, fashionable artist that they can look up to,

which is very conventional for artists to inspire and become role models to their fans. The make up is also an important part of

the music video as it allows the artist to express herself creatively, many artists express themselves through their

makeup in their music videos, just like AURORA does in their music videos. I did not challenge any conventions through the use of costume and props as it would mean I wouldn’t fulfil the

likes of my target audience.

CAMERAWORK AND EDITING

My music video consisted of varied shots from extreme close ups to long shots. To make my music video conventional to my genre I used a lot of close ups and mid shots of my

artist where she is centrally framed or just off centre; this is because independent artists use their music videos at a platform to promote themselves, so they are the main feature

within the music video. I also used tracking shots to portray the journey my artist was travelling throughout the music video, the use of tracking shots also allowed to audience to feel like they were travelling with the artist throughout the music video. Regarding the editing of my music video, it contained some creative edits to make the music video more interesting to watch. I had all of the flashbacks in the music video black and white to add more emotion to them, I also slowed most of them down so that the audience had more time to understand what was happening. I also overlaid shots so that I could show the

contrast between the two narratives at once. My music video was shot and edited conventionally to fulfil the needs of my audience. Most of the shots faded into one

another so that the running of the music video was slow and didn’t disrupt the pace of the music video as it is a very calming song.

NARRATIVE

After researching into indie music videos, there isn’t a conventional narrative to follow; some may have full stories that include characters like Billie Marten’s Bird music video and she

tells the narrative by the song performance. Whereas some music videos don’t necessarily tell a story but go on a journey that compliments the song like Ben Howard’s Old Pine music

video. I decided to take my audience on a journey with my artist; it was about being lost (hence the song title) and trying to find herself. This benefitted my music video as it looked similar to other media texts making it more believable that it could be

professional.

GENRE AND HOW IT IS SUGGESTED

The genre of my music video was indie and the music video fulfilled many conventions within the indie genre; one of the main conventional things that I

challenged was to include an additional character within the music video. Instead of doing this I just had my artist alone for the music video to portray

the message that you can walk alone and be fine. Another way genre is suggested is through the locations featured within my music video; the use of

woodland locations, water and a studio-like set up. Not only were the locations used to film in conventional to the genre, they also reflected the lyrics within

the song so that the music video is more exciting to watch. . To make my music video conventional to my genre I used a lot of close ups and mid shots of my

artist where she is centrally framed or just off centre; this is because independent artists use their music videos at a platform to promote themselves, so they are the main feature within the music video.