Henry's Evaluation

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

Our media product uses, developes and challenges the forms and conventions of music video - specifically those of the indie genre. Below evidences the way in which we do this in our music video, along with an example of this being done by a current artist or band in the music industry.

Here are examples of conventions being used:


 This image shows our 'use' of the convention of a panning shot during a performance piece within our music video. This gives something 'extra' to fans as these series of shots allows them to see the band performing without paying to go and see them in concert. This also adds to the repeatability factor of the video, meaning increased potential exposure to audiences - which in turn could enhance sales of gig tickets, albums, singles downloads and merchandise. Aesthetically, it adds much needed movement to a series of fairly stationary shots - this will make the piece flow better and therefore more interesting to watch for the audience. This shot incorporates elements of mise- en-scene like lighting. For instance the lighting of this performance scene (low key - with three-point lighting) creates the feel that the whole music video has culminated to this point, with a 'whole band' performance The low key illustrates one of the two 'personalities' of the band: (performance) hard working, heavy commitment to their music. It allows a more specific look at their clothing - meaning the audience can understand the artist's preferences/personality in greater depth (in order to mimic their style). I believe this shot represents the band as equals, giving moderate coverage to each of band member's roles. It also appreciates the band members as talented individuals - showing the intricate skills needed to play their instruments or the passion and stage presence to sing. The video on the right is taken from Paramore's "Crushcrushcrush" - showing the panning used in the same sort of context. This allows the audience (in both videos) to take in all band members and provide some perspective (as they see them within the location of the video) This links to Richard Dyer's "Star" Theory that  audiences are interested in the values of the artist, therefore enhancing their star quality. Hopefully, this would create an audience attachment to the artist(s) shown in our video, therefore they would be interested in (or even purchase) further work from them. This would help the audience to sustain this interest and mean higher profits for the band and record company (as well as everyone else involved in the production of the album) such as: 
 

In Paramore's video, they have enhanced the lighting to create an epic and bold feel to the video. All band members are clearly visible; this allows the audience to appreciate the ability of individuals as musicians, just as we did.

 

These images of "Paramore" further illustrate my point. They have realised the USP of a female vocalist, giving the band added sex appeal also. In each of the shots she stands in the middle - taking the direct focus of the audience. She is very interactive with her poses (leaning forward with a'critical' look in her eye in the first image and her bewildered facial expression and open pose in the second)

The image (on the right of the image from our video) is One Night Only's "Just for tonight" which depicts the band together as a unit - this convention has been challenged in our video. This represents the togetherness and cameraderie that can be had in a band, this also interests the audience as it shows the lifestyle (and effects of it) that so many people wish for.

These images show how we've challenged another convention. The shot from our video is one of the first in the performance sequence. The lighting and hue in this section 'challenge' the conventions shown here in Paramore's "Brick By Boring Brick". In this particular video, it contains artificial lighting which puts the artist in an enhanced look, with an additional coloured effect. However, we have used low key lighting using the principles of three point lighting to help establish our own lighting form:

In the scene shown above we have also made use of a silhouetted effect so it is though the lead singer is 'coming out the shadows'. Her being 'revealed' to the audience, builds a sense of anticipation, she is the 'final piece of the puzzle' as the band seem to have reunited in order to perform, as their individual efforts have been rewarded. I believe this technique is effective because it is one of the only scenes within the video which is presented as darker, most the other scenes use natural lighting. The natural lighting connotes that the band is simple, natural (i.e. their image and the fact their music is not layered with effects) this image is strengthened when combined with the elements of natural environment within our video. Due to the rarity of this low key lighting, it makes the performance more powerful and again helps the video build to a 'big' finish - giving the fans something extra. This lighting also helps to draw attention away from the clothing of the band members, meaning the audience can appreciate the performance aspect of the video more. Although their are differences in the lighting effects of our video and Paramore's, I believe we have use these effects for similar reasons. It centres around the representation of the female leads. In Paramore's video, the focus is purely on the lead singer because the lighting enhances her features - this is highlighting that having a female lead singer is something to be celebrated. In our's, the lead singer's introduction to the scene is delayed (and then the lights come up) again to focus attention on her. After this though, there is a fairly even coverage of all the other band members, allowing the audience to view the band as a unit. I believe both videos try hard to market the fact that the groups are led by a female as it is unusual within indie genre and the music industry as a whole.

However, I do believe some variation in terms of genre can be seen as a good thing because the audience is already starting to notice a possible crossover between genres. This is good for the band as it means (in a music industry with so much variation in genre) that there is scope to change the genre focus of their music, maintaining their current fan base but also targeting a new one with different preferences and interests. This may help the growth of the band and the band's music as they may be able to move in a different direction musically. A change in musical focus may also help the longevity of the band because of the heavy competition for the interest of audiences and therefore sales within the market.

How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

This video demonstrates the different technologies I used in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages.


Key technologies not mentioned in the video above was the MP3 unsigned website. This helped to conduct a thorough search when looking for a copyright-free track. We could narrow our search by typing in our genre "indie". After we received permission to use "The Riot Tapes" song we kept in touch with them, this was important as they could give us further audience feedback on the product we had created and the use of any of their other songs (titles and lyrics) for our digipack.


What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Here is a video containing our music video with annotations of audience feedback comments wherever it is relevant:

 

HAPPY This screenshot shows how we 'used' the convention of a close up within our music video. This is not just a convention of indie music videos but music videos in general, it is usually frequently combined with a long shot. This was done in our video to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotion. This allows the audience to take in the facial expressions (the artist's emotions) and the style of the band and also connect with the band members. The location is also important as it helps to create associations of that artist, for example our artist is walking through the street (a natural environment) so this would have connotations of freedom, independence and a strong personality. The shot on the right is taken from Coldplay's "Fix You", it illustrates the journey the lead singer (Chris Martin) takes on his own - which was used by our band. The walking starts slowly, to parallel the pace of the music and then both the walking and the music speed up and culminate in a band performance. This gives the sense that something  is building throughout the video, which is something we wanted to recreate . This journey can be shared with the audience as they walk. This allows the audience to build a 'relationship' with the artist, this adheres to Horton and Wohl's parasocial theory.

Here is an example of conventions being developed:

The image on the left (taken from our video) combined with the image on the right  shows how we have 'developed' the convention of mise-en-scene within our video. It relates to how we have altered the arrangement of the performer and the props in the scene for the production of our music video.  The image on the right is taken from Take That's "Rule The World" - this inspired our scene with our lead singer in the recording studio. It depicts all four members in four separate booths singing and using musical equipment. We have developed this further as a convention because we have our lead singer on her own as opposed to the whole of the band, this means there is further focus on her.

We have made this sequence realistic by including props such as the mic stand and headphones which would be usually be present in a recording studio session. This allows the audience to accept the sequence as a part of the whole music video. This also represents some of John Stewart theory that a music video allows more access to a performer, this recording studio sequence demostrates an aspirational lifestyle for the audience to hope for.

This 'CCTV' shot on the left from our video has been inspired by the video for Arctic Monkeys' "A view from the afternoon". This shot shows development of the convention (of indie music) of black and white hue (desaturation) from Arctic Monkeys video to ours. We have still used the black and white hue and have chosen an empty location to film shots of our band members but we have made the shot more voyeuristic by the deliberate addition of text (such as a date, time and camera number) to create a realistic CCTV. Voyeurism is a theory of Sigmund Freud, he says that a viewer will gain plessure from viewing someone who is unaware of it, this is furthered by Andrew Goodwin who says voyeurism is a common theme in music videos. We have also altered the graininess so there is an obvious contrast between this shot and the ones featuring the lead vocalist, this widens the two separate narratives - therefore enhancing the moment when the band eventually come together to perform. This moment will provide the audience with more of satisfying feeling as the video builds to a climatic finish showing some of their performance prowess. Our use of these effects will excite the audience as it is a unusual break from the normality of the rest of the video. It also links to the clothing of the band members (i.e. the waistcoat, shoes) and the radios throughout the video as it helps to maintain the vintage feel. This is something that is important to incorporate (for our audience) because this vintage feel connects us heavily with the indie genre, therefore enhancing the band's reputation. It also means they will be more respected in this particular genre not just by our target audience, but by other record labels, other people who appreciate different music (because we are seen sticking to the main conventions of our genre) and other artists (this could give the band further oppurtunities to grow within the industry through collaborations with more well known artists - possibly resulting in a different demographic being drawn to this band's work).

Here is an example of conventions being challenged:



This image shows how we came to 'challenge' the convention of a band being close together and 'tight-knit' in part of our video. Usually, a band is united to give the impression of solidarity to their fans, but in these scenes the lead singer has separated herself from the rest of group. This though, does interest the audience because the narrative then takes them on a journey - with the lead singer going off on her own. Further on in the video helps to show her frustrations, this means there is an interesting conflict between members of the band - which needs to be solved. Although, after this shot we hint that really, things are okay within the band - showing a care-free, playful side to the band aswell. This gives the audience some reassurance that the band has longevity. This also indicates that the band (particularly the lead singer) is very independent, drawing further attention to the fact that this band is 'fronted' by a female vocalist - which is rare for current artists within the indie genre. This indication is clearly shown (especially in this image) with the two genders divided. It should be seen as a unique selling point for the band and may help to raise their profile within the market. This is extremely positive for the artist as the media would be sure to exploit this - which can only help their boost sales, reputation (through further interviews on "Q" TV and in the magazine perhaps) and fan base. 

The majority of our audience feedback was positive; for instance people had commented that they appreciated the editing techniques and that it fit well with the indie genre through aspects of mise en scene such as costume.
Many felt the opening sequence of our music video was effective as it successfully introduced the first narrative. They also felt the lip syncing from our lead singer was convincing, making the band even more believable as an established artist.
It was said by our audience that a good variety of shots were used. The audience also appreciated the interesting use of lighting and colour (especially the CCTV effect used in one performance scene), and often commented that they were pleased with our awareness of possible continuity issues such as the date and time of the security camera. 

Here shows the 'CCTV' shot which appealed to our target
audience

This bodes well for the future success of this band's work because it is evident that the interest of the viewers is there. Our use of setting and costume was also hailed as good because once again in the viewers minds it placed the band well within the indie genre.

An important part of music videos is how lyrics are represented. Many of our audience liked our illustration of the lyrics. 

Some criticisms were also made of our video, saying in particular parts the playing of the instruments was not in time with the track and scenes were misunderstood. Viewers said this gave a disjointed feel to the video and that certain sections didn't seem convincing as a real band performance. There was also a little confusion as to the genre represented in the video when it got to the collective performance scene. Some felt this section would be better suited if shown in a rock video - not an indie one. 

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

This is a video of our group discussing how effective our music video is in combination with our magazine article and digipack. 
During this discussion, neither one of us mentioned the importance of convergence between the three texts. This meaning that, all forms of technology (on different platforms) come together to present a more powerful overall image to our consumers when marketing our product. This allows consumers to access our products on multimedia platforms so if they cannot gain access to our video through music channels like "Q", they may be exposed to our magazine advert or digipack within shops. Marketing it online is also important in a growing digital age, for instance advertising it through viral advert or youtube. This helped us to promote our band further and potentially mean higher sales of the album and more revenue for the band and record company.