This is my finished A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio. I hope you enjoy reading my blogs and I hope you like what you see.
Thanks.
Tuesday 22 April 2014
Tuesday 18 March 2014
EVALUATION Q1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media texts?
My media products uses, develops and challenges the forms and conventions of real media texts in different ways. For my A2 Media coursework, I had to create and produce a music video of any song and genre of my choice. In order to create my music video, I had to research all of the conventions for the genre of my construction work. Unlike the most popular genres of music (pop, rock and hip-hop) I chose a song of a house/electro-pop music genre, this being 'Benny Benassi - Cinema'.
The main coventions of a house/electro-pop music video are:
Because my music video was of an obscure, more challenging music genre, I had to think carefully about how I planned out my music video. For my music video, I've incorporated many of the features of the house music genre and learning from watching other house music videos at home, fast-pace editing played a vital role in the camerawork alongside the mise-en-scene.
Most particularly from 0:07 to 0:22 in my music video (see Slideshare below)and from 2:12 to 2:16, I've used a lot of fast-pace editing, the shots changing to the beat of the music. Therefore, there is a 'link between the music and visuals' as suggested by Andrew Goodwin. As the music quietens down in the bridge section (2:20 to 2:36) the shot changes only happen around 8 times, therefore showing a link between the visuals and the music as the shots are presented less frequently.
There is also a link between the lyrics and the visuals as throughout the whole of my music video, I used a selection of intertextual references from different films to my music video. I chose to do this because of the title of the song, which is 'Cinema' and I was thinking of the idea for my treatment. Many films incorporated are widely known films such as:
- Billy Elliot
The reason for this is because these films are aimed at the target audience of my music video, here it is 13-19 year olds. This is an aspect of post-modernism, where different intertextual refereces come together (bricolage) to come up with something which looks post-modern and hyperreal.
Another example of the link between the lyrics and the visuals is 45 seconds into the music video, where there is a mid-shot of me running towards the camera, lip-syncing the lyrics "Hope you don't stop running…". This is effective as the audience can relate to the lyrics and the visuals at the same time, so this ultimately demonstrates that the video links with the song lyrics.
As Andrew Goodwin suggests, a genre of a music video must have their 'genre characteristics' in order for the target audience to identify the music video is of that genre. The most commonly used feature of the house music genre in relation to the music video is the use of bright colours. I did this by editing the visuals by changing the contrast, brightness and vibrancy in order to stand out to people and to catch the eye of the viewer. Some of the examples are shown above in the image. The 'pop' music video uses a similar approach to bright colour, as the majority of all pop music is now electro-pop or house music, incorporated by big name artists such as Rihanna and Katy Perry.
In my music video, I have also incorporated the use of 'bright, going-out' clothing, most particularly, personalised clothing. Here is a mid-shot of me 'trending' the bright blue T-Shirt with a pair of glasses personalised on it. This is effective as it shows that the music video genre is house as this is the kind of clothing people wear out to a rave or nightclub. These mid-shots consist of a lot of dancing in the music video. This is an aspect of a house music video as it is a kind of song people would dance to at a nightclub. The use of the green screen background (the Discoball) also could suggest this.
An example of a 'house' music video which uses these features is 'Dibby Dibby Sound' by DJ Fresh and Ms Dynamite:
The main coventions of a house/electro-pop music video are:
- Bright colours (situated in a night club most prominently).
- Dancing/Partying
- Alcohol prevalent.
- Camera shots of lights or speakers.
- Bright coloured clothing or 'going-out' clothing.
Because my music video was of an obscure, more challenging music genre, I had to think carefully about how I planned out my music video. For my music video, I've incorporated many of the features of the house music genre and learning from watching other house music videos at home, fast-pace editing played a vital role in the camerawork alongside the mise-en-scene.
There is also a link between the lyrics and the visuals as throughout the whole of my music video, I used a selection of intertextual references from different films to my music video. I chose to do this because of the title of the song, which is 'Cinema' and I was thinking of the idea for my treatment. Many films incorporated are widely known films such as:
- Billy Elliot
- Titanic
- Forrest Gump
- The Wizard of Oz
- Phone Booth.
The reason for this is because these films are aimed at the target audience of my music video, here it is 13-19 year olds. This is an aspect of post-modernism, where different intertextual refereces come together (bricolage) to come up with something which looks post-modern and hyperreal.
Another example of the link between the lyrics and the visuals is 45 seconds into the music video, where there is a mid-shot of me running towards the camera, lip-syncing the lyrics "Hope you don't stop running…". This is effective as the audience can relate to the lyrics and the visuals at the same time, so this ultimately demonstrates that the video links with the song lyrics.
As Andrew Goodwin suggests, a genre of a music video must have their 'genre characteristics' in order for the target audience to identify the music video is of that genre. The most commonly used feature of the house music genre in relation to the music video is the use of bright colours. I did this by editing the visuals by changing the contrast, brightness and vibrancy in order to stand out to people and to catch the eye of the viewer. Some of the examples are shown above in the image. The 'pop' music video uses a similar approach to bright colour, as the majority of all pop music is now electro-pop or house music, incorporated by big name artists such as Rihanna and Katy Perry.
In my music video, I have also incorporated the use of 'bright, going-out' clothing, most particularly, personalised clothing. Here is a mid-shot of me 'trending' the bright blue T-Shirt with a pair of glasses personalised on it. This is effective as it shows that the music video genre is house as this is the kind of clothing people wear out to a rave or nightclub. These mid-shots consist of a lot of dancing in the music video. This is an aspect of a house music video as it is a kind of song people would dance to at a nightclub. The use of the green screen background (the Discoball) also could suggest this.
Finally, at 0:16 of the music video (above) the use of lights are shown in the visuals. This is of a low-angle shot showing the lights turning on as the main melody of the song kicks in. This is important to a house music video because the use of the camera shots of lights are predominantly used in that genre of music.
An example of a 'house' music video which uses these features is 'Dibby Dibby Sound' by DJ Fresh and Ms Dynamite:
Andrew Goodwin finally suggests that there should be a 'demand of the record label' or 'star image' where the main artist/band are seen throughout the video. This is important in music video as the viewer can recognise the face for future music videos. I've used a load of close-ups and extreme close-ups to present the star image of the artist. This is a direct mode of address, in order to identify the artist.
Considering this is a house music genre music video, this challenges the conventions by including star image, which is commonly used in pop, rap and rock. The majority of house music videos is conceptual, as suggested by Sven E Karlsson, where the audience see other visuals that aim to have artistic ambition. An example of this is 'Like Home' by Nicky Romero ft NERVO:
I've also incorporated Sven E Karlsson's theory of music video into my music video, who states that a music video falls into one of two categories; performance or conceptual. My music video falls into the performance category, as it is used throughout the whole music video to demonstrate several film references in an entertaining way.
I've challenged the thought that the meaning of the song is about a man, who has seen an outstanding looking woman and loves her very much. I had decided not to create a narrative for the msuic video because with the amount of film references I've included, I would not fit in any narratives within the story.
Digipak:
When creating my digipak, as well as my magazine advert, I kept a close eye of the conventions of the house music genre. I had kept the consistency of the features of my music video by using some images which were shown in the music video, for example, the bright red shoes and the couple. This was effective because there was a clear link for my target audience between the two. Not only that, but the font I used (Neon 80s) to present this digipak is consistent throughout. I used the font Neon 80s to challenge conventions of a house music genre of the present day. The font looks very retro and small, but stands out with the colours of the background, so it is very easy to see.
I also had in mind the conventions of a digipak, for example, I had included the title of the album, the barcode, the artist, the record label and the track listing on the back cover.
Magazine Advert:
Following on with the digipak, my magazine advert also shows consistency, as the same front cover for my digipak is used as the main image for my magazine advert. The vibrancy of the picture was consistent, as well as the colour scheme and the font.
The conventions of a magazine advert include the artist's name, the album name, reviews, record labels and the image of the artist. I even included several web addresses/links to Facebook, Youtube and even Soundcloud in order to find out a lot more about the artist. It is important to the target audience in this digital age as they are more likely to go online and visit the website.
Monday 17 March 2014
Sunday 16 March 2014
EVALUATION Q3) What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
In order to get audience feedback for my music video, as well as my ancillary tasks, I had to keep in mind my target audience of teenagers to young adults (13-21). I chose YouTube and Facebook to get audience feedback from this age range because they're the most likely age range to access Facebook and YouTube.
Another way I got audience feedback was through the traditional communication scheme, where I asked my tutor to play the music video out to A2 and AS Media Studies students, all of which are in the same age range as my target audience. If I were to collect feedback from someone different to the age range listed, as suggest by Stuart Hall, I may obtain a negative or oppositional reading from my feedback. However, this wasn't the case!
As well as this, I figured out who were the most likely 'UK Tribe' to listen to my music video. As suggested by Maffesoli, 'Urban Tribes' are micro groups of people who share common interests in urban areas.
I found out from my research that the 'Mainstream' urban tribe would be the most likely tribe to view my video because according to uktribes.com, 'Mainstream' tribes are about the simple pleasures in life, from Friday nights out on the town to summer holidays in Magaluf'. As I always say, my music video is of a House music genre, which is most prominently played in most nightclubs around the world. Another reason it is applied to the 'Mainstream' tribe is because of the song itself.
The mainstream tribe enjoy a lot of popular music (charts etc, most particularly the top 40) and 'Cinema' is no exception. 'Cinema' by Benny Benassi was previously a No.20 hit in 2011 on the UK Charts, as well as No.6 in the UK Dance Chart in the same year. More specifically, the 'Chavers' tribe tend to enjoy going to rave clubs every weekend and for them, it's bass music all the way. 'Cinema' is a particular number which is perfect for the rave scene. The bassline is good and has a pulsating beat, ready for any night out.
Audience Feedback from my construction works (Ancillary texts and the music video)
The Prezi (above) shows what audience feedback I had received from peers on all of my work.
Saturday 15 March 2014
Thursday 13 March 2014
Construction - Music Video
I have made all the changes I needed for my final cut and this is my finished product! Enjoy!
Wednesday 12 March 2014
Construction - Digipak #2 - Final Draft
Here is my final draft of my digipak. The changes I made to this include adding the spines to my digipak in the spaces provided, (click on the picture for a closer look at the spines between the extra panel, all the way to the front cover). As well as this, I have also added the outline of a CD and where it will fit on my digipak. The reason for this is because no-one knew where it would fit because it didn't feature in my first draft. This was all done using 'Adobe Photoshop FS6', not just making me more confident for designing in the future using this software, but to get the grips of the basic features of Photoshop.
I believe that my digipak has been done very successfully and I think it looks like a real digipak you would see in the shops.
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